- Determine which company services can be outsourced to optimize time and money
- For entrepreneurs expanding their businesses
- Helps you extend your capabilities as an organization while keeping a focus on your core competencies
As your business grows more successful, you may find yourself wondering if certain tasks are bogging you down. In fact, less than 15 percent of business owners and managers feel like they’re directing their time toward the right activities. As your company scales, it’s time to offload some of the more onerous office tasks to improve your efficiency.
Here are some of the tasks entrepreneurs have often been able to outsource to a third party in order to streamline their own operations:
Accounting
Balancing your books, taking care of your payroll, managing your taxes, and other financial processes can be complex and frustrating. Outsourcing these efforts to an accountant or bookkeeper frees up a great deal of time.
While outsourcing these processes often results in minimal cost savings, it does reduce the risk that you will be penalized for errors made in your filings or payments. This is a particularly important concern since small business deductions are among the most frequently audited claims.
IT
Instead of having an in-house information technology team to oversee your computers and technical services, you might consult with a third-party agency specializing in this service. This can result in considerable savings while also giving you greater flexibility to grow your company.
Marketing and sales
Marketing is a complex field, with facets such as copywriting, graphic design, social media, and marketing strategy. Even if you have an in-person marketing team, it may make sense to outsource some of these tasks. Using an agency that specializes entirely in marketing also allows you to strengthen your marketing strategy or develop specific campaigns.
While sales are a crucial part of a business’s success, some entrepreneurs may lack experience or expertise in this area. Outsourcing the task to a third party organization can help these individuals find new customers and ramp up sales.
Customer service
While addressing customers’ questions and concerns is an important part of your company’s reputation, managing this responsibility on top of other tasks can decrease your productivity. Third-party customer service providers can be highly effective, but it’s important to find one that specializes in products or services similar to what your company offers.
Manufacturing and logistics
Manufacturing and distributing your products on-site often necessitates a larger, more expensive commercial space. Instead of setting up this capacity, you can find an established manufacturer to take on the role as well as associated tasks like warehousing and logistics. This option is often popular for companies specializing in e-commerce.
Administrative
Virtual assistants have become a popular way for companies to take care of repetitive or mundane tasks, such as responding to e-mails or filing expense reports. Freelancers and contractors may also be used for individual projects or other tasks that are done infrequently enough that they don’t need full- or part-time staffers.
While highly skilled staffers can be a valuable company resource, they also necessitate larger compensation. An alternative is to recruit these professionals on a contract basis.
