“I started my business so that I’d have freedom, but I’ve never felt more trapped…”

I come across a statement like that at least once a day on a forum post or in e-mail. You start your Internet business because of the freedom of being your own boss and working on your own schedule and then promptly sit on your hind-end for 12 hours/day EVERY DAY. No wonder you feel burnt out.  And no wonder family and friends are feeling neglected when all you can think and talk about is your business.

Freedom sounds pretty miserable to me if it means freedom from fun and the ones that I love.

So, how do you break free?

Start by taking a good look at your business and getting your goals and priorities straight. Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as complicated as it sounds. I’ll walk you through it right now. Ready?

Grab a pen and a piece of paper or open your favorite word processor. Divide your page into four columns.

Now you’re ready to brainstorm. Write everything down as it comes to mind. Don’t overthink this. Just start writing.

First, figure out what is working. Whatever it is. It may be one of your websites, your ecourses, a joint venture, a certain marketing method. Where is the bulk of your money coming from, currently? (If none yet, where do you believe will be the place where the largest profits will come from?) Write those items in column #1 under: “Do More”.

Second, figure out what is not bringing in money. Is it hanging out on forums or posting classified ads to freebie sites? Is it endlessly checking your stats, or e-mail? What are your daily time-suckers? Write those under column #2: “Do Less”.

Third, figure out what could work better. Do you have upsells in place? Are your websites designed to bring you cash from every visitor? Make a list of ideas in column #3: “Improvements”. (If you don’t know yet, don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to improve your business as you learn and grow.)

Fourth, figure out what can be automated. Which tasks are repetitive and boring, albeit necessary? Many of those types of tasks can be automated with simple tools. For instance, if you’re submitting articles to directories by hand, there are tools and services to do that for you. Add these to column #4: “Automation”.

Now that you’re armed with your list, it’s time to get to work.

Look at your list in Column #1: “Do More”. Those are the tasks that you should focus your energies on. It’s a good idea to tackle one or two of the tasks on that list first thing in the morning—every morning. Believe me, it’s much more productive than checking out your favorite blogs or logging into twitter. And you’ll be amazed at how much you can get done quickly when your mind is fresh.

Look at your list in Column #2: “Do Less”. These activities should be forbidden until after you get your #1 list done, if you do them at all. For instance, hanging out on Twitter is fun, but do not do it until everything in column #1 is finished for the day.

Now, go back to Column #1, 3, and 4. Your “Do More”, “Improvements”, and “Automation” lists.

Look at all of the items that are on those three lists. Now, circle each task that you …

• Can’t Do
• Don’t Have Time to Do
• Don’t Want To Do

Those are the tasks that you’ll outsource.

Freedom means a lot of things. It means freedom to do the things that you want to do. However, it also means freedom to NOT do things that you really dislike doing.

For me, it’s graphics. I have outsourced all of my graphics since 2001. I don’t have the time, patience or inclination to learn how to make my own graphics. I have more important things to do, like write this article and then go on a bike ride with my son. Perhaps when I get back from my bike ride, my graphics will be waiting for me in my inbox.

Now, that’s freedom to me.

Want to outsource but don’t know where to start? Nicole Dean and Jimmy D. Brown invite you to Outsource Weekly where you’ll learn how you can get free time (and earn more money) while others run your business for you.

When you are in business for yourself, especially one that is conducted online, you’ll find there are a number of different things for you to learn about that can save you time and make you money. Outsourcing is by far one of the more exciting things to discover and put to use.

All too common is the business owner who feels they have to do everything themselves in order for things to go smoothly in their online venture.

This couldn’t be further from the truth! In case you’re curious about why so many online business owners are singing the praises of outsourcing, keep reading to see just 5 of the many benefits it can obtain:

1) More Value For Your Time: When you own an online business, one of the most important things to remember is how much your time is really worth.

When you think about the dull or repetitive tasks that you are doing, you’ll find this work is not worth your high per-hour price tag!

When you outsource, you’ll pay someone else to take care of those responsibilities while you give attention to the more important, money-making projects.

2) Saving Resources: Think about everything that goes into the tasks that you would outsource. This will range from things like your time and space to costs such as Internet and software.

After a while all of these costs add up. For instance, graphics software can get quite expensive. If you are outsourcing an activity, you get more than just the task itself out of the way.

You will also get someone who specializes in areas of your business that you may not know quite as well as or have no desire to learn. More than likely these people will already have the tools needed to complete their assignment.

Depending on the project, this might save you money and learning time. This brings me to the next benefit of outsourcing.

3) Going To The Experts: The tasks you are outsourcing might be ones that you have no desire to learn about, whether they are troubleshooting, manufacturing, taking orders, website design and maintenance, or something else.

By handing the work over to an expert who enjoys and makes it their business to know these things, you’ll be able to take advantage of their knowledge in the area without having to learn it yourself.

This in turn will give your customers or clients more than you could possibly give them yourself.

4) Expand: When you outsource, you will soon realize that you are in a great place when it comes to getting more involved with your business. You will be able to expand and provide everything your customers need.

Outsourcing frees you up to try new things with your business, learn more and experience new aspects of your industry.

5) Accountability: When you outsource, you will have a contract with the person or company you are working with.

By having someone else who is depending on work from you, you are more apt to stay ahead of the game by planning better and making sure that your tasks are getting completed as well.

When you first begin learning about and implementing outsourcing techniques within your business, you’ll find out those boring or repetitive tasks can easily be handed off to someone who enjoys doing them.

This will allow you, as the business’ owner, to free up more time to concentrate on more important aspects of your business such as product creation, advertising, networking and other marketing practices.

These are the things that will help your business to grow even more profitable. That’s how you leverage on other people’s expertise.