As a small business owner, there are certain areas where you are limited – knowledge, resources, time, or workforce. It’s in these areas that you may want to consider outsourcing your tasks instead of trying to take them on in-house.
Outsourcing your tasks can free up time and internal resources while putting important items not normally in your wheelhouse in the hands of experts. In some instances, you may want to outsource for security reasons or protect your business from legal issues. Below, we look at some reasons to outsource and areas where outsourcing your tasks may be beneficial.
Why Outsource Certain Tasks or Operations
There are several reasons why outsourcing may be a better option than performing certain tasks in-house.
Save Money in Operating Costs
Many small business owners believe that doing everything in-house is cheaper than outsourcing to a third party. While it may be the case with some operations, there are several areas where you can save money by handing the job to another company.
- Equipment and supplies
- Salaries and benefits
- Office space
- Recruitment and onboarding costs
- Costly mistakes from untrained in-house staff
- Higher productivity
Avoid Legal or Compliance Issues
Regardless of your industry, your company is vulnerable to lawsuits, audits, inspections, and compliance issues. Many times experts can handle these issues better than anyone on your staff. For instance, tech companies, lawyers, or accountants can handle sensitive data and processes far better than you or your staff. So, it’s better to outsource these tasks to avoid legal problems down the road.
You Don’t Have Time
Chances are, everyone on your team has a designated job. Consequently, they are too busy to take on any task outside of their job description. As the business owner, you can’t afford to take your eye off the ball to perform menial tasks. Outsourcing these tasks can free up time and allow everyone to focus on the important stuff, and increase productivity.
Outsourcing Can Provide Long-Term Stability
Handing over some of your operations to experts can provide greater stability for your company. When knowledgeable people handle key areas such as communication, security, finances, legalities, or marketing, they often provide long-term solutions that keep your organization moving forward. They offer support in ways that you can’t find anywhere else.
5 Tasks Your Small Business Can Outsource
1. Cybersecurity
Outsourcing cybersecurity is effective because you are have layered protection. Most outsourced cyber security monitoring companies offer extensive and more efficient security checks and the right methods to prevent human errors or internal employee mistakes.
Outsourcing your enterprise cyber security and IT compliance is a great way to save money and time and overcome the very serious and growing cyber security skills gap. However, it’s also a very serious decision. Your cyber security provider will have access to your entire network and all of your sensitive data. So make sure you do your homework a research a reputable local provider in your area.
2. Accounting
Outsourced accounting ensures you have effective internal controls by providing a system of checks and balances to help you reduce internal fraud opportunities, as well as verify the accuracy of your financials. For smaller businesses, it can be cost-prohibitive to have enough staff to delegate these duties.
When you outsource accounting, it enables you to reduce unnecessary expenses. You can then use those savings to invest in strategies that help your business to grow. Outsourcing helps you to handle your accounting needs and allows you to become more profitable.
3. IT and Networking
The main reason for outsourcing your company IT is cost. Outsourcing can help save a company money in the form of not hiring additional employees, not having to increase the hours your employees are currently working, and not having to buy new software with every advancement.
Third-party providers also have options for essential services such as data storage or security monitoring. Perhaps you want to utilize virtualized software but lack the capital to do so. As you can imagine, outsourcing – depending on the provider – allows you to integrate these services into your infrastructure.
4. Legal
Hiring a good lawyer is crucial to any successful small business. A good business attorney will provide vital assistance in almost every aspect of your business, from basic zoning compliance and copyright and trademark advice to formal business incorporation and lawsuits and liability.
A lawyer can help ensure that your business opens and operates by federal, state, and local laws. Doing business exposes you to risk, but a business attorney can help you establish a set of procedures that will limit your risk.
5. Marketing
One of the most common mistakes businesses make is promoting their organization from within the company. Unqualified or busy employees attempt to handle website design and management, social media, communications, and other marketing tasks only to waste and money.
An agency offers a wide range of marketing services from experts who do marketing every day at a fraction of the cost. Outsourcing your marketing is a great way to handle more business tasks than just marketing. It can help you define and narrow down your audience, refocus your energy on other business operations, and invest in your business’s future.
Contact Insurance Enterprise for Premier Health Insurance
If you have questions about group or individual health insurance and need health insurance quotes, contact Insurance Enterprise at 888-350-6605. Speak to a licensed agent and find out more about how you can get an affordable health insurance plan.