As a solopreneur or entrepreneur, you are naturally motivated and a driven individual. Your time is valuable, and you are likely stretched thin. It is best if you remain focused on growing your business and utilizing your strengths.
Outsourcing tasks can be a great solution to free up time. Look for areas of weakness or tasks you do not enjoy as opportunities to let an outside party handle them. Here are some common business functions that owners look to outsource.
Bookkeeping
Accounting and bookkeeping are some of the most important roles in a company. Knowing your financials are accurate and complete will help you make solid business decisions. It is not an area that most business owners have the expertise or attention to devote that is required. Bookkeeping should be at the top of the list of outsourced areas to consider.
Office Support
Consider outsourcing the work if your company requires travel arrangements, data entry, scheduling meetings, or other support tasks. Virtual assistants can be an ideal solution to accomplish this type of work from anywhere in the world.
Social Media Manager
Many companies choose to have a social media presence. It is an easy way to reach and grow a following. There are contract workers that specialize in creating content for and maintaining social media pages. Not only will they provide consistency, but quality engagements that will develop business.
Customer Service
Fielding calls from prospects and customers is a vital part of any business. By doing some work upfront and writing scripts and manuals, you can be assured outsourced customer service will go smoothly.
Payroll Processing
Once you have employed others to work for you, whether full-time employees or contractors, you will want to ensure they are paid properly and timely. A payroll company can manage paychecks, tax deductions, vacation time, and other details that come with compensation.
You do not have to outsource several functions all at once. Some tips to get started are:
- Do some research to understand the expectations of outsourcing work.
- Create a list of tasks that would be a good fit to outsource.
- Start with a small project and build up once you are comfortable with the work.
- Spend some time and money upfront to properly educate and train contractors so that they understand your business.
Once you begin to outsource functions, monitor the return on your investment. Your end goal is to have a successful, growing business, and you want to make sure that is being achieved.
