If you’re anything like me, whenever you see someone quoted or featured on a major media outlet or publication, you stop and say “How did they get in there?”, or more often than not, “Um. I could have said that…”. In January, I contributed to an Entrepreneur feature on outsourcing – the result of sending one reply to one email that came right into my inbox. I know that a mention and a few quotes isn’t the same as a TED talk or primetime CNBC – that’s not the point. This is simply to crush a crippling misconception and share an invaluable resource you can leverage to get on the media radar.

Keep reading for…

• Shifting how you think about credibility, barriers and accessibility
• A free, unbeatable resource for directly connecting with the media
• Link to Entrepreneur article (and raw interview responses for anyone interested in the outsourcing/system side of things)
• Next on Muselife

Credibility, Accessibility, Barriers & HARO

The big brands can still make and break you

No matter what industry you’re in, there are always a select few publications that shape the message and conversation within it. Whether on the web or magazine stand, there are those two or three major titles that you look at and lust to be on the inside. In big business, think of Fortune and Forbes. In tech, Wired is king. In small business/startup, think Inc., FastCompany, Entrepreneur and FSB. The list goes on for every vertical you can imagine.

Though it’s clearly a psychological remnant of old-guard media, there’s this undeniable credibility and cachet to getting your name or brand inside a proper publication. As powerful as independent/personal blogs can be, credibility still goes to the most well-known “brands”. If I take the same story and put it on multiple sites – CNN, Huffington Post, Drudge Report, and on some obscure, nameless Wordpress.com blog, following his final season predictions for LOST – your opinion is absolutely skewed based on context. It’s human.

The point? If you want credibility, start by breaking into media outlets that have the power to give it. One major media hit can give you what two dozen guest blog posts may never deliver. Want proof? Go check out the media tsunami that hit Gary Vaynerchuk starting with a producer’s email, inviting him on The Conan O’Brien Show. Sure, they found him, but you better believe you can flip it around and go after it yourself.

Crippling misconception: Inaccessibility

You are always 1-2 connections away from absolutely anyone you could hope to know. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve Twitter’d someone I may once have considered “inaccessible” and gotten a response with their private mobile number and invitation to call. Unless you’re a screaming lunatic trying to get Bono to sign an exposed body part or asking Obama to go shoot hoops, there are no barriers anymore – everyone is accessible and it’s spineless and naive to think otherwise.

The point? This is as true for media outlets & publications as it is for individuals.

Remember: Reporters and journalists have a hell of a job to do.

Tight, inflexible deadlines; editorial review, fact checking, research, and sourcing subject-matter experts. It all takes time. Blogging is simple when it’s your voice and you’re accountable to no one, held to no dates. Journalists deserve respect. They can also use your help…

There’s no magic rolodex on their desk or social network they can tap to get immediate access to relevant insights from credible voices – until now. HARO (Help A Reporter Out) connects journalists & producers to sources. Sign up. You’ll get 2-3 digest-style emails per day, broken down by category. Every one is full of opportunities to share your expertise. The more niche you are, the more you may have to hunt – but remember, it may only take one opportunity to blow up. You’ll see bloggers, primetime TV network producers, print publications, and more. If you want to watch a short, somewhat funny documentary about the founder and how it works, watch this…

To sum it all up: Go after your own press and media breaks. The only real barrier left is your beliefs about how it all works and whether or not you can make it real.

Entrepreneur Interview

Read the published article via the link below. It’s well-written and pulls together a few different perspectives.

Build a Better Business with Outsourcing by Nancy Mann Jackson
A comprehensive guide on the what, when and how to outsource

Raw interview responses

The below is my heavy responses that I thought I’d share in case you want to go deeper.

1. Are more small businesses outsourcing tasks these days? If so, why?

Absolutely, but we’re only scratching the surface. Outsourcing feels intimidating and has long been considered reserved for big business, which has kept many small business owners from leveraging its power. As a small business, you need to focus on your unique strengths and offering, minimizing the time and cost of everything falling outside of that. If you only have a few employees (or none at all), it’s critical to direct your energy and money toward innovation and growth. Progressive entrepreneurs realize the unstoppable power of outsourcing as a force-multiplier to handle aspects of their business that are essential but simply don’t make sense for them to deal with personally. Small business, augmented by a global pool of human capital, can compete directly with the biggest players in their space – and win.

2. What types of tasks are best outsourced?

On principle, you should consider outsourcing any work that does not represent the core value of your business and what differentiates you in the market. Wherever there’s repetition or monotony, there’s potential to reclaim time or streamline. Nearly any task reliant on the left brain is prime for outsourcing: programming, research, accounting and all technical or data work. Creative work, from design to copywriting, can absolutely be considered, but simply requires more attention be paid to the individual you’re hiring.

3. How can business owners find the right contractors for various tasks?

Sites like Elance and oDesk allow you to freely post projects, and sit back while thousands of people compete for the business. Finding a good resource is as simple as selecting the most competitive offer. The risk is low and once you find good providers, you’ll have them available for future work. You can also look where locals gather, on sites like Craigslist or regional job boards.

For creative or design work, crowdsourcing sites like Crowdspring and 99designs provide massive value for your budget. Rather than pay a single designer, you’re presented dozens of approaches to choose from.

4. How can a business owner prepare himself or herself to delegate and work with contractors effectively?

It’s less about logistics and entirely about mindset. Many owners take pride in having the world on their shoulders and their entire organization buried in their mind. Knowing your business is critical, but keeping yourself indispensible is reckless and unscalable. Realize that removing yourself from low-level operations is the smartest investment you can make in the long-term success of your business. Let go of control and check your entrepreneurial ego against the reality of your industry and your value within it. Acknowledge and optimize the underlying systems driving your business, rather than focusing solely on your people. In all but the most creative and unique businesses, you do not need brilliant people – you need refined systems executed by competent people. Don’t let outsourcing intimidate you – people are people, and it’s simply a less expensive, lower risk means of hiring and managing them.

Outsourcing is simply a widening of your talent pool with a willingness to bridge communication and timezone gaps. It isn’t always just about maximizing output or efficiency – it’s about eliminating poor use of time and replacing it with your highest level of contribution.

5. How do you know what is an appropriate fee for a contractor? Are there any resources you can recommend for making sure you’re paying the right price?

“You get what you pay for” is true, wherever you go in the world. Always pay someone what they’re worth, regardless of location but accounting for and leveraging currency differences that often work in your favor. As a principle, value outcomes over hours. If you don’t get the outcome you need, it doesn’t matter how much time your contractor spent along the way. Consider distinct task-based agreements while you’re evaluating new providers, and transition to a fixed-cost retainer once your confident in their ability to consistently deliver.

6. What are the best things (pros) about outsourcing?

Outsourcing gives you on-demand expertise and resources without the cost of supporting full-time, on-site employees – such as overhead, benefits and the need to keep them engaged full-time. It’s shockingly cost effective due to currency and economic differences, which gives you the freedom to experiment and multiple specialized individuals. Handing off work forces you to objectively, ruthlessly and systematically consider your activities and the steps taken to perform them. Defining a process flushes out inefficiency. Timezone differences enable work to get done while you sleep, which can drastically impact your operations.

7. What are the worst things (cons) about outsourcing?

Language barriers and timezones can present a challenge, simply because it challenges how we think of communication and time. Language issues are wildly exaggerated by those trying to justify laziness in clearly articulating requirements and expectations. Clarity in your own communication overcomes any confusion for the person working for you. Timezones create more opportunity than inconvenience, as you can extend your productive hours by handing tasks over to someone during their workday. Assign a task at night, and awake to find it complete and waiting for you.

More than anything, outsourcing forces you to clearly articulate that which you normally just do from instinct and experience. This can be a real ego check when you realize that nearly everything you and your employees do can be done by absolutely anyone.

Next on Muselife

It’s been a quiet month, we know. Lots of travel and interesting projects brewing. The content machine is revving up again.

• 3-part interview series with Work The System author Sam Carpenter, discussing systematic business design and identifying untapped passive income sources. We may even give some things away…
• More videos and interviews around lifestyle design, successful product development/launch, automation and systematic marketing

Stay tuned. Things are about to light up again.