Outsource Your Weaknesses

~ I snagged this from www.genyrockstars.com. I love this concept. Focus on your strengths and outsource your weaknesses. Check out the article here: http://www.genyrockstars.com/2010/01/musician-outsourcing.html

Being a musician in today’s economy is not an easy task to tackle. You know everything you need to do and that list never seems to get smaller, only longer. Here is one of the secrets of business that took me a long time to realize - you need to play to your strengths and outsource the rest.

This goes against everything you are taught in school or probably have ingrained in your head. We are always taught to educate ourselves and practice on our weaknesses. I am here to tell you to stop. You are a musician. You have a special set of talents (hopefully). You can’t do everything no matter who tells you that you have to (and I am one of the ones saying you need to do everything).

The fact is that as an upcoming musician you have the same number of hours that any business has to get done in one day - 24. No more, no less. Focus your time on achieving your goals and doing the things you are great at - not ever good, there are others that are great that will help you be 100% more productive.

Here is a video I shot on the topic of Music Outsourcing:

Music Outsourcing

From the video here are some resources to get started in learning about outsourcing:

The Four Hour Work Week - if you want to get more done with less, pick this book up. It wasn’t mentioned in my top 5 marketing books for musiciansbecause it is so much more. After you read through this, everything you thought you were doing right, you will question. Your time management will be better and you will be focusing on results oriented projects.

eLance - Have a project you need done? Write a description, set a budget and have freelancers bid to work on your project.

Guru - Same as eLance.

Scriptlance - Same as eLance and Guru, only there is a focus on people that write scripts from advanced to very basic.

Criagslist - Post a job or opportunity in a specific market. This is great if you want to oversee the project locally or have someone join your team full time.

oDesk - This is the best resource I know to find a virtual assistant. If you are a band on the road, or one that has to juggle press, booking, sales, finances and other business related tasks that are not to your strength, get an assistant. You can find a good English speaking assistant for anywhere from $3 - 6 an hour.

123employee - Higher caliber of virtual assistant. Have them handle tasks such as SEO, managing your email, your social networking, article writing, booking, research and so much more.

99 Designs - Need some logos, t-shirt ideas, album artwork? Outsource it. 99 Designs is an amazing community of top notch designers looking to work on your project.

Source Control - This is a course by David Walsh where you can learn how to talk to these companies and get the most out of your outsoucing. When working with outsourcing companies you need to provide great directions and detail. This ebook and templates will help you maximize your money spent.