Small Businesses: Is It Time To Outsource?

As a small business owner there is a huge number of tasks that need to be done in order to make your business perform effectively, and in typically entrepreneurial spirit, you will try to do them all yourself. However, this can mean that you are not being as efficient as you could be. Your efforts should be concentrated on the core activities that are going to provide you with revenue, but sometimes you have other distractions. It can be prudent to outsource tasks that you are not proficient at.

The benefits of outsourcing include:

1. Increased efficiency
2. Saves on infrastructure and the need for specific technology
3. You have access to highly skilled professionals
4. Cost-effective

Here’s a guide to help you drive your business forward by outsourcing tasks:

 

• Identify where you need help

 

Everything in your business is important, whether it is updating your website, writing your refund policy, or keeping your accounts up to date. There will be aspects of the business that you naturally excel at, and others that you are not so talented at. While you may intend to employ help in the future, with a young business trying to establish a stable income, recruitment may not be a financially viable option at this stage in the business’s life. So be honest with yourself and identify where you need extra help.

 

• Prioritize

 

It can be easy to have your work schedule thrown out of sync if you have so much to do, but you must review the situation and decide which tasks are preventing you from working efficiently. Perhaps you are spending too much time arranging for products to be delivered to customers. Dropshipping clothes, office supplies, electronics or any other variety of products that you sell is a good way to free-up time but not at the expense of the quality of the service that you provide customers. You will then be able to concentrate on activities that help to generate income so that you can outsource the next challenge to your efficiency.

 

• Skill-swap

 

Do you have specific skills that could another small business could take advantage of in exchange for their expertise? For example, a web designer who needs accountancy help could swap tax help with making the website more responsive. This type of relationship can work well between two businesses, although you must ensure that you neglect your core activities with too much skill-swapping!

Outsourcing gives you the opportunity to build a team of non-employed support to assist you to grow your business. If you worked in a large enterprise, and you had a task that was out of your job description and skill set you would simply go to the right department and ask for help. By outsourcing key tasks to a virtual team of contractors, you are replicating this scenario. This means that you are providing the quality and service of a larger and more established company, but just on a smaller scale.