Outsourcing For Your Small Business
When you are running your own business you will have a deeper understanding of the phrase ‘wearing many hats’. When you first start or are running a business as a sole trader you are expected to be everything including roles like sales, production, marketing, and customer service.
These are only a few of the many roles you will look after too. This can make it extremely difficult to juggle the different tasks and know which ones should be completed first.
Outsourcing is the answer to the issue at hand. When you find that the many roles you’re juggling are becoming too much to handle because you are growing, it is time to find professionals who can do it for you.
They don’t become part of your business, instead, you pay them for a service and outsource the work you need to complete.
Outsourcing allows you to free up time so you can concentrate on the more important parts of your business. What you outsource will be different from business to business.
This is because each business owner is likely to have a different skill set. For example, one business owner may be educated in marketing but they lack the skills to complete the design of their website.
Another may be able ot code their website from start to finish but can’t complete their accounts without the help of a professional service.
So, what are some of the most common areas to outsource? Let’s have a closer look below.
Accounting
When you first start to run your own business, perhaps on a self-employed basis, it can be fairly simple to complete your taxes and a track of your income and expenses.
However, as your business grows you may want to outsource to an accountant who can do this for you. It can help to alleviate the stress of keeping track of things yourself and it will free up some significant time. After all, it can be time-consuming having to keep on top of your books alone.
Sales
If you have reached your capabilities for making sales calls or creating sales pitches through emails then it may be time to find a professional service to do it for you.
They can create leads for you and often lead to more successful turnarounds. Try looking for a few qualified people with a strong sales background, and you will soon see what a difference it can make to your revenue.
Marketing
Unless you have the time to commit to your marketing campaign you will eventually need to outsource this area of your business, that is unless you are going to outsource other areas so you can focus on this. Marketing is what gets your business seen, therefore it is an essential part of any business.
This means that it can take up a considerable amount of time. When you outsource your marketing, your business may grow very quickly. If you are providing a service to your customers, you should look for service marketing.
When you work with a marketing professional they will be able to complete tasks such as website design, content marketing, social media posting, customer engagement, advertising on various platforms, and more.
Administration
It is becoming more and more popular to use a virtual assistant for your admin tasks.
A VA will be able to handle things like scheduling meetings, monitoring emails, posting to social media, engaging with customers, and sending them to the right place of the business for what they are looking for.
A virtual assistant can be a fairly reasonable cost, however, it is best to shop around and make sure they can do what you need them to.
Customer Service
Another virtual service that can now be outsourced is customer service. Long gone are the days where You need to have a customer support team in-house.
Many businesses now deal with their clients and customers online or on the phone, this means that you can easily outsource your customer service needs to someone who can work remotely or a call center.
The first thing you need to do is set up your expectations and steps for how you want your customers to be dealt with. If you provide clear instructions you will be able to rest easy that your customers aren’t waiting too long to be seen.
These are just a few areas you can outsource for your business. They should help you to free up some time so you can be focused on the areas that need your attention. Do you have any other areas that should be included? Please share them in the comments below.
