When running a business of your own it becomes apparent very quickly that you cannot manage the entire beast by yourself and that some things are best left to the experts.
According to Richard Branson every successful business needs to make sure they have the right people in place. While big businesses can afford to headhunt the best players, small companies on a tighter budget have to be a little savvier in the way they source their expertise. However, that doesn’t mean they should compromise on the quality of the talent they use!
Over the last ten years the number of business start-ups has increased thanks in part to greater technology which means it’s easier for any of us to venture out on our own with more chance of success and without the need for substantial capital outlays. It used to be that businesses had to have the basic staff structure in place – you needed to employ an accountant, get a marketing team in to develop sales of your product or service, have a good IT infrastructure in place – all of whom had to be paid an annual wage.
Primarily because we are more connected than we have ever been before, and because of competition in the market place, outsourcing now plays a vital role for small businesses that are hoping to survive, prosper and grow.
It hasn’t always been so. In the past, outsourcing was often seen as overly complicated, unnecessarily expensive and there was always some doubt about who you were handing the day to day running of your business over to. Add to that the danger of being roped into a long term and often disadvantageous contract and outsourcing was something many business owners thought about and then quietly filed away.
Small Businesses Need to Outsource to Survive. It Has Changed Take Another Look!
Small Businesses Need to Outsource to Survive!
More connectivity and greater competition has caused an evolution in the outsourcing market in recent years. Hunt around and you can find some fantastic companies out there who are both flexible and knowledgeable and are equitably priced. The long, restrictive contracts have gone and organisations are offering a more meaningful, made to measure approach that is specifically designed to benefit small companies with limited resources and budgets but who still demand the highest of standards.
Rather than get in an expensive IT infrastructure and someone to manage it on a full salary, you can go for remote hosting that gives you what you need when you need it. Rather than employing a full time sales and marketing director you can get bespoke solutions from a company that won’t force unwanted or unneeded strategies down your throat, even the stalwart company receptionist can be replaced by a professional call handling company.
Outsourcing is now available across the whole service industry – you can get yourself a cleaner, professional sales staff, accountants and bookkeepers, web designers and developers, IT support, admin and PA services, marketing resources, HR experts etc. all ready and willing to do specific tasks that are important for your small business but more importantly charge you the proportionate rate to their use.
The Benefits of Outsourcing
- You can hire an outsourcing company for a specific task and not be tied into lengthy service contracts that can be detrimental for your business.
- You cut down on the amount of hidden costs and administration such as paying salaries and having to cope with issues such as staff sickness.
- You get immediate access to a whole wealth of expertise and advice that can push your business in new directions and doesn’t cost the earth.
- You remain in control because you dictate how much of your business activity you want to hand over to the outsourcing company or individual.
For small businesses who want access to the best expertise, outsourcing is now the best way to survive and indeed thrive. It gives you the chance to pick and choose the services that are important to your business, at the time you need them and helps you keep the costs down, providing a more streamlined and sustainable approach that can develop as your company grows. With the caliber of talent available through these service based outsourcing companies you now have access to ‘enterprise class talent’ which you can use to under pin your company growth. Of course outsourcing will free up some of your time to allow you to concentrate on working on your business, what tasks could you outsource?