Hey Andrew!

First of all – let me say big Thanks for everything you have done on this website – it’s absolutely fantastic! I have learned so much from you already (in just few days time). I haven’t seen a website like this before, where you can ask questions and get expert advice, it’s amazing!

So here comes my question – I’m a full-time accountant but doing some part time selling on eBay. I’m doing on average just 2 or 3 sales a day but I really feel I could do so much more, find new products, improve listings etc. etc. BUT the problem I have is TIME! To be clear – lack of time! I have a family, two kids to look after so can spend max 2 hours a day on my online business each night, before going sleep.

Any advice on how to squeeze those two hours for maximum ROI?

Thanks so much Andrew!

Adrian, UK

Hi Adrian,

Thanks for your question!

First of all, I would recommend you taking a look @ this Question & Answer post from our archive. It covers basic time management principles for small business owners & part-time eBay sellers. If you have any more specific questions on that article, feel free to submit your comments and I’ll get back to you with a reply!

Back to you – I take for granted that you’re using those 2 hours effectively? I mean – you’re really working on your business during those 2 hours, not spending time on forums, instant messaging & Skype? Good! That means you really have to start to look for ways to optimize your work flow so that you get more time on product research, marketing etc.

The easiest way to reduce your work load would be to outsource some of the tasks you’re doing now. And there’s one particular site I want to introduce today – I’m sure everyone has heard about sites like Elance.com, GetACoder.com etc. Even though they’re great outsourcing platforms, for people just starting out with outsourcing, they may seem too complicated. Also, the whole process is time consuming as you have to write a description for a project, then wait for bids, select a winner and make a payment.

Luckily, there’s a new kid on the block – Fiverr.com

This site makes outsourcing SIMPLE! All you have to do is select a service (they call it a “Gig”), pay $5 via PayPal and wait for project to be completed! What kind of areas are covered? Some of tasks you can outsource using Fiverr:

• Article Writing
• Audio Transcribing
• Product Descriptions
• Video Creation
• Link Building
• Graphic design
• Photoshop
• Social Marketing
• etc. etc.

Basically, for $5 you can hire a person to do some sort of work for you. So for example – you could hire someone to do research using Terapeak.com OR you could hire a virtual assistant for 30 minutes taking care of your customer support e-mails and so on.

But make sure to check sellers’ feedback AND comments from previous buyers before buying any service! I wouldn’t really risk with new providers (with no feedback).

Finally, you have to keep in mind that $5 is all you pay for a project, don’t expect someone to work more than 15 or 20 minutes for that money, for quality outcome.

So, while Fiverr will never compete with sites like Elance, they have found an interesting concept which is obviously working as site is growing very quickly! Go and check it out by yourself: Fiverr.com

Thanks,
Andrew

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