Outsourcing
Small Business Functions That Can Be Outsourced
A lot of small businesses and start-ups outsource at least some of their operations. Outsourcing describes when a business gets a service or product rather than handling it in-house. As a small business, outsourcing lets you get more done and entrust important tasks to a professional, without having to take on more full-time staff. This lets you keep costs low, improve efficiency, and concentrate on the parts of your business that you’re good at. Here are some of the services that you can outsource.
Accounting
Accounting is one most common services that small businesses choose to outsource. If you’re not a financial expert, it can take a lot of time and skills to learn all the processes and compliance standards that your company needs to meet. A skilled accountant can manage this area for you, increasing efficiency and saving you money.
Marketing
An outside marketing firm can help you grow your business quickly. They can take over things like ad design, content creation, or social media posting off your plate so you can focus on growing your business. These firms are staffed by professionals who can help you to generate creative, clever ideas for your marketing strategy that you might not have thought of.
Sales
Your company might not have enough staff or the expertise to make sales calls or set up funnels and processes that are aimed at closing deals. If you outsource to sales professionals, you hand over these tasks to more skilled people who can drive more business.
IT Management
IT is another of the most popular services to outsource. You can outsource to a managed service provider or work with a firm that offers on-demand support to deal with any technical issues or initiatives that you have.
Administrative Tasks
Virtual assistants and outsourcing your receptionist has become more and more common, especially for start-ups and entrepreneurs who are working from a home office. There are virtual assistants who can handle all kinds of tasks, from managing your emails t scheduling your social media posts. Admin is one of the cheaper services to outsource, as there are many affordable VAs out there. However, expect to pay a little more for a more skilled VA or one with a speciality.
Customer Service
If you deal with customers mostly online or on the phone, you outsource your customer service to a third party chat service or call centre. You will need to get processes in place to do this successfully. Make sure you give very clear instructions to the company that will be dealing with your customers.
Manufacturing
Setting up a dedicated facility for manufacturing can be a very expensive thing to do for a small business. This is why so many sellers of products often choose to outsource their manufacturing. You don’t need to offshore this process if you don’t want to, but this is an option. You can still find good domestic outsourcing partners to handle your manufacturing and keep your operations near you.
