For many entrepreneurs, the thought of outsourcing means admitting some sort of defeat. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Don’t allow those supposedly more experienced business people to convince you that outsourcing is the final course of action for individuals who cannot cope, don’t have the skills or feel like passing the business buck. Outsourcing should be seen as an admirable course of action to take when you realize the need for a skill that you cannot complete to a high enough quality in house. Having the wherewithal to hold your hands up and outsource a business function to specialists will help your business to become more efficient, profitable and successful.
Outsourcing shouldn’t be seen as a dirty word, but instead as a prudent business concept. If you are a one woman business entity, you simply cannot be expected to be the finance bod, HR guru, SEO master as well as the company owner. Attempting to fulfill all of these roles will leave you massively stressed and with a business that ultimately fails. Consider what your strengths are and concentrate on these. For all other business functions, consider outsourcing.
Administration
There’s nothing more tedious than trying to calculate payroll at the end of every week. Making sure that your staff are paid, that they are paying enough tax and that you are fulfilling your pension obligations is vital. It’s too important to get wrong. While you could slog away every Thursday afternoon sweating it out over a calculator, you might be better to outsource this administrative business function to an expert. Specialist companies will sort your company’s payroll out for you. This enables you to claim some much needed time back to spend on other more pressing issues, and you won’t have to worry about human error encroaching on any work.
As well as payroll, bookkeeping tasks can keep any entrepreneur up all night. You may choose to utilize specialist software, or you could outsource your CPA services to a team of experts. These individuals won’t simply work out your outgoings, income, revenue, and profits, but they can also help you formulate a plan to keep you as tax efficient yet as profitable as possible. Utilizing this knowledge isn’t a cop out. It shows incredible business acumen and a willingness to delegate for the good of your startup.
SEO
The mythical search engine optimization capabilities of any website is a mystery to the layperson. While you might have your ‘SEO for Dummies’ book to hand, only a true expert will ever be able to make sense of Google algorithms and search engine keywording. The concept of SEO is relatively new, but it will enhance your online presence if applied effectively.
SEO experts now specialize in helping startups to get their websites and social media feeds noticed. Increasing your online exposure is vital for your business, so it’s important that you can hit the ground running from the get-go. You may have the most intuitive, exciting and easy to use the website, but if no one can see it once they’ve searched a relevant term through Google then what is the point?
You need more referrals to your website rather than direct hits. Having referrals from search engines, blogs, social media and other websites is vital for you to succeed in the twenty first century. SEO capabilities need to be great for you to compete with your already established industry rivals.
By outsourcing this function, you can be sure of a more global reach, and excellent analytics to help you formulate a future proof online marketing strategy.
Website Building
While the one page static websites of Geocities and Lycos are long gone, that doesn’t mean that just anyone can design a website. Sure, there are some nifty drag and drop website builders available at reasonable prices, but they can run the risk of looking generic, especially when hundreds of people are using the same template. Instead, you might want to go down the route of using an expert to design a bespoke website for your business from scratch. That means no other company will have anything that looks like your site.
Your branding can merge seamlessly with the style of your website. SEO will be built in to ensure maximum online exposure and you can work with a professional off site to create the right ethos, tone and vibe. Link your social media channels and blog, and you will have a well rounded global reach for your business.
Social Media Management
If you are becoming bogged down in the finer details of your business plan, the chances are that you won’t have the time to tweet a witty comment or a link to some readable content every day. In this fast paced online world, potential customers want you to respond to their Twitter comment within the hour, not two days later. If you only find yourself posting to your feeds once in a blue moon, you need to take stock.
A well crafted Instagram page is perfect to show off your wares, demonstrate a more human side to your business and to create a tone for your startup. This highly visual medium is the social media channel of choice for many millennials. Yes, you might have to play the filter game, and make your custom made baby tees a tad vignetted with an Amaro filter, but if that drives traffic to your site, then this is what it takes. A social media manager will be able to design your feed to make it relevant and desirable to your target market.
By employing an off site social media manager to take control of your Facebook feed, Twitter page and Instagram display, you are more free to work on your business vision. All of your feeds will be driving traffic to your website, and you could even ask your expert to create content for your blog. Discuss your requirements and implement a strategy that you can both follow.
Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. However, by following this guide, you will understand that outsourcing isn’t something to be dismissed. You should utilize the concept of outsourcing for the benefit of your startup.
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