The Value of Outsourcing

Business owners often fail to understand the value of outsourcing. Whether they believe it’s too costly or unnecessary, they may be investing too much time in tasks that may be given to others who could be more successful or spend less time.

For example, if you are spending a couple of hours a day managing your social media you can save a few hundred dollars a year, but how much could you make if you were making sales during that time?

There are a few areas that every business should consider outsourcing, especially if you are a solopreneur or entrepreneur whose value is based on the time they have.

Here is a cross section of six outsourcing areas to consider:

1. Accounting

Bookkeeping is of primordial importance when considering the health of your business. Keeping records of the businesses financial transactions such as purchasing, sales, accounts receivable and accounts payable is needed to understand the business financials and neglecting to keep proper records may cause serious issues in understanding your businesses profits and losses over time.

You can save time, gain a clear picture of where the business stands and have more time to focus on your business when you have a professional who can keep track of financials, ensure their accuracy, and assist you in preparing tax returns at the end of the year.

Accounting and Tax preparation can be time consuming and often requires a specific skill set. Finding a professional in this area can minimize mistakes, give you a clear picture of the direction of your company and allow you more time to focus on the front end of your business

2. Payroll

When a company is small, you may not have difficulty managing the employees payroll, however if you have a number of employees or are planning to expand, processing weekly, biweekly or monthly payroll can eat up lot of your time. T

here is a lot to keep track of when it comes to employee vacations, leaves, onboarding and benefits information. When you choose what company to outsource correctly it could be less costly than you think and could offer a simpler way to pay your employees and maintain the proper information you will need to comply with state laws and for tax purposes.

3. Marketing and Social Media

Many business owners pride themselves in doing their own marketing, web design and social media strategies. However, these could be a full-time job that is best left to qualified professionals. You can easily outsource website design, logo design, images, business cards, advertising campaigns and more. Companies such as Fiverr and Upwork are affordable and offer a number of professional’s assistance around the globe.

More and more businesses are also incorporating social networks for their business outreach and communication. Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter can be used for lead generation and as a part of marketing strategies, however these could consume much of a business owners time.

Social media posting and marketing campaign management can be outsourced to companies that have a team of specialized professionals that are able to properly monitor and adjust your posts and campaigns as needed.

4. Hiring

Most businesses post job opening on their websites or job sites when positions become vacant. As resumes start to pour in, it becomes very time consuming to review, sort and contact candidates to interview. The interviewing process can be a tedious process, followed by potential background checks, reference verification, pay negotiations and any other hiring processes your company may have.

If you have the ability to outsource the hiring process through professionals or agencies you can have a company that already has a database of qualified individuals. Another benefit of using an agency is their ability to offer your business the assurance that the employee will work out or provide you a replacement in the case that they are not a good fit or they choose to leave right after being hired.

5. Events

If you are planning to have a workshop or an event for customers or employees, it’s better to outsource the event to a an agency or event planning company. Companies that are experts in events are able to provide services from proper planning to successful execution of the event, which could otherwise take a business owners valuable time and energy.

Professional event management companies will have established connections with caterers, locations, vendors and individuals to ensure that your event is a complete success.

6. Tasks you don’t enjoy or don’t know how to do

If there are tasks that you do not enjoy or lack the skills to do properly, we tend to procrastinate or take more time than usually required in doing them. Doing tasks you don’t enjoy can affect your state of mind and reduce your productivity, so why not outsource these tasks to qualified professionals?

We all know that entrepreneurs wear many hats, however outsourcing may be the next step for your business to improve, grow and succeed.