Establishing and growing a small business is an all-consuming task. In the early days particularly your focus needs to be on providing your products and services and building your client base. It’s important therefore to outsource areas of your operation so you can spend your time and money on core aspects of your business.
Why Outsource
Many businesses find key advantages to outsourcing. The first benefit is that it means you need not employ specialist staff in-house and therefore you save money. You may only have a need for the expertise on a part-time basis and therefore it doesn’t make economic sense to employ someone permanently, covering both their salary and their employee benefits, when you can outsource the work just as effectively.
The second benefit is being able to access a variety of skill sets easily and always being able to find someone available. One example would be to use IT experts and consultants to provide your company with IT support. This works particularly well because the company you choose will have expertise in a wide range of systems and applications and in addition, they can cover hours, maybe those outside the normal working day, which you couldn’t expect an in-house employee to work.
What You Should Outsource
Aside from IT the other areas to consider outsourcing are recruitment; finance; legal services; marketing and advertising. This is mainly because you won’t need to use them on a full-time basis but without their specialist knowledge you could end up paying a great deal more in costly mistakes.
In the early days of your business it will be rare that you need to recruit new staff and therefore outsourcing your recruitment process gives you access to a pool of candidates that you would otherwise have to undertake costly advertising to find. The recruiter will also filter out a great many of the applicants so only the most closely matched to your needs will be shortlisted for interview. This saves you a great deal of time which you can use more effectively on the daily running of your business.
The Benefits
When it comes to outsourcing your bookkeeping and taxation advice, cost saving becomes the most important factor. A tax accountant can provide you with key areas where you can make savings within your business on tax deductible expenses, whether you are self-employed or run a limited company.
The same is true of seeking legal advice when it comes to drawing up employee or client contracts. If you try to do this yourself it can lead to costly mistakes or, even worse, ending up in court.
One of your key roles within your business is to nurture your existing and prospective clients, however you need to keep finding these clients and this is where outsourcing your marketing and advertising can prove so vital. If you can outsource your web building and online marketing you will see a much better return than trying to do everything yourself. Your website is your storefront on the world and therefore you want to ensure you are creating a professional image.
Who to Turn To
When it comes to outsourcing an area of your business you want to know that you are placing yourself in the hands of someone you can trust. Ask around among friends and family and at networking events for recommendations, as word of mouth is often the most reliable source. Once you have found a few people who you could potentially work with negotiate with them on costs and ask for written references or to speak direct to some of their clients to get a feel for their effectiveness.
Ensure you have written terms in place and that both sides understand the full remit of the work being carried out. That way you can focus on expanding your business safe in the knowledge that all the other necessary components in its growth are being carried out successfully and in the most cost effective way.
