Outsourcing As A Creator

December 5, 2018

Wouldn't be awesome if you could do it all yourself? I’m not talking emotional support and encouragement i’m talking about the real sh*t. The draft, demo, design, print, frame, master, mix, choreography, the big show were you set the lights and at the end say “I did this!”. You know the stuff where you get your hands dirty and you often meet the biggest setbacks too. You know you can do it, you got the skills to and the energy to do so! But do you have the time?

I don’t often come across this problem myself, i know i got the time (just sometimes lazy) but i certainly know other artists that do it more than they would like to. The reality however is that you got 24 hrs in a day and one dead line. Depending on the magnitude of the project, the amount of work you might have to delegate may change. If you got a week, probably could do it on your own, but if you got something that’s going to take four weeks you could say that's 4x the work that needs to get done. Yet you still only have 24 hrs in the day and two hands, you want a good result but don’t want to spread yourself thin… So you outsource! Here's a few good men tips.

1. If you can’t do it, find someone who can.

This should be obvious but even i’ve found myself weeks or even months behind because i took on a task that i first hand to learn how to do before even doing it. There’s a time for learning and there’s a time for getting sh*t done.

2. Apps are people too (not really).

When someone says “outsource” people often think that they’re talking about delegating work to a person but there are 2 million apps on the app store today. I’m sure one of them can give you a helping hand or… button?

3. Contra deals, google it.

Who said you had to pay anyone? A favor goes a long way but is even better when you able to exchange goods or services rather than money. Why you ask? “because It never hurts to have a man who runs 2 billion dollar hedge fund, owe you one” - Harvey Specter.

There’s no shame in outsourcing, if anything it shows that you’re willing to take one step back for two steps forward. Not only that, the more you do it the better you get at it as you strengthen your leadership attributes which some directors, producers, managers are most well known for. It’s still your work because its your word that made it all come together in the first place, you just can’t stand up at the Grammys and thank nobody for the work they did.

Knowing when to do it is a isn’t hard either, you’ll start to know when you start to run behind on deadlines and are able to afford the extra hand or two. Sometimes can be a little bit soul crushing but it shouldn’t be, you’re still the captain of this ship so treat your crew with respect and try not to end up like the titanic.