Many people have heard of the term ‘outsourcing’ but often shy away from the idea for various reasons. Outsourcing has proven to be successful for many businesses and could be beneficial for yours too.
Outsourcing is an investment, and therefore should be treated as such. To help you make the right decision, we’re going to cover the basics of what outsourcing is and why investing in another person or company could be the right next step for your company.
What is outsourcing?
Outsourcing has been around since the 1950s, allowing businesses to get tasks done without the high costs associated with hiring new employees. This revolutionary new approach to business was well received by many due to the return on investment and that businesses only paid for what they needed.
Today, companies use outsourcing for many tasks, including marketing, finance, HR, and other business functions. This model has proven popular with small businesses who don’t have the financial resources to hire these teams, but still require their support in their business, or where they simply don’t have the time in the day to complete these tasks.
For many, outsourcing has proven to be successful for their business – even if they have the skills in-house to do so.
When to consider outsourcing
Many business owners are hesitant about outsourcing for their business, but there are a few occasions when you should consider other options to take the right action for your business.
When you’re too busy – There are only so many hours in the day, so if you’re struggling to keep on top of your workload, maybe outsourcing is a good option for you.
When you don’t have the skills/expertise needed in-house – If you don’t have the skills in-house, you may wish to consider outsourcing. This can be vital for certain tasks that require training, such as finance, HR, legal, and other business functions.
When you’re not enjoying something – If the thought of doing something in your business is a bit of a headache, outsource it! This can be done for a wide range of things, including bookkeeping, marketing, and technical services.
Common Questions
People often have similar questions if they’re new to outsourcing. We’ve captured some below:
Why shouldn’t I do it as a business owner?
As a business owner, your business is your baby. It’s common to feel like you must do everything, especially if you’re a small business. However, handling everything means you’re wearing lots of different hats which can lead to confusion, additional stress, and time pressures in some cases.
By outsourcing, you can remove some of those hats, so you have less to focus on, and the important tasks continue to be completed.
Why pay, when I can do it for free?
A common thought amongst business owners is that if they do it themselves, they save money. However, this isn’t always the case. By doing it yourself means you have less time to focus on your business, which could limit new customers or impact your current customer experience. In the long run, this could prove to be more costly.
What if they get it wrong?
Business owners are often reluctant to share their tasks with others as they fear that they could be done incorrectly. Although this is a possibility, with the right due diligence and care you can reduce this risk.
Outsourcing benefits
Time Saved
The majority of outsourcing will save you time. Outsourcing allows you to reduce the number of tasks your business must complete. As a result, you and/or your employees will have less to focus on, saving you time.
Expertise
By outsourcing to a company/professional, you can use a professional with the right set of skills for your needs. Even if it’s something you can do, outsourcing to a company/professional allows you to let someone undertake your tasks who has a lot more experience, and therefore often brings better results.
Return on Investment
Every outsourced task comes with a cost; however, it can yield a return on the investment with the right company. The return isn’t always in new customers, but it could be in the time saved for you/your employees, the benefits for your business, or something else entirely. It’s important to look at the return that you can expect to gain from outsourcing to make sure it’s a worthy investment.
Peace of Mind
Many tasks require the skills of a professional with years of training, something that many of us don’t have. Legal, financial, technical, and other business functions should have some involvement from a professional with experience to ensure a job is done right. If not, it could be costly in the long run and can add additional undue stress – something which many of us are keen to avoid.
How to find a reputable company for outsourcing to
Outsourcing can be very beneficial for your business if you find a company that understands your business and how they can help. There are many great stories about outsourcing, but also some horror stories too. To help you avoid a horror story of your own, we’ve included some key pointers to consider:
Reputability & Trustworthy
When looking for a company to outsource to, making sure they have a good reputation is key. You need to be able to trust the company or person to do a good job, so take the time to understand their reputation and whether you can trust them.
Recommendations
If you’re looking for some help, why not ask for recommendations? By asking people you trust, they will give an honest opinion on companies that they have worked with in the past or have good relations with.
Client feedback
Look online at reviews about the company. This is a great way to see how they are perceived by their clients and will give you an insight into what it’s like working with them. Many companies ask for feedback, giving you lots of feedback to review.
Examples of work
Asking to see previous work is a great way of seeing the quality of work you can expect for your business. Some companies will have agreements with clients to share their work and some may not be able to based on the nature of the work.
Always make sure you do plenty of research and make sure you’re 100% happy before outsourcing to another business.
In summary…
There are many reasons when you may wish to outsource tasks for your business. It’s important to understand the tasks you’re looking to outsource and do plenty of research on the potential companies you’re planning to work with. If all works out correctly, you could find yourself in a much better position than you are now.
We wish you the best of luck with your outsourcing, and we’re here to talk if there’s anything we can do to help your business.
How Weave can help
We support businesses by letting them outsource tasks to us at an affordable cost. From web design, branding, SEO, and plenty more, we’re here to help your business be seen by the right audience.
To learn more about how we help businesses and the benefits we bring, take a look at our services.