I finally decided to outsource some work and you should try it as well

I have an old hat with "CODE" text on it, which I wear periodically in my Instagram photos and YouTube videos. Quite a few followers already asked where to buy it.

The hat is not on sale anymore, so I'm thinking of creating something similar for a while. That's not hard. There are so many print-on-demand services. You should make a design and order whatever you like and then can start selling it. The only problem, I'm not a designer.

So that was a great chance to give Upwork a try and to hire someone. I estimated that work for about 1 hour, so if I could get it done for less than 50$, that could be a win for me.

Guess what? I spent about 2 hours on Upwork communicating with freelancers to find the good one. Offers were from 10-15$, and the best candidates agreed to do the work for 10$.

I count this as a win already, and even I spent about the same time what I would need to do the work by myself and don't know how happy I will be with the result.

Here is why this is a win for me:

• for just $10, I got hands-on experience of hiring Freelancers

• I got idea and material for at least two YouTube videos about Freelancing and Upwork

• If the project will be finished successfully, I found a freelancer who can hire again to create new products

• last but not least, I'm finally starting to delegate some work, and progress on my projects is not limited by my time only

Conclusion: a tiny project with close to zero budget could be a good first step to getting back some time and hiring help.

Baby steps first :)

I hope this will help you to consider outsourcing or generate some new ideas.