With all the buzz around Tim Ferris, and before Tim the E-Myth books, you could be forgiven for thinking outsourcing is an instant route to business nirvana.

Well, with anything this powerful, you know there has to be a good chance to shoot your own foot off. The solution is to know when you are outsourcing versus giving away the keys to the castle …

Outsourcing works, when it is done right.

Unfortunately getting it right can be as much about having the correct systems as recruiting good people.

It’s important to know exactly what you are outsourcing and why. In most cases it is best to outsource

• What you can’t do
• What you shouldn’t do
• What you won’t do

For example, I outsource design because I can’t do it as well as a great designer can. I outsource a lot of technical stuff because, while I can do it, I don’t have time to do that on top of everything else, and besides I can charge more than I pay.

So what should you NOT outsource?

You should never outsource control or elements vital to your core business.

OK, but what does that mean?

A good litmus test is to imagine you have taken on a person to do a task. What happens if they suddenly disapear after a few months of excelent work?

For example, your diary has been managed by your VA/PA and suddenly you can’t contact them and you don’t know what you are meant to do a week from now, or maybe even which appointments you need to make today.

Another example would be a startup that outsources the management of their IT services but the freelancers work visa expires and nobody can log in to the server or access any of the backups.

In both cases control was handed to someone else, but problems can be mitigated by having everything documented.

You have to remember, outsource does not mean absolving yourself of responsibility!