Like delegating, outsourcing is another way to free up your time and enable you to focus on your area of expertise within your business.

Outsourcing is subcontracting with an external third party to carry out some of the operations or tasks of your company. Unlike delegating where you have personal contact with the workers, in outsourcing you are often working with people or companies you may never meet in person.

Creating the marketing material is an area where I outsourced. While I enjoy creating, graphics and layout are not my strong suit. So, when I wanted a logo created, I went to an online company, Elance, and hired a designer who happened to be located overseas. He was quick, talented and priced right.

Dropshipping is a type of outsourcing popular with gift basket companies who want to sell gift baskets, but not create all the themes themselves. A gourmet gift basket company, for example, may get an order for a baby theme. They want to satisfy the customer, but don’t want to stock the baby items since they don’t get request for this theme too often. So, they contract with a gift basket dropshipper who specializes in baby themes. This dropshipper creates and ships the design directly to the customer. Find gift basket dropship companies on this free online directory.

Outsourcing arrangement typically take place by computer or telephone. Even though you may not meet providers face to face, it’s still important to do your research and check out credentials, portfolio and references before you hire them. This way you can maintain the quality that will help your business succeed.