You’re probably used to doing everything in your business, but at some point, you have to begin outsourcing if you want your business to grow. Here are five business tasks you can outsource to a vendor.
Administrative tasks
For many entrepreneurs, administrative tasks are the easiest to begin outsourcing. These tasks tend to be repetitive, and while they have to get done, you don’t have to be the one doing them. Handing off administrative tasks to a virtual assistant frees you up to focus on more important priorities.
For example, you could outsource calendar management, responding to emails, and scheduling social media posts. You can find a VA by requesting referrals from your network or using online job boards like Upwork, Freelancer, or FlexJobs.
Marketing
Many small businesses struggle with outsourcing their marketing, but there are many benefits to doing so. Digital marketing trends change quickly, and few entrepreneurs have the time or desire to keep up. Without an effective marketing plan, your business will struggle to find and retain customers.
A qualified marketing agency will be well-versed in current trends and take the time to understand your product and target market. Plus, the right agency will have access to people with a diverse set of skills. Writing, social media marketing, and web design are all very different skills, so you don’t want one person attempting to do all three.
Before you start looking for agencies, take some time to outline your marketing goals and objectives. For example, do you want to improve your website’s SEO or grow your social media following?
Once you know your goals, start looking for marketing agencies with a proven track record of success. It’s also a good idea to look for firms that have experience in your industry.
[Read more: How to Create and Track a Marketing Budget]
Handing off administrative tasks to a virtual assistant frees you up to focus on more important priorities.
Customer service
One study found that half of consumers expect 24/7 customer support, and 74% will leave a business after a poor experience. Unfortunately, most small businesses don’t have the bandwidth to handle this in-house, so outsourcing may make sense.
Before you outsource customer support, it’s crucial to consider your customers and what they want. For example, do your customers prefer a call center, or do they mostly contact your business via chat or email? Do you need a multilingual customer service team?
Once you find a vendor, monitor their results closely and pay attention to customer feedback. You don’t have to micromanage the process, but customer service is too important to neglect it altogether.
[Read more: 8 AI Tools for Better Customer Service]
Accounting
You can also outsource various accounting tasks in your business, like bookkeeping, tax preparation, and payroll. Outsourcing accounting will likely save your business time and money. Companies often have complex tax filing requirements, and mistakes or late payments can result in costly fees.
Start by identifying which accounting tasks you’d like to outsource. For example, you can start small by hiring a bookkeeper to reconcile your company’s financial transactions and pay bills. You can also hire an accountant to manage your payroll, prepare financial statements, and file quarterly and annual taxes.
Human resources
Once you hire staff, managing your employees can quickly become a full-time job in itself. According to the Austin Business Journal, many small business owners spend up to 30 hours on each new employee. This time is often spent searching for, interviewing, and vetting job candidates.
And once you hire that employee, you must administer benefits, ensure they get paid on time, and deal with labor laws. This may be necessary in the beginning, but as your business grows, you’ll probably want to outsource HR tasks.
You can outsource these tasks to either a personal employer organization (PEO) or a human resources outsourcing (HRO) provider. The main difference between the two is that a PEO acts as a co-employer, while an HRO gives you more flexibility and autonomy.
[Read more: What is a PEO and How Can It Grow Your Business?]
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