I rushed deliriously towards my phone that ranged for the seventh time in six minutes. Something was terribly wrong, and I could feel it. I checked my phone, and indeed I had made a huge mistake with the payroll.
I switched the salaries of two employees with the same first names. That is not even the worst part. I wrote a piece for our official blog and tagged a competitor in the post, causing the competitor to benefit.
As a first-time entrepreneur from Storage Brighton, I made a ton of blunders trying to be smart and wise but instead turned out to be naive. In his outstanding book, “Winning”, Jack Welch talks about hiring people more intelligent than you to ease your workload so that you can solely focus on growing your business.
We are living in an information-rich economy where time is the most precious currency. Small businesses operate on a tight budget and to scale, startups and small businesses must use their resources smartly.
Hiring full-time resources might not be a feasible option; that’s why outsourcing some services can help small businesses invest their money in business growth.
Let’s look at some of the valuable services that small businesses can outsource without worrying about losing any business.
1. Content Marketing
In today’s digitalized and information-rich age, customers are smart enough to disregard sales pitches and engage in easy-to-digest educational content instead. Businesses work hard to generate a lead, build a relationship, and close a sale with enticing content.
But as Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz.com, suggests, “The smartest way to sell something is not to sell at all. Just earn respect, create awareness, and build the trust of your target audience.”
Big businesses have a dedicated content marketing executive that takes care of all the content. But small businesses cannot afford to hire a full-time executive.
Rather than spending time, energy, and resources on content creation and distribution, outsourcing is a much smarter move. A study concluded that 84% of the organizations prefer external help for content marketing.
You may begin by hiring a freelance writer or outsource an agency to do the content work for you. It’ll save time as well as help with building stronger bonds with customers.
2. Software Development
Maintaining and running an in-house software development team can be expensive for small businesses due to the fact that software upgrades, acquiring licenses, and finding specialists is a hard job.
That’s where professional software development outsourcing can help. By handing over all the software development work to a team of IT experts, not only will you be able to cut cost but also rest assured of quality and reliability.
A specialized team of software developers will tailor-make software as per your business requirement. The software specialists are responsible for upgrading as well as maintaining the software.
By letting professionals take care of the software development, a small business will focus solely on business growth, innovation, and customer experience.
3. Get a Storage Unit
Small businesses need to be organized. An organized mind ignites creativity, which is the nucleus of every business. Decluttering the office space is the nicest approach for this purpose.
You may begin by disposing all the unnecessary furniture. If you use multiple file cabinets to store documents, keep just one and the rest can be stored away in a storage unit where they’ll be safe yet out of sight. You may opt for a secure and affordable business storage unit to store all your belongings and make your office less cramped.
Since small businesses face a different challenge each day, decluttering your office can minimize inconvenience.
4. Scheduling and Administrative tasks
Are you bogged down to dozens of small tasks that take-up your precious time? Well, as a business owner, you need to focus on growing your business. With a virtual assistant, you are paying by hour, and in those hours, the virtual assistant answers emails, performs recursive tasks, or schedules appointments.
When you automate scheduling, you save time and can focus on the big picture. Don’t let these menial tasks take away your energy or creativity. Instead, outsource them and focus on crucial matters.
5. Bookkeeping & Payroll
A study suggests that multitasking can drop employee productivity by as much as 40%. Projects never finish, but the stress reaches the sky.
On average, multitasking costs $400 billion annually to the global economy since small businesses work on a limited budget. Even a single mistake in finances can cause a lot of loss. To keep your money rolling, outsource bookkeeping for your startup.
The next thing we recommend is that you outsource your payroll. Payroll goes beyond a simple calculation of salary based upon hours worked. A single payroll mistake can create problems in your tax audit, costing you thousands of dollars. Small business owners cannot afford to make such a mistake.
Rather than handling the payroll yourself, or hiring a full-time accountant to do so, outsource the work to a reliable service provider. There are tons of companies that can help you prevent costly mistakes and free up time for you to focus on more important matters for your business.
As a business owner, your top priority must be to grow your business and increase your sales. Outsourcing a few tasks might ease the load, save time, and help you compete smartly with your rivals. Small businesses need to stop investing in things that can easily be delegated. Execute operations smartly by investing more time and energy to an area that needs it the most.
Lastly, technology has helped businesses grow fast; to survive, one must use all tools and available resources in the market. Outsourcing will help the owners of small businesses think straight and innovate more.