By Elizabeth Eiss
This article continues my Scaling You series where I share strategies to help solopreneurs and small business owners grow without burning out. One of the most important levers you have is deciding how to extend your capacity—through people, tools, or both. Which brings us to a common question I hear: Should I hire onshore or offshore support, and how does AI fit in?
The truth is, there isn’t one right answer. The key is to match the right work to the right resource, balancing cost with capability, and culture with performance.
The Total Value Equation: Capability, Cost, Culture, and Technology
No matter where your talent comes from, the key to outsourcing success is aligning these four elements:
- Capability: First and foremost is ensuring skill and level of skill match the need. Some roles demand industry expertise and client-facing finesse, while others are more process-driven. The truth is that capability matters more than location. The ability to deliver the desired result is a value that goes well beyond the raw hourly cost of the person doing the work.
- Cost: Offshore outsourcing involves delegating work to resources outside of your home country, often at lower rates due to differences in cost of living. This can make it a more attractive approach, depending on the work and communication requirements. However, offshore outsourcing may also require more oversight, increasing time spent and expenses over time. While onshore rates may cost more per hour than off shoring, depending on where you live, it can also minimize management and logistics time. Ultimately, the best overall value depends on the kind of work you’re delegating.
- Culture: Shared norms, language, and context can speed up collaboration and produce a better outcome. Depending on the work, onshore talent could be a better overall value because a common cultural foundation is already in place.
- Technology: AI-enabled talent amplifies both models, acting as a force multiplier by automating repetitive work and supporting human talent.
When these four factors align, outsourcing shifts from being a cost to being a strategic growth driver.
Offshore Support for Scale and Efficiency
With clear direction and strong processes, they can deliver quality work across a wide range of business functions.
Offshore professionals open the door to a global talent pool, often bringing both cost efficiencies and specialized skills at rates that support budgets and scaling for small businesses. Many offshore VAs and freelancers are fluent in both written and spoken English making them effective collaborators. With clear direction and strong processes, they can deliver quality work across a wide range of business functions.
For solopreneurs and small business owners, offshore support can be especially valuable when budgets are tight, but the workload is growing. This cost-effectiveness can enable you to stretch resources further without overextending your finances which can be important when increasing scalability.
Onshore Support for Context and Culture
Onshore virtual assistants (VAs) offer similar benefits as offshore talent but often deliver unique value when capability and culture are critical. Onshore professionals typically bring not only strong technical skills, but also a deeper understanding of business norms, customer expectations, and industry-specific nuances. This capability means they can anticipate needs, grasp subtleties, and represent your brand with increased confidence and accuracy, while requiring less oversight. For solopreneurs who are often the brand, having a VA who understands both the task and the market ensures every client interaction reinforces trust.
Cultural alignment further reduces friction in day-to-day work. Shared language nuances, time zones, and professional practices can create smoother collaboration, quicker decision-making, and reduce time spent clarifying details. For solopreneurs, time is often the most limited resource, so this alignment translates into agility and peace of mind.
AI and Digital Agents for Amplifying Human Capacity
AI isn’t about replacing people; it’s about expanding capacity. AI and digital agents are more than tools, they are catalysts for growth, confidence, and consistency.
Thoughtfully applied, AI strengthens collaboration, reduces risk, increases consistency, and supports execution, allowing both onshore and offshore virtual assistants to deliver more impact, in turn creating space for leaders to focus on strategic priorities and high-value work that drives growth.
To decide where AI fits best, I recommend using the Process, Tools, People (PTP) Method which shows you how to layer in processes and tools before you outsource to people. This framework helps small business owners clarify what can be automated, what requires oversight, and what deserves personal attention. The result is greater clarity on how to leverage AI and when to rely on people for the greatest impact.
Choosing What’s Right for Your Business
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to outsourcing. I’ve seen many people in my network benefit from offshore talent, and I’ve had an active role in supporting my clients with onshore freelancers from the US and Canada through ResultsResourcing. The most important thing is to choose the option or combination that fits your unique goals, resources, and stage of growth.
Ask yourself:
- What work needs to be done?
- What capabilities are required?
- What cultural or client-facing elements matter most?
- What can my budget sustain?
By answering these questions, you’ll be able to align the right resource with the right task.
Your talent choice should support your business strategy, protect your brand, and free you up to focus on core, revenue-generating work.
Keep in mind, the “right” answer today may not be the same in six months as your business evolves, so revisit your outsourcing strategy regularly. Your talent choice should support your business strategy, protect your brand, and free you up to focus on core, revenue-generating work. When you make decisions through that lens, outsourcing stops being a cost and becomes a true investment in growth.
Scaling You Starts With Delegating Efficiently
Scaling yourself means learning to let go of the work that doesn’t require your brain, your creativity, or your time, and instead putting it into capable hands you trust.
Whether you choose onshore or offshore support, fractional talent can be a powerful force multiplier for your productivity, your brand, and your peace of mind. The right support doesn’t just help you “manage” your business; it helps you grow it. Every task you delegate well creates more space for you to lead, innovate, and focus on the work that only you can do.
If this article resonated with you, explore my full Scaling You series for more practical strategies focused on helping solopreneurs and small business owners build sustainable businesses without burning out.
Elizabeth Eiss
