Outsourcing is the process of contracting a third party to complete business processes and/or tasks that are traditionally completed by in-house staff. It’s a strategic move that can help your business focus on its core competencies, become more cost-effective, improve efficiency, and gain access to better technology and skilled resources. When done correctly, outsourcing can be a powerful tool to help businesses achieve long-term success.
The benefits of outsourcing can be significant. When you outsource, you can:
Free up internal resources
When you outsource, you can free up internal resources, including time and money. This allows you to redirect these resources to more strategic initiatives.
Focus on your core competencies
When you outsource, you can focus on your core competencies and leave the non-core tasks to the experts. This allows you to focus on what you do best and leave the rest to those who can do it better.
Improve efficiency and productivity
There are many benefits of outsourcing that can help to increase efficiency in your business. When you outsource, you are able to focus on your core competencies and leave the non-essential tasks to someone else. This can help to free up your time so that you can focus on the most important aspects of your business.
Additionally, outsourcing can also help to improve quality and reduce costs. When you outsource to a company that specializes in a certain task, they are usually able to do it more efficiently and at a lower cost than if you were to do it in-house.
Access to Skilled Resources
Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that it can save your organization time and money. When you outsource access to skilled resources, you can avoid the costly process of recruiting, training, and managing your own staff. Additionally, outsourcing can provide your organization with access to a larger pool of skilled workers. This can be especially beneficial if you need access to skilled resources on a short-term or project-based basis. Finally, outsourcing can help to improve the quality of your organization’s work. When you outsource access to skilled resources, you can tap into a wealth of knowledge and experience that you may not have within your organization. This can help to improve the quality of your organization’s products or services.
WHY SHOULD YOU OUTSOURCE AS A SOLOPRENEUR
There are a number of reasons why you should consider outsourcing as a solopreneur. First, it can help you save time and money. By outsourcing tasks that you don’t have time for or that you’re not good at, you can focus on the things that you’re good at and that you enjoy. Second, it can help you grow your business. By outsourcing tasks that are necessary but that you don’t have time for, you can free up time to focus on growing your business.
YOU are a leader…a decision-maker…and a planner. So the question is, can you really do everything alone, or is there a better way to grow your business faster with the help of outsourcing?
The answer is “YES”! You can do everything in your business alone. You can study, struggle, fail, figure it out on your own and keep spending every waking hour to make your company a success. But do you actually know how much quality of life you sacrifice when you don’t delegate?
THE PROS AND CONS OF OUTSOURCING
One study showed that small business owners work TWICE as much as employees. Delegating allows you to double down and focus on your “zone of genius” and reduces ‘decision fatigue, decreasing your mental clutter so you can grow more into your current role. And frees up your critical thinking for truly important decisions.
Remember that saying “yes” to doing everything means you’re saying “no” to something else. You’re always making a choice.
THE BENEFITS OF OUTSOURCING
Consider this: have you ever gotten stumped by something simple? Maybe you couldn’t decide which color the next cell on your spreadsheet should be: red or blue. Or perhaps you’ve opened the door of the refrigerator, knowing that you were hungry and not even seen what’s in the fridge.
That’s decision fatigue.
Your brain has reached its limit and can no longer make even the simplest decisions. And if you’re hitting that level multiple times a week, then it’s time to re-evaluate. After all, wasn’t the point of starting your own business to have freedom? Be your own boss? And work better hours?
That’s EXACTLY the kind of life that delegating can help you create.
Outsourcing time-consuming business tasks that take away time from the important aspects of your business is a huge benefit.
If you currently have a business that offers a product or services and you typically run every aspect of your business by yourself, there’s a lot of benefit to finding the right person that can assist you in specific day-to-day tasks.
By outsourcing, you have the advantage of being able to focus on the critical parts of your business and allow someone else’s expertise to focus on the other pieces that might require a lot of time.
For Example:
If you’re a professional photographer, the most important part of your business would be taking portraits, customer support, and delivering your clients the best experience. However, taking photos is just one of the many jobs you have to do on a daily basis.
Other jobs also include booking and scheduling, accounting, sales, post-processing, social media management, and a million other little jobs that require your time and attention. When you look at everything that needs to get done, you might find yourself feeling like you lack time being able to do it all.
#1 REASONS FOR OUTSOURCING
I would say the number one reason for outsourcing is that if you find yourself not having enough time to do everything OR you feel like there are parts of your job that can be done better if you had someone who’s focus it was to just do that one job for your business. Then a better approach to running your business would be to outsource and get a little help with the tasks that can be handed off to someone who can do a better job with it.
Of course, the one thing that holds business owners back is the cost. So with that in mind, I’d like you to think about it in a new way.
One of the keys to successful outsourcing is to take a step back. After all, it may sound like a lot of money to hire an outside marketing firm for $2,000/month. Here’s a trick to put that into perspective.
Ask yourself how long it takes you to:
- Research your target market
- Build a marketing plan
- Write ONE ad with variations
- Find or create an image to go with the ad
- The process of learning new technology/tool/software
- Run tests on your ads to maximize their conversion rate
And that’s just one of the jobs that a solopreneur has.
OUTSOURCING AND YOUR BOTTOM LINE
Not only does outsourcing save you precious time, but it also allows you to build a sustainable business model. Because you can’t scale effectively if you’re needed to run every day-to-day task or be of value to your team members.
That’s where we come in for so many of our Wordsmith clients. Creating original, engaging content for your audience every day can be exhausting. But using copywriter-approved, hand-crafted social media captions for your business saves you time and money. In the end, every single one of my clients is saving their precious time by outsourcing social media content creation and allowing me to handle the writing for them.
COSTS BEHIND OUTSOURCING
There are many factors to consider when businesses outsource. One of the most important factors is cost. Businesses must carefully consider the costs of outsourcing before making a decision.
There’s a huge range in the cost of outsourcing, and much of the price has to do with the specific skill set or project you’re hiring for. It can range anywhere from $5.00 to $5000 depending on the project and the expertise the person you’re hiring has.
OUTSOURCING COMPANY VS FREELANCER
There are a few key factors to consider when deciding whether to outsource to a company or hire a freelancer. The first is cost. Generally speaking, outsourcing to a company will be more expensive than hiring a freelancer. This is because companies have overhead costs such as office space, employee benefits, and marketing. They also need to make a profit, so their rates will be higher than a freelancer’s.
The second factor to consider is expertise. If you need a large range of skill sets, it may be worth it to pay a bit more for a company that specializes in that area and can help you with a few different things.
Hiring an individual/freelancer that is an expert in one specific thing has always been where I’ve gotten the best results. I’m able to work with one person directly and really build the scope of the project around my specific needs.
The third factor is time. If you need the work done quickly, a freelancer may be your best bet. They are typically more flexible with their schedules and can often get the work done faster than a company.
Also, keep in mind that most larger companies have long-term contracts in place. Whereas freelancers can be hired on a shorter basis for specific projects.
I’ve worked with both large companies and freelancers and have always enjoyed the process of working with freelancers far more. I’ve also had much better results this way.
I believe it’s because I was able to find a dedicated, skilled professional who had superior experience on a specific topic. Compared to a large company that offers many different solutions for a large range of skills done at a lower level.
HIRING FREELANCERS VS EMPLOYEES
The one thing I’ve loved about working with freelancers is that it opens the position to anyone that has the right skill set, regardless of where they are located. I typically narrow it down to working with those located in the United States but have heard good things about hiring abroad as well.
At the moment, I have freelancers on my team that are from Colorado, Florida, and California. And although I’m located all the way in Hawaii, and we’re all in a different time zone, it works out great for all of us. I don’t have to depend on finding someone local to me for most of these jobs. So keeping it open to more than just one location allows me to find the best individual for the job.
Here’s what to consider when deciding whether to outsource hiring to freelancers or to bring on employees. The most important factor is cost. It is typically cheaper to hire a freelancer than to take in a full-time employee. This is because you only have to pay the freelancer for the work they do, and you don’t have to provide them with benefits or other perks. Additionally, if you only need someone for a short-term project, it makes more sense to hire a freelancer than to bring on a new employee.
Another key factor to consider is the quality of work. When you outsource hiring to a freelancer, you have the opportunity to interview multiple candidates and choose the one you think will do the best job. With an employee, you are usually stuck with whoever you hire.
Finally, you need to consider the level of commitment you need from the person you hire. A freelancer can be hired for a one-time project and then let go. An employee is usually expected to commit to a longer-term position.
Outsourcing hiring to freelancers can be a great way to save money and find high-quality candidates.
STEPS TO OUTSOURCING SUCCESSFULLY
1. Make a list of all the jobs you currently have to do for your business. Really think about everything you do.
2. For each job, ask yourself these questions:
- Does this task need to be done?
- Could someone else do it?
- Would someone else do it better than me?
3. Once you have a list of the tasks you want to outsource, research the cost of each one. This will help you make an informed decision about what you can afford to outsource.
4. When you have found a provider you want to work with. Agree on a price and get a contract in place. This will protect both you and your provider.
5. Finally, hand over the task, and don’t look back!
GREAT PLATFORMS TO FIND FREELANCERS
There are many costs associated with outsourcing great platforms to find freelancers. Here are a few I’ve found the most success with:
UPWORK
One of the most popular platforms for finding freelancers to outsource work to is Upwork. Upwork is great for finding freelancers because it offers a wide variety of skills and services. It is easy to find freelancers who are willing to work for a reasonable price that can bring a lot of skills to the table. NOTE: It’s my favorite platform to use.
FIVVER
Fiverr is a great platform to find freelancers because it offers a wide variety of service, and it is very easy to use and affordable.
FACEBOOK GROUPS
Another place you can look for is in Facebook Groups. There are typically specific groups for certain skill sets, and freelancers spend a lot of time there. You’ll also have the added benefit of also getting recommendations from others who will refer someone they have already had a good experience with.
Last but not least, google for what you’re looking for. As one of my services, I offer a monthly membership for professionally written social media captions. Many of my clients simply find that service through google. They might be looking for content creation or a copywriter that specializes in writing captions that will connect them to more ideal clients and customers.
While there are several cons to outsourcing, there are far more pros. As a business owner myself who used to pride herself in doing absolutely everything without ever getting help. Learning to outsource has been one of the best decisions I’ve made for my business. It allows me to focus on my zone of genius and move my business forward faster. All by working with other skilled professionals that are excited to be on my team.
OUTSOURCING SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATION
With access to the information on Wordsmith, you get high-quality Instagram captions, content that you can customize to suit your business and save yourself a ton of time.
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