More and more entrepreneurs are starting businesses as solopreneurs. Many of them begin with no employees, leaving every aspect of the business on their own shoulders. While this is certainly an inexpensive way to start a business, it’s not always the most efficient.
Fortunately, there is a way to get around hiring full-time employees. It’s called outsourcing. That simply means hiring a third party to perform work for you on a contractual basis, not as an employee. By outsourcing, you get the benefits of not having to do everything yourself without hiring an employee you may not need all the time.
How Do I Know When I Need to Outsource?
As long as you have the means to pay an independent contractor to do the work you need done, it’s never too early to outsource. But many business owners prefer to go it on their own until they absolutely have to let go of some of the work. Here are some signs that you might do well to consider outsourcing:
- You run into something that your business needs but you can’t provide. Maybe your accounting has become more complicated than you’re comfortable with, or maybe you need a coder to work on your website. If there’s something you’ve been doing without because you can’t do it yourself, outsourcing may be in order.
- Everyday tasks are becoming more than you can handle. If your emails and phone calls are going unanswered, your customer service is suffering, and you can’t even make time to empty the trash, it’s time to get help. Depending on your needs, you could hire a virtual assistant or a temporary in-house assistant.
- Your workload is getting overwhelming. You might be taking on too much work. Then again, if you had someone to handle certain aspects of your projects, you might be able to handle everything you have and more. If you design websites, for example, you could outsource the content writing to a writer and the graphics to a graphic designer.
- You have no time to spend with family or participate in leisure activities. Everyone has things they enjoy doing outside of work, and just because you own a small business doesn’t mean you should give that up. Outsourcing can take some of the burden off of you and allow you to do more of the things you enjoy.
Outsourcing is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you know how to handle your workload efficiently. It can allow you to take on more work than you could on your own, and that means greater profits. Whether it’s everyday tasks or projects requiring great expertise, outsourcing as needed is good for your business.
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Great article! I have postponed outsourcing for a long time and now am outsourcing many parts of my business. It is crucial, I believe, to the growth of your business. And, you are absolutely correct. It is not a sign of weaknesses because you “can’t” do it all or aren’t an expert at everything.
Outsourcing the posting of my blogs, newsletters are just a start for me. Bookkeeping and the hands-on organizing portion of the business will be outsourced this month. Why, because this will allow me to enjoy my 2 week family vacation to the mid-west mid-June. Woohoo! The first time ever for our family.