5 Tasks which Freelancers Should Consider Delegating

5

Delegating tasks makes a lot of sense as your freelancing business grows. There is a lot to do – and nobody can do it all by themselves. Delegating not only saves you time, but lets you spend it where it matters, namely the core strengths of your business. In this article, we discuss five areas where most freelancers should consider delegating tasks.

 Keep in mind that every business is unique, though. If any of those areas is one you feel particularly comfortable in, you don’t have to give it up. However, if it’s a time waster, definitely consider it.
 

1. Accounting

Ugh, accounting. Many of you might have already started reflexively falling asleep as they read the word. But it has to be done, right? You need to keep track of how much you’re making, what you’re spending money on and which clients are your cash cows. Not to mention keeping track of taxes. That’s a lot of work and it eats up a lot of time. Especially if you, like me, hate staring at excel tables and figuring out what numbers mean. Find an accountant you can trust and pay them – they will likely do it quicker and better than you.
 

2. Contracts

Drafting up contracts is, like accounting, a field where you can’t afford mistakes. And it requires a lot of knowledge. So before you spend tons of hours looking up legal advice online think about consulting an expert. Yes, there are a lot of resources online, but many of them aren’t trustworthy. And even those that are, won’t necessarily apply fully to your situation. Creating contracts won’t be a long-term activity like accounting: delegate it once, get your advice and drafts and use it until you feel a change is needed.

If you decide to do it by yourself, make sure these 5 clauses are included in any freelance contract.
 

3. Marketing

Marketing is probably the one area you can find most advice on in freelancing literature and websites. That’s because it encompasses a ton of different things – social media , SEO, your website, promotions, pricing and more. Delegating all of that might be unrealistic, so think carefully. Remember, you want to delegate things you’re not good at and are important to your business but not at its core. Maybe Facebook and Twitter are those things, maybe it’s your newsletter. One thing is certain – handling the entire marketing strategy can be a full-time job by itself.
 

4. Emails

Communicating with clients and answering emails might seem as something that shouldn’t be delegated at first. But it totally is, especially as your business grows. When you start getting dozens of emails per day, ten percent of which are relevant, filtering through them takes time. Maybe it’s just one hour a day, but that’s still probably more than 10% of your work time. And that’s not including actually answering the important emails.
 

5. Hiring

If your business is really getting big, you will find yourself having to hire people. You probably have a freelancing network established by now, so that’s a place you should look at first. If you want to go the standard route – advertising the position, interviewing and picking out people – you might want to consider delegating some of that process. Remember if you are looking for an IT expert, you can publish your requirements completely for free and without commission fees at freelancermap.com. Upload your project details free now.

When delegating, it is important to trust the people who do stuff for you. If you can’t guarantee that 100%, make sure you know at least a bit about the things you’re delegating. This will allow you to manage and track them to a certain degree. And again, what you delegate depends entirely on the nature of your business and the stage it is in.

Questions, comments, feedback? There’s place for that in the comment section below this article, don’t hesitate using it!


Pic: ©unsplash

Viktor Marinov

Viktor is the voice behind the freelancermap blog. Every week he comes up with helpful hints, checklists, and guides for freelancers and independent workers. If you would like to know how to find remote jobs online or how to niche yourself as a freelancer, don't miss his freelancer tips!

By Viktor Marinov

Recent Posts