What can I outsource and still run a successful small business?

By George Anthony

Small businesses have their share of both advantages and drawbacks. Lack of infrastructure and expertise in various fields that today’s business world demands definitely fall into the second category. Fortunately, recent technological developments, such as the rise of cloud-based computing, make outsourcing easier than it has ever been, and small businesses haven’t waste time before starting to use all the offered advantages. However, sometimes is not that easy to decide what exactly to outsource and what to leave in-house. Here, we will try to answer this tricky question.

Outsource bookkeeping

Unless you run an accounting firm, there is no real reason to do your own bookkeeping. By outsourcing this work you will be assured that there will be no issues once the authorities inevitably take a look at what you are doing. If you are inexperienced in dealing with taxes, laws and financial labyrinths, it is never a bad decision to gradually learn about bookkeeping, but leave the actual hard work to professionals, especially given the fact that bookkeeping outsource fees are not that high. Mistakes in this field can cost you a lot more.

Outsource marketing

There is no denying that social media marketing is a very efficient way to reach new customers, but posting updates on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ can be time-demanding, to say the least. And those are only social media activities. What about other options, such as more traditional, offline marketing efforts? Obviously, outsourcing marketing will leave this delicate task in the hands of professionals and give you more time to deal with other important things.

Outsource cyber security

Providers of IT services will assure you that your data is safe, but it is much better to outsource cyber security to people operating in that area than relying on a single company’s guarantees. Although IT vendors have very tight safety measures, they are not experts in that area and don’t know how to deal with incoming treats in the most efficient way. Adding another layer of security to your company’s data can be very beneficial in the long term.

Outsource administrative support

Using virtual assistants is just like having another pair of hands that will help you to grow your small business. By hiring someone to do myriad of things, such as preparing mailings, blog maintenance, booking travel, maintaining your personal schedule, e-mail management and any other tiresome chores you are not able to deal with at the moment, is more than valuable and is worth all the costs.

Outsource e-commerce

Every company that has an online shop should outsource its e-commerce to a single provider to make selling online substantially easier. Your e-store will inevitably include third-party apps and services, so instead of trying to shape them into something cohesive, efficient and functional by yourself, leave all of that to singular company and spare yourself a headache.

Outsourcing doesn’t have to be limiting factor in controlling a business. Think of it as more of a way to make it more efficient by retaining a close look over the matters that are most important and leaving heavy lifting to others. Feel free to add to this list any area where you think your company needs some extra strength.

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George Anthony is a marketing manager and an avid reader of business-related material, with a desire to share his knowledge as much as possible. Inspiration for this article was found after looking at marketing campaigns from Reborn Group.

1 comment

  1. Mark says:

    I'd think that, ideally, you should be able to outsource almost everything. The keyword being "ideally" of course…

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