That's exactly how franchises are built -- create and document repeatable processes -- so that someone else can replicate it and you can take yourself out of that aspect of the business. Repeat until the business can run without you.

Millions of people have read that advice since it appeared in the bestselling book The E-Myth in 1995.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It: Michael E. Gerber: 9780887307287: Amazon.com: Books

I do but if your outsourcing a plugin or a theme?

Give them much info as possible and psd screenshots so get a really good idea on exactly what you want.

I, We, You.

James Schramko covers this nicely.

I do it (develop and refine the system)
We do it (I train you how to do it, ie we do it together)
You do it (handover of responsibility)

It also helps to record your screen while you're doing the task in case your assistant is a visual learner.

You're so right about outsourcing magnifying inefficiency. I've made that mistake many times in the past and it's a huge waste of money.

If you outsource without knowing what is required, your gonna get hosed by people who know your clueless.

I definitely agree with you. If you're thinking of outsourcing a task, take time to study it first so when you have somebody doing it you will know that you're both on the same page. A lot of people basically outsource tasks without learning the whole thing and ended up losing lots of money.

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Here's an added tip.
There will be times when you have to outsource a job that you have no idea how to do (like if you don't know how to do design work or software programming). When you do outsource these tasks, make sure you know exactly what you want before outsourcing the job. If you're outsourcing design work, have a portfolio ready containing the type of designs that you want done. Get as many examples of the type and quality of work you want done before sending it off to another person. That way your employee will know exactly what you expect from them and you have a set of standards that you can compare their work to.

Agreed. Whenever you outsource something, be sure to study it first so when you have somebody doing it you will know that what and how to gauge the work. Most people generally outsource tasks without learning the whole thing and ended up losing money. It is always good to do everything yourself in the initial stages before deciding to outsource, so that there is some kind of expectation

It really depends on the tasks.

For example, you don't know much about web development, so I guess your "post" can't be applied here. Normally, the arrangement would be per site completion basis.

Anyway, I absolutely got your point.

Cheers,
Louie Tugas

I have hired a number of VA's and PHP coders to help me with various tasks. I have learned that regardless of the site used, or what country they are in .. nothing beats asking lots of questions to get a solid understanding of their skills and how well the two of you mesh together. I also found regardless of all of this about half of who you hire, might just disappear without giving you any reason. Don't take it personal, just move on and find someone else. Eventually you will find people who stick around and actually help you. For me it is as much as understanding their skills and experience as it is just trial and error.

Oh and the tasks you outsource, the more you can break those tasks down into follow these step kind of things, the better your results will often be.

Hope this helps some...

When you are outsourcing a repetitive task then this makes sense. For one time projects, go by the provider's reputation, articulate your requirements and stay out of the development process.