Disclosure: collaborative post
You only have so many hours in a day. You already cut back on a lot of things to get more time at work. Who needs eight hours of sleep when you are okay-ish with three? And what are holidays? Can you eat it? Speaking of eating, lunches are a multitasking exercise by blindly biting your sandwich at your desk, getting your finger a time or two while you read through reports. As part of working smarter, if you’re based in the Sunshine State, consider learning how to start an LLC in Florida to separate your business and personal finances effectively. Thank heavens for your smartphone camera, so you can take pictures of your kids sleeping when you get home. At least you can sneak a peek while riding the elevator up to your office to see how much they grow during the time spent at your office. Not a pretty picture painted, but a lot of business owners’ reality right there. But it always wasn’t like that.
Work-Home Relationship
When you started your business, you promised that you will put in the hard hours now so that you can cut back a bit and really prioritise your work-home relationship. Work hard at the office and play hard at home. But as your business skyrocket, the work-home ratio also started to become lopsided, with the bare minimum time spent at home. And working on your laptop or cellphone at home doesn’t count! You will definitely not win the partner or parent award of the year. As your business grows, new problems also pop up that need your attention, or do they? Yes, you are more lucrative and can hire more able bodies in your business, but why work harder when you can work smarter?
Research Smart
There are many outsourcing companies you can partner with that will alleviate a huge chunk of your headaches. And a big shout out to all the fantastic developers who created the phenomenal apps you haven’t done research on yet. First, start listing your headaches. What areas of your business frustrates you or are becoming a black hole of resources? Here is where the working smart comes in. Get researching! There are tens to hundreds of companies and apps available that can not only do the job but fit right into your business’s philosophy and work ethic. If you really don’t have the time to do the research, have a few of your employees do the research and give you a top five to look over. This might not be a bad idea, considering who will know best what will work in the workspace than the workers themselves? The most common outsourced jobs are digital marketing, IT, legal, accounting and human resources (particularly recruitment agencies). And let’s not forget about the plethora of apps available that can cut time off current projects or jobs. The time that you so desperately need.
Outsourcing businesses
Suppose you had previously twiddled with the idea of partnering with an outsource business but shot it down due to whatever reason. In that case, this is the time to go back and reconsider it. What were your fears? Why did you not pursue it? The top reasons are that it’s expensive, they will not fit into your business ethos, they might cause you brand damage, and how can you trust them. All very valid concerns. Breaking it down, let’s look at these reasons again.
Are They Expensive?
Actually, no, they are not. Well, not all of them. This is where your research comes in. Don’t just look at one outsource business per stream. Look at between five to ten businesses and make a list. What do they offer, and what are their rates? When you make the comparison, you might find that the most expensive company offers more in their packages than all the others. You do pay more for bells and whistles. If you are not interested in the bells and whistles, look at the companies that only offer you what you are looking for and then compare their prices with each other. Just remember the old saying that says, “you get what you pay for.” Buying cheap might cost you more in the long run. Again this is where your research comes in (see work smart! Put in all the effort with your research). Dig in and see what their previous clients had to say about the service and products. Were they happy? Did it meet their needs? Did they need to do most of the work, or did the company actually do what they were paid to do? If you don’t find a company that meets your needs to a T, go to the companies you like most, set up a meeting, and discuss what you want from them. Many outsource companies are keen to do trailer-made offers. Great, now you have a company that you like. Now compare it to what it would have cost your business if you had to do it. Resources, time, electricity, technology etc. Shocking, isn’t it, how much you are saving in the long run.
How Can You Build Trust?
They will not fit into your business ethos, might cause you brand damage, and how can you trust them. All of these concerns are elaborations of one main problem – trust. Trust is earned. It’s not a given. But just as your investors took a leap of faith in you from the beginning, so you must do this for the greater good of your company. And your lacking home relationship. But let’s not go in blind. You did your research and saw what the other clients had to say about the proposed outsourcing company. Before you sign the papers, you can ask them what their success rate is and what they can do to earn your trust at a sitdown meeting. Believe it or not, you will not be the first person who asks these questions to them (unless they are new to the corporate environment). They might already expect these questions from you and will have the answers ready. If you don’t like their answers, you are free to stand up and keep searching for the right fit. And if you do, then sign on the dotted line.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing in itself is a nightmare to maintain on your own. Cyberspace is enormous but vital and very, very lucrative. Unless you’re an expert in this field, instead hire people that are experts. If you really want to keep it in-house, covering the monthly salaries of your marketing team, floor space etc., then go for it. Or instead, get in touch with one of the over 250 000 marketing agencies with a proven track record.
IT Support
IT is another marvellous blessing and curse in any business. It’s a blessing due to the immense number of advantages it provides your business. Thank you to the creator of emails! No need to wait on faxes and post for answers, just to send a second question back. But just like any ones and zeros, the tech gremlins can emerge on any given day, which will cause your tech to go all highwire. So again, you are more than welcome to have your in-house tech experts. But what would you do if they all got food poisoning? Outsourcing this aspect will give you peace of mind that there is literally a whole company that can help you if this goes up in smoke.
Chatbots
During your start-up months, it was easier to answer customer questions and handle complaints. But your time is already spread thin, and you can’t upset your customers by taking too long to answer them. Thanks to the evolution in apps, software and other cyber wonders, there are even outsource companies with a solution for this – chatbots. Further details for chat on websites can be found here.
Get App Help
Even with the added resources available you have since you incorporated outsource companies, you can go a step further and start cutting time by incorporating apps into your workspaces. There is literally an app for every aspect of your business that can cut time. You just need to (you guessed it) research.
Software Gives Soft Landings
Collaborating on projects will be seamless with installing the correct software. In addition, many of these software provides saving and editing capabilities.
Does this stop you from hiring people now? No! Procuring diamonds in the ruff, which you know will not only benefit your business but send it to the next bar, makes good business sense. It’s all about resource allocation. Why set up a team of 10 employees to do a job that another company can do for you? Instead, use those 10 employees on other projects in your business that will actually bring in a profit. If you’re still holding on to staying stoic on how you ran your business when it was a start-up, you will not survive the perfect storm brewing in the economic world. Change and evolving is not just inevitable but necessary and also good business sense. Nothing in the world is made to stay the same.
