With growth comes growing pains. How you choose to adjust can often be a head-scratcher. Should you hire full-time employees or go with contractors?
Outsourcing has become the go-to move for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Cutting edge businesses have also used it to gain skills unavailable through traditional avenues. In fact, Alibaba, the Chinese-based global marketplace, outsourced aspects of its development to the US. The company knew it was short on the talent needed to compete with well-established companies like eBay. So they went shopping for the talent they needed.
Other cutting-edge companies that have outsourced their way to success? Slack, UpWork, SeatGeek, GitHub, AppSumo, and many others.
Perhaps it seems that coding and web design are the main skills that can get outsourced. Not so. Hiring a business to provide an in-office service can take on many forms. An example? Proficient Rx is a leader in providing products and services that help clinics and hospitals with doctor dispensing.
So it works for others. But is it right for you?
Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if it’s the right move for your new business.
Do you have a limited budget?
As an owner of a founding business, your startup cash is precious. Even with angel investors funding you, you will want to make sure every penny is being used in the most effective way possible.
Hiring full-time help is a move most businesses only take on if they have both the money and the workload to justify someone’s monthly paycheck. Otherwise, you could be taking on a little more than your small business can chew.
Outsourcing provides a means to get the skills you need to keep your business running today. It allows you to focus on the present. What you need to do to be successful now. Without getting tied up on hiring processes, HR, and the legal requirements that come with having employees.
Do you need a one-off type of help on a task or job?
Designing a company logo is a one-off affair. Chances are high you won’t need another company logo in the near future. Building a website for your business might also fall into this category. Outsource for jobs and skills needed to complete tasks that need to be completed once. And then only require infrequent maintenance.
Consider what internal roles need to be filled for your business to be successful. Are these tasks short term? Or will you need someone with a certain skillset over the long haul? Your answer should help you decide whether outsourcing is the right move in this case.
Do you find it hard to multitask or perform several roles?
Often, the founder of a business is the Idea Man. The one with the vision and a plan. But it is entirely possible that the Idea Man lacks the skills or the methodology to implement certain aspects of the plan.
Businesses usually begin with a founder who has a small set of core tasks to do. As the business grows, the tasks that are required grow, too. If you find yourself easily able to manage the growth of tasks, as well as focus on your core responsibilities as a business owner, then you are set. No need to outsource. But if you find yourself stretched thin and unable to focus on the aspects of your business that you love and are skilled in, then now is the time to hire.
Social media experts, financial advisors, IT services, graphic artists, and content developers. The list goes on. Outsourcing can provide you with people to lighten your load.
Do you need to become a competitive presence in your category?
As a business owner, you have something you believe in that you are bringing to the market. But whether the market pays attention to what you have to offer is something else entirely.
As a new business, you will be competing with businesses that have years of experience in getting the results they want. Whether through pricing strategy or running the right kind of ad campaigns. Sometimes success is simply a matter of getting the right person on your team. Even if they are only a member of your team for a day or two.
Outsourcing levels the playing field. It allows you access to expertise that would otherwise take you years of trial and error to figure out on your own.
