Benefits of Outsourcing Work

When we first start a business for ourselves, one of the first things that we dream of is the day that we begin to employ staff. Those of us that have previously worked as part of a large team especially look forward to a time where we have in house marketing, HR and accounting. We think longingly of delegating tasks and even of having more than one office. In those early days, when we’re managing on our own, or with a tiny team, the idea of having lots of people to help our business grow and maintain its consistency can be very appealing.

When you are working long hours, trying to survive the first months and even years of a new business, struggling all of the time and giving your company your absolute all, the idea of having a large team comes with dreams of weekends off. And of working a 9-5 and being able to spend your own time focused on the more creative elements of your business. Or the other parts that you enjoy the most, as you leave the day to day running of our company to those that work under you.

But, this isn’t always how it works out. Many new business owners make the mistake of hiring too many too soon. They can’t afford the associated costs, they don’t have enough work for all of their employees, and they don’t have anything to offer them to entice them to stay or to get their best out of them. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that you have to go it alone. There are many different options available to businesses that need a little more help. One of these is outsourcing work. Here are some of the benefits of outsourcing, to you and to your business.

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Cost Advantages and Flexibility

One of the problems with hiring permanent staff as a small business is that they are just that, permanent. But, your success might not be. All small companies experience peaks and troughs. There will be times when your company makes a lot of money, and you can afford to hire staff. But, they might not last. How do you continue to pay your team when you are making much less?

Part-time or casual staff are another option, but people looking for this kind of work might not be committed, loyal or highly skilled. It’s worth looking, but offering part-time hours or casual contracts doesn’t always attract the best of the best.

Outsourcing, or even looking at the pros and cons of getting help from abroad with offshoring, can be ideal. Staff in other parts of the world are often much cheaper. If you want long-term help from a skilled manufacturing team, offshoring can be the ideal way to save money.  Alternatively, if you outsource to freelancers, you are free to just take them on when you need the extra help, you don’t have to keep on paying them the rest of the time. Outsourcing work, in one way or another, can give you much greater flexibility and the chance to save a lot of money on staffing. Most companies find that as they grow, a combination of offshoring and outsourcing saves them the most money.

Round the Clock Help

The internet means that people expect 24-hour service. We’re used to being able to shop online whenever we fancy it. We’re used to getting replies from the brands we love almost instantly if we’ve got a problem and we love being able to do business with people all over the world, without worrying about the time difference. Your customers are expecting the same from you.

Outsourcing can be a great solution to this problem. Outsource jobs like social media management and virtual office services to people all over the world, and there will always be someone awake and online to communicate with your customers when they need it.

Access to Experts

When you start out, it’s normal to try and take on as much of your work as you can, to avoid staffing costs completely. By the end of your first year in business, you’ll have learned skills in areas such as accounting and marketing that you’d never have known any other way. This can be great for business and make you an understanding and knowledgeable manager. But, it won’t automatically make you an expert. You’ll get better at things, and you might have a basic knowledge of near enough everything, but you will still have strengths and weaknesses.

Outsourcing particular jobs, perhaps those that you aren’t as good at, means that you can find an expert. Without having to pay for full-time, in-house teams, you can have an expert accountant, marketer, SEO professional, HR person and PR representative working for you, whenever you need them. You can outsource work to a photographer when you need some better images for your advertising. You can outsource to a web designer when your website starts to look dated. You can outsource near enough anything to an expert who can offer you professional knowledge and experience.

This can also have the advantages of increasing the efficiency of your office, and the quality of your products and services.

To Free Your Own Time

As a small business owner, you won’t just have tasks that you prefer to do, or that you are better at, there will also be things that you need to do for yourself. You’ll want to spend time coming up with new products and ideas. You’ll want to handle some of the more creative aspects of your business and devote time to finding ways to grow. Outsourcing some of the jobs that you don’t need to do yourself, frees up your time to focus on those that you do.

Professional Resources

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Freelancers and offshore manufacturing companies aren’t the only ways to outsource work. You can also outsource more professional jobs, like legal and accounting to other firms. This can mean that you have access to not only their staff but their resources and insurance. These resources can be a big help when it comes to the more professional aspects of your business.