Every great business has to go through the growing pains, and the ability to withstand and overcome them makes the difference between success and failure. As a beginner entrepreneur, one of the most difficult issues you have to deal with is being a one-man-show. You have to cover all the bases and fulfill all the roles in a company. Even though you run a simple activity and you are just building your customer base, it is still a lot of work taking up most of your time.
“But what other options do I have? I am only a small home-based business owner!” Yes, it is true, at the very beginning you have to make it on your own. But as soon as your business has taken off, it is time to look for ways to clear up your daily schedule and have time to focus on the strategic growth of your business. The most affordable and effective solution is called outsourcing.
Why Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is the most cost effective way for companies to delegate various activities, such as human resources management, accounting, and legal counseling to professional service providers. The main benefits of outsourcing is that you pay exactly for the quantity of services or amount of time spent working on your tasks. The people who perform the work will not become your employees thus, apart for the fee, you do not have to pay any other benefits (pension, health insurance, unemployment, etc.).
The Reason Small Business Owners Overlook Outsourcing
Even after careful calculations show them that they can outsource a part of their activities, many home-based business owners still refuse to do it. In truth, even you may seem a little wary of our recommendation, but read on. The number one reason that small business owners and top-level managers refuse to outsource or delegate is the fear of losing control.
“I know best how this should be done!” is a phrase more common than you would imagine among entrepreneurs faced with this possibility. Once you let someone else take a task from you, you may feel that you are no longer under full control of your business, that it may be taken away from you or that it is a sign of weakness.
On the contrary, outsourcing is what smart entrepreneurs do to grow their business: they leave time consuming and non-core tasks to people who are skilled at them, and can do them fast and accurately.
What to Outsource
Once you become comfortable with the idea, you will soon find a lot of tasks which can and should be outsourced to others:
1. Secretarial Activities
Virtual assistants can help you with everything from answering emails, preparing documents, proofreading, keeping your agenda and keeping track of bills, tax returns and other important documents.
2. Graphic and Web Design
Free tools will help you design a lot of things, but it is the talent that makes the true difference. You want your website and visual marketing materials to look great and professional, so you should leave them to a professional.
3. Content Writing
Even if you are skilled at writing, it takes time to prepare all the content you need for your online marketing and lead nurturing campaigns. It does not mean that you should stop writing altogether, when you want to add a blog post or article with a more personal touch, but leave the largest part of content writing to a freelance writer.
4. SEO and Marketing Automation
These tasks are not to be done in a hurry – it takes time to identify the perfect keywords to rank for, to set up and monitor Facebook ad campaigns and so on. Outsourcing these activities will free up your schedule and ensure that you get measurable results for the money you invest in them.