Ten Incredibly Low Cost Resources For Getting Things Done

I am not a “need to do it all myself” kind of gal. I am happy to enlist help where I need it. Whether you are or not, if you have your own financial planning practice or are trying trying to build your business, you need support. Going it alone will limit your business potential and just plain wear you out! Getting help can mean different things to different people depending on your strengths, your available cash, and what you like (or dislike!) to do. As a fledgling firm or advisor, you may not have the resources to assemble a highly competent team with precisely the skills that you need. The secret to overcoming these constraints is to strategically outsource, finding workers that offer the exact skills that I need for a task. As I've gotten more skilled at outsourcing, I've even discovered how to massively boost my productivity by doling out tasks that take just minutes or hours to complete, sometimes getting them performed for less than the cost of a good cup of coffee!

I outsource projects frequently; some large, some very small. While there are numerous providers across the Internet, it's crucial to efficiently find the right person the job, and quality of course varies widely. You’re in luck, because I have tested out countless providers -- some good, many not quite as good (and a few that are a complete waste of money) -- and I want to reveal my favorites to you. Whether you want help with your personal or professional TO DO’s, start with my ten outsourcing resources below to find the right talent for the job, oftentimes for less than $10 per hour! (#5 may change my life!)

99 Designs

99 Designs is the top marketplace for crowd-sourced graphic design for both online and offline projects. Instead of hiring a single designer, you sponsor a one-week contest which will often attract submissions from dozens of designers. As you provide feedback on what you like and what you don't, the designers refine their designs to better you suit your tastes. Then, you pick a winner, who is awarded the prize money that you've designated; typically several hundred dollars. (If you don't like any of the designs, you can cancel the contest and pay nothing!) Plus, the winning designer is often happy to additional work for you at a negotiated hourly rate.

Crowd-sourced design contests are a great way to hone in exactly what you want, even if you're not initially sure how to describe what you're looking for. Plus, you get to evaluate the work of numerous designers for free without the risk committing to a specific one for the project. I also find the contests to be a lot of fun to run, and you'd be surprised by how many prominent logos were created in 99 design contests for just a 3-figure fee!

Best For: High quality graphic design
Price Range: $300 - $700 per project
Sample Task: Design a logo, Web site, stationary or business card.

oDesk

oDesk is an online marketplace for freelancers from around the world. It's free and easy to create a job description, and you'll quickly receive applications from contractors complete with resumes, work history and reviews from other employers. Workers from every discipline use oDesk, but technical skills are the most prominent. You can hire workers on a project, hourly or long-term basis. For its 10% fee (added to the contractor's rate), oDesk makes it easy to interview, hire, manage, and pay your team. The service even captures screenshots of your worker's computer (with their knowledge) while they are performing work for you to help you verify that you are getting what you pay for.

Best For: Technical tasks like programming and Web design. Also good for writers and designers.
Price Range: A wide range, but I've had good success with Web developers in the $15 - $25 range.
Sample Task: Build a Web site or page, customize Salesforce.com, write articles for your blog.

Fiverr

Fiverr is a marketplace of things that people will do for five bucks. There are thousands of things you can buy for $5, ranging from useless (get a wake-up call from a trumpeter) to the quite useful, such as an in-depth SEO analysis of your Web site.

Best For: Quick technical help, social media votes, unique birthday greetings
Price Range: Everything is $5
Sample Task: Have a short document translated, set up online profiles, get a custom jingle written and recorded

TaskRabbit

Task Rabbit is a new service (currently only available in Boston and San Francisco) that matches you with locals who will perform errands and tasks for you. It's a great to check things off of your to-do list! You simply describe your task and TaskRabbit's runners will place a bid and let you know how long it will take them to get the job done - sometimes in under an hour.

Best For: Getting things picked up, delivered, or put together.
Price Range: Varies by task and runner, from $15 to pick up and deliver some cupcakes to $36 to take your dog to the vet. Plus, register with this link and you'll get $10 off of your first task!
Sample Task: Assemble IKEA furniture, pack and ship an item, purchase and deliver a gift

Fancy Hands

If, like me, you're one of those people that has Post-It note reminders plastered everywhere, then you absolutely must try out Fancy Hands! Quite simply, they just get your tasks done. You send them an email with a task that needs to be completed, then a REAL PERSON completes your task and gets back to you with any details that you need to know!

Best For: Scheduling things, customer service calls (especially when you know you'll be on hold for a while!), calling local businesses for information.
Price Range: You can get 15 tasks performed per month for $35, or unlimited tasks for a $55 monthly subscription. Sign up for a one year commitment, and those prices are reduced by 25%. Dole out tasks for less than you pay for your latte!
Sample Tasks:

• Make restaurant reservations
• Find a local repairman and cost to replace a broken iPhone screen
• Find the advertising rates (or contact info) for the top 10 [industry] blogs
• Schedule a haircut with [stylist] on Friday after 1pm
• Call [three restaurants] and find out if they have a private room available for rentals
• Call [this company] and get the status of order number xyz
• Call my hotel to change my reservation dates

Online-Writing-Jobs

I frequently hire writers for everything from blog posts to follow-up email sequences to ad copy. I've found this site (with the ironically utilitarian name) to be the most reliable and effective for sourcing quality writers. Posting an ad is free and easy, and I often receive applications from dozens of talented and experienced writers.

Best For: Blog posts, Web site copy, copywriting
Price Range: Free to post. I usually have good results with writers that I pay between 10 to 25 cents per word.
Sample Task: Author ten blog posts per month, create a follow-up email chain for our CRM system

Small Market Craig's Lists

While you're surely already familiar with Craig's List as the easiest resource to sell your couch, rent an apartment or find a job, it's also my best-kept secret for finding talented and affordable contractors and employees. Craig's List sites for smaller cities offer an abundance of talented workers who are often eager to work at rates that are often one-third to one-half less than I would have to pay for someone local here in San Francisco. I get vastly superior work quality to what I receive from many overseas workers for just a few dollars more per hour, without the hassle of big time zone differences or the need to carefully screen for English language skills. There are many undiscovered gems, but I've had particularly good success with Craig's List in Columbia, South Carolina, Portland, Oregon, and Mobile, Alabama.

Best For: Fastest and easiest way to reach a local market
Price Range: I generally offer $9 to $18 per hour for projects that would often require me to $20 to $30 locally. (Note that San Francisco has the highest minimum wage rate in the United States!)
Sample Tasks: Personal assistants, researchers, designers, customer service

Work at Home Moms

As a group, I don't think I've ever come across a more dedicated sector of the workforce than work at home moms, especially those with very young children. Many of these women have been extremely successful in their careers, and many just want a bit of mental stimulation to break-up the routine of caring for an infant or toddler. They tend to value flexibility more than anything else, so if that's a situation that you can provide, you may find yourself with a highly motivated and over-qualified employee working for a fraction of their most recent rate! Plus, since most of our clients are all parents of young children, stay at home moms that have worked for us are extremely connected to our market and clients' needs. To find great work at home moms, try targeting job boards that explicitly target them, such as Mom Corps.

Best For: Part time work where you can offer a flexible work schedule.
Price Range: Varies by function and task.
Sample Task: Bookkeeping, marketing, sales

Mechanical Turk

Mechanical Turk is a marketplace of people that will perform very small tasks, very inexpensively - as little as a penny each! Owned by Amazon.com, Mechanical Turk is best suited for tasks that are complex for computers, but easily completed by humans. (Take that Skynet!)

Best For: Large scale and repetitive tasks
Price Range:Generally one cent to one dollar per task.
Sample Task: Find ZIP codes for a list of addresses, look up ticker symbols for a list of companies, obtain mailing addresses for local accountants via Google

Virtual Assistants

Need full time help but don't want to pay full time rates? A virtual assistant may be the solution for you! Via an agency, you can hire a dedicated full time worker. Most agencies are located overseas, such as Agents of Value in the Philippines or Prialto in Costa Rica, and can provide you with an English-speaking assistant, a place for them to work, and a minimal amount of employee supervision.

Best For: Phone and email correspondence, scheduling, customer service, research. Note: I have not found success in asking overseas virtual assistants to complete projects that require even basic knowledge of financial planning concepts - their learning curve can be too steep and frustrating.
Price Range: $7 - $10 per hour
Sample Task: Respond to customer inquiries, schedule and confirm client meetings, manage social media accounts

Disclosures: If you happen to purchase anything I recommend in this communication, I may receive some kind of nominal affiliate compensation. I want you to know I only recommend companies that I have had a good experience with or, in a few cases, seem like they would be useful for you. Of course your experience may differ from mine. If you are unsatisifed with a service or company I mention, please let me know so I can continue to optimize my recommendations. Thank you! ~Kristin