You are a small business. You are invincible. As an owner, manager, leader, you can do everything! Right!?! While you may feel that way, the answer may not be as clear as you think. Small business owners often find themselves wearing several hats. From human resource management to payroll, bookkeeping to administrative support, and now add in social media and marketing.
I have often blogged about understanding one’s own strengths and utilizing them. The same is true with understanding one’s own areas of weakness. If you are spending time engaging in activities that you do not possess strengths in, you are not going to reach your full potential (i.e. reaching maximum revenue generation). This is where outsourcing can come in handy.
For years, outsourcing has been a dirty little word in the business community. Today, no one can afford not to consider the benefits of outsourcing. First, outsourcing can save you time and money! Today, with the ability to communicate and work globally, the potential to find experts who can do many of the day-to-day tasks that can bog you down. Second, if you are able to move away from tasks that are bogging you down, you can place an even greater focus on what is most important…growing revenue.
How do you go about deciding what to outsource? Before making any decisions, you have to consider what is most important to you. Ask yourself what activities support your core values of the company. If you are an architecture firm, you would obviously not want to outsource the design of a project. Try not to outsource part of your business that would create competition for you with your customers.
Here is a list of business tasks that one could consider for outsourcing:
- Payroll – there are many services that could take care of this time consuming, but crucial part of any small business.
- Marketing – Whether you are looking at building, maintaining, or expanding your current marketing efforts, today every small business must engage in marketing. Thanks to the internet, there are many independent contractors who can handle your marketing needs including social media marketing, web design, and app development.
- Bookkeeping – This is one of the most important business practices. Considering who to hire to handle one’s books should not be taken lightly.
- Administrative Assistance – Even if you can’t afford to hire someone full time, the internet has provided us the ability to have “virtual assistance.”
Always remember, when considering outsourcing, weigh the costs verses the benefits. You should not simply outsource a job because you don’t want to do it. When considering outsourcing, ask yourself if by paying someone else to do something, it helps you achieve your company’s core values. Does it support increasing your productivity and revenue generating capacity?
Outsourcing is a great option for small business today. It can help you focus on what is really important to your business. Outsourcing can free up your time and help you grow your business in new ways you may have not considered.
Question:
If you could outsource any part of your business, what would it be and why?
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