September 7, 2017
When To Outsource Your Editing
When I first started my business, I was working a full-time job in addition to shooting 18-20 weddings a year. As much as I love this business of mine, I was pretty overwhelmed. All my time away from my day job was spent shooting or behind my computer screen trying to stay on top of all the editing! Something had to change.
Now I knew this was no way to live, but in my mind I knew it was only temporary. One day I would leave my day job behind and my work-life balance would return to normal. In 2016 that day did come when I took my photography business full-time and while I was able to get all my weddings completed on time with some free time leftover, I didn’t have time to grow my business further.
I’d shoot a wedding on Saturday, then spend Monday through Friday editing and blogging it just in time to shoot another wedding on Saturday. So while I was maintaining my business well, I wasn’t able to expand it. It was around this time that I was also wanting to expand the educational side of my business and start offering workshops. But I had no time to work on these things due to my current workload. This is when I thought that it was time for me to start considering outsourcing.
Right around this time, I had a sweet girl from North Carolina email me offering her photo editing services. I was right in the middle of my busy wedding season and took it as a sign that it was time! So I brought her onto the team and never looked back! Now instead of working on a wedding from Monday to Friday, I edit the images for the blog then hand off the rest to my editor on Tuesday leaving me with Wednesday through Friday to work on other parts of the business and recharge for the next weekend!
Outsourcing my editing has definitely allowed me to get my life back while also growing my business farther than I was previously able to. But it’s definitely an investment and a decision to be made wisely. So if you are in a place where you are considering outsourcing, here are some things to take into consideration!
Crunch the numbers
This is going to be the most obvious factor to take into consideration. Outsourcing is definitely an investment so you’ll want to make sure that you are in a place where you can afford it. So crunch the numbers and see how much each wedding will cost you before you commit. If you’re really struggling to stay on top of editing during the busy season, but can’t quite afford outsourcing, a nice alternative is to have someone edit just the weddings during your busiest seasons. If I have a wedding in the off season or don’t have any shoots or weddings the following week, I’ll edit those myself to save some money!
No time to grow business
If you find that you are having to turn down work or aren’t able to spend time growing your business simply because you are spending too much time editing, that’s a good sign that it may be time to consider outsourcing! Your talents as a photographer and entrepreneur are wasted slaving behind a computer for hours on end. That time would be better spent brainstorming new ideas for your business, expanding your business and even taking on more work! In the end, you’ll likely end up making more money because of the extra revenue you are able to bring in with that time!
Unhealthy work-life balance
No matter how important your business is to you, you personal and family life should always take precedence. If you find that you are spending all your time behind your computer and missing living your life with your family, it’s time for a change. Even if outsourcing will affect the bottom line of your business, I think it’s worth getting your life back! I’m not saying that you should let your business go into the red, but if your personal life is suffering, a change needs to be made and outsourcing may be the answer.
Refine your workflow first
If it seems like it takes way too long for you to edit photos than it should, the issue may be that you don’t have a streamlined workflow. So you should address that before spending your money on outsourcing. Having a streamlined and efficient workflow can increase your editing speed tenfold and then some! Check out this recent post of mine with tips on how to streamline your workflow!
So I hope this helps you determine if it is the right time for you to invest in outsourcing! And outsourcing isn’t just limited to photo editing. You can also outsource your emailing and bookkeeping, album design and more!
And for those of you that have asked about when the next workshop will be, plans are in the works and a date should be announced soon for the next workshop in February 2018! Make sure you are on the newsletter to be the first to know about dates and get early access to registration!
And here are some other posts that you may find helpful!
5 Way to Make Your Online Presence Inquiry Friendly
7 Steps To Take Your Business Full Time
Is It Time For You To Rebrand?
3 Steps to Attract Your Ideal Client