Outsourcing is something that frightens a lot of businesses, especially new ones. They might be wary of the fact that they will be losing some control over their operation. Others may not want to bring outside people in who will have access to their systems and internal processes.
But it’s usually not a question of if, but when for many companies. If you don’t outsource at least some part of your operation, you will end up falling behind, spending too much, and increasing the chances of errors. Let’s take a look at a few functions all small businesses should consider outsourcing.
Social Media and Online Marketing
A lot of business owners are well aware of the power of social media and a few may think that they need to hire someone to handle it. But unless you’re a massive corporation and get enough back from your social marketing efforts, you’d be much better off outsourcing that task.
There is no way that you can employ a social media manager fully during an 8-hour shift. Managing social media doesn’t take that much time and is not very labor-intensive, so you should only pay for work done.
Online marketing is also something you should leave to the pros. You might be able to do a little bit of SEO or even use advanced techniques such as PPC, but you’ll never be able to get as great results as people who do that for a living.
IT
This one is very important if you’re thinking of scaling or have very limited knowledge of IT. You might have someone in-house that dabbles in it, but that’s not enough if you have multiple people and devices connecting to your network. Hiring someone is usually not the best idea either as they may be lacking in certain areas, and paying by the hour for periodic tasks is not very cost-efficient.
Look for a managed IT service provider instead. One of the main reasons you should work with one is to ensure business continuity. They will continually back up your systems so you can be up and running if there’s a major issue like a malware attack or widespread physical damage. They will also help prevent attacks or stop them while they’re in progress.
Payroll and Accounting
This is another function where it makes little sense for a small business owner to hire. You don’t need to pay a payroll assistant or accountant for 40 hours a week. However, this is a vital function of any business and not something you should handle on your own either.
This is again where outsourcing would allow you to only pay for services rendered. Working with a payroll service will also make filing taxes much easier and make sure that you’re fully compliant at all times.
These are all functions all fledgling business owners should consider outsourcing. This will allow you and your employees to concentrate on core functions, and ensure that your operation runs as efficiently as possible.
Image Credits: Pedro Henrique Santos
Like this article? Share with your friends!