When to Outsource Business Operations

in Business

If you’re in the process of starting up a business of your own, congratulations! You’re taking one step closer to more control over your career, your income and your professional life. You get to choose what market or field of specialism you operate in, what services or goods you sell to your customers, how your business is branded, what hours you work, where you work from and so much. One key benefit of being a business owner is that you also get to choose who you work with, which can have a huge impact on your business’ success, as well as your personal enjoyment of your work life. Of course, when you run a business, you have two main options when it comes to working with people within your business. The first is to hire in-house staff. This means having people on board who consistently focus on your company, working routine hours. This, of course, comes with a lot of responsibility though. You need to commit to contracted hours, contracted pay and all sorts of employee benefits. An alternative is to outsource work. Here’s more on the subject.

What Is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing is when you hand out projects or work to freelancers or agencies on a one-off, project by project or contracted basis. These individuals will be self employed. They will not require any benefits, ongoing commitments or for you to deal with their taxes on their behalf. This can prove beneficial for your business, as it’s a low commitment agreement. You can decide when and how often you engage with them.

Web Design

One of the first projects that most small businesses outsource is web design. Setting up a website is complex business and, unless you’re already a qualified and experience website designer yourself, you’re likely to need a little help here. Reach out to someone who is well versed in website design and they’ll be able to take care of everything for you, ensuring your site works well and looks great. You can then check back in with them as and when you want tweaks made or changes to your pages.

Copywriting

Most businesses need some sort of copy (or written content) created once in a while. This could range from product descriptions to blog posts, “about us” pages, email content, social media content and more. This is where a copywriter can come in useful. These professionals charge in different ways, so agree a rate before getting started. They may charge per word, per project or by the hour.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing doesn’t usually start out in house. Small businesses are reluctant to fork out for commercial space, costly equipment and staff to operate manufacturing machinery – and rightly so. This is a big outgoing and demand for your product hasn’t been confirmed or established yet. Instead, why not start out by outsourcing your manufacturing process until your products have consistent demand and you can be sure investing in these areas will be worth it.

These are just a few popular areas of operations to outsource. You may find that some meet your business’ needs and requirements!


Image Credits: Austin Distel

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