If you lack expertise in a certain area or don't have the staff or time to fill a certain request, it's time to outsource. Sometimes you might find yourself too busy to provide a client with hand-decorated cookies, so you might have to find a cookie specialist in your area. If you're not adept at making wedding cakes, which is really a pastry specialty that requires specific skills and techniques, then outsource the cake's production and delivery to someone who creates wedding cakes on a weekly basis.

If you're “in the weeds” and are so busy with bookings that you don't have time to bake the pies or make the chocolate truffles for an event, then call some trusted suppliers and have them do the pies and chocolates for you, to take some of the pressure off of you. Working yourself too hard and getting run down will only cause more problems in the end.

Remember you should outsource things that you can't do easily yourself or when you get a special request for something you don't usually do. You need to know at the beginning of the job what you will outsource and what you will do yourself in order to figure out the right prices to charge your client. What will be outsourced should be made clear to the client. To prevent any misunderstanding, you should let them know what items will be handled by a vendor other than yourself.