Basically outsourcing is the same as hiring more employees.
The difference is just a few zeros in your payroll bill.
If you own a small (or solo) consultancy business, who have been getting regular consultancy works, and you are now looking to grow your consultancy business, outsourcing is a good option.
First however, because you are a programmer yourself, you have to manage your expectation.
You may most likely notice that you can do what you outsource yourself, in a much faster speed.
This actually will be true even if you employ an in-house programmer.
But over time, you will see that you can free yourself off programming and focus more on building your business, getting new clients (or other things, like go fishing and taking a nap)
This has been my own self experience so I know.
Investing in successful delegation is very important to grow.
With my hands tied in the details of programming all the time, I can barely think of growing, since working 10 hour days have becoming a norm and my girlfriend is getting upset 🙂
So if you are a consultant in a developed country, and you want to grow or have more time for yourself, hiring more employees (or outsourcing) is a must.
You will have to invest time in developing relationship with whomever you delegate your programming work to, but it’s gonna pay off.
Even if you have not been getting a constant flow of new projects, you still may want to outsource.
If you can have extra hours every day to scout for new clients, market yourself as a thought leader, create webinar, be active on LinkedIn… you get my point!