One of the basic characteristic of solopreneur is always want to be in control. We like to do everything ourself because we know it will be done right.

If there is one important question that needed to be asked is, how much is your time worth?

Delegate, or outsourcing, have following benefits:

1. You can use your time do do what really matters, bring in money.
2. You save yourself from pressure and stress trying to do something that you don't really care about.

Simple as that, yes. After all, that's the reason why you pursue entrepreneurship at the first place, no? Freedom. To do what you want and to grow as high as you can.

There might be other reasons to be in business for and by yourself, such as you got laid off, or you want to serve the mankind. Or you might be tired working for someone else. No matter what the reasons are, nothing will contrast with desire of having freedom, being your own boss, and earning your own real value.

Not all people are cut out to be entrepreneurs. Even if you started the business because you had no choice (got laid off), you DO have a choice to stay in business. After all, you can always go back to the workforce, you just have to keep looking and never stop trying to find a job.

So now we've concluded that you chose to start a business and stay in business, let's inject some innovation into your entrepreneurship: Delegate.

Delegating is not an easy thing to start doing, especially if you're a type of person that always needs to be in control. You don't believe other people can do something as good as you can. Or maybe because you don't want to sacrifice that time and efforts upfront to train and communicate.

Put it this way, delegating is like going to the gym. The hardest part is to get there, once you're there, usually there's no regret.

No matter what type of business you are in, there will be tasks that needed to be done which are not your cup of tea. Unless you are starting out and not having a lot of fund to put into the business-therefore you must choose what to spend on and what not, consider to put aside some budget for outsourcing.

You will get your money worth, because annoying tasks that would cause you grief and take away, let say, 2 hours of your time, you'd spend on paying the expert who can get it done in a fraction of time.

Let's do the math.

• How much is your 2 hours worth?
• How much does it cost for a professional's 1 hour work?
• Now multiply that by week; by month; and by year.
• As a bonus, imagine a day without frustration trying to figure something out to get it done. You just need to know it's done.

Now what about the tasks that aren't worth your value, but you enjoy doing it? Do it yourself. If those little brainless tasks give you a sense of break, opportunity to unwind, then it is the value. Don't pay someone else to give yourself a break.

What about menial thing that you are currently not good at, but you would like to learn? Learn it. Only by knowing how to do it, you would know what it takes to get it done; and then you would figure out if it is something you would be enjoy doing regularly and if the activity pays itself.

Delegating is only useful when it's a win-win situation.

How to start delegating:

1. Decide what it is you want to delegate.

Be clear and concise, i.e. maintain blog, update website, making cold calls, general respond to inquires, send out thank you note, give away promo items, ordering office supplies, find best deals on materials, keep an eye on competitors, etc.

2. Find the right person (or company) to delegate it to.

Either hire an employee with all the bells-and-whistles, or outsource it. There is a new group of independent contractors called Virtual Assistant (VA). Some local VAs are part of outsourcing companies as well. Decide if you would prefer to deal with another companies or an individual. Companies could mean reputation and cost more, individual means professional yet personable and sometimes, costs less.

3. Communicate your expectation clearly.

Make sure both parties heard, understood and acknowledged of what is expected to be done and what it takes to get it done. This includes deadlines and specific requirements. Communication is extremely important. If you choose to outsource to companies, try to get in touch with the real person who's working the project (your reps).

4. Provide some extra time at the beginning.

Be prepared to provide a little extra time to apply step 3 above. Going back to the gym example on my paragraph 9 (way above), beginning would always take a bit more effort. But with a solid foundation of the relationship, down the road is going to be a whole lot easier to go on.

5. Decide if this relationship serves its purpose.

First, you need to let go. Don't be so nitpicky. Trust and know that you're delegating it to the pro. The result doesn't always come out from what they do, but rather what comes out from what you do because you don't have to take care of those other things.

To wrap this up, learn to delegate. Let go of that control.Trust your judgement/instinct/whatever it was that prompted you to take the leap and started your entrepreneurship journey at the first place. It worked, and so is delegating.

Just give delegating a try, maybe get bummed a couple times, but eventually it would all pay off. You'd be more successful, make more money, and be a happier entrepreneur.