If you own your business, you probably realized pretty quickly how many different hats are required to keep the business running, and more importantly, to keep it growing. When you ask more seasoned business owners how they successfully manage juggling the multiple aspects of business, most would emphasize the importance of outsourcing tasks that are not within your “zone of genius.”

This can be easier said than done. Especially if your business is young and the question of outsourcing comes down to the financials to be able to do it.

Fear not, over time, as long as you are running a sound business, you’ll realize what tasks you’re doing over and over that you can begin to outsource. Outsourcing often sounds like it would require significant investment; but often times it actually saves you more money and frees opportunity for you to grow your business (which should be within your top two priorities).

Outsourcing simply means you’re seeking an external source (other than yourself) to complete a task. It could be a specialist that you hire as a contractor, an assistant (that can be part-time), a virtual assistant, an intern, or even a software or web-based platform that can automate the task.

Here are three tasks that are a great place to start if you feel at a loss as to where to start:

Accounting/bookkeeping

Unless you are an accountant or bookkeeper by trade or other degree, this should be a non-negotiable outsource for every business owner. Arguably, even if it is, your primary focus is fitness professional. Focus on that profession; not trying to keep up with the tax code. A good, trustworthy accountant is worth their weight in gold.

Payment processing/collections

Very few actually enjoy the task of collecting money. One of the many reasons payment processing and collections should be outsourced. This task can be outsourced to a merchant account service company, for example, who will charge your client regularly or on whatever agreed schedule of payment to which you and your client have agreed. This would be strictly if your clients pay by credit/debit. If your services are regularly billed (i.e. a monthly membership or regular renewal of some sort), perhaps look for a part-time assistant or virtual assistant who can create and send invoices and follow-up with clients for payment. Now you can spend more time on doing what you’re meant to, rather than chasing money.

Miscellaneous business

As your business grows, you’ll begin to get more requests and general inquiries. These could be from current clients, potential clients, community organizations asking for donations, etc. Email can be a very inefficient time-waster. Try creating a separate email where you direct all inquiries to and then create “template” emails for regular questions or requests you receive. A part-time or virtual assistant would probably spend less than one hour daily (depending on the number of emails you get) and be able to respond promptly and appropriately (since you wrote the responses) saving you time and potentially making you more money. Certainly worth $8-$15 for an hour’s worth of work!