Written by Chris Harley, Mental Health Specialist
Chris Harley is passionate about improving the lives of others through his work and enjoys sharing advice about mental health practices.
Scaling your service business is uniquely challenging, especially when you’re considering whether to outsource or hire more staff. Whether you’ve recently launched your business and you have a limited budget or you’re simply keen to understand the best ways to scale up, this article is for you.
In this article, we will explore the benefits of smart outsourcing and how it could be the solution to your business needs.
Outsourcing vs. hiring internally: Key differences
Before we get into it, let’s first discuss the differences between outsourcing and hiring internally.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing allows you to subcontract projects to third parties. Whether it’s to fulfill a short-term project or as part of an ongoing contract, outsourcing can be a cost-effective way to secure the skills needed to grow your company sooner.
Hiring internally
In-house staff is typically a more expensive and time-consuming option than outsourcing. Hiring internally is great for building a solid in-person team, but it’s not ideal if you’re looking to scale your business quickly and cost-efficiently.
The benefits of outsourcing in business
Scaling your service business doesn’t always require expanding your in-house team. In fact, in many instances, it can be more effective to outsource. Here’s how outsourcing in business can be a powerful tool that supports your scaling efforts:
Outsourcing is cost-effective
Outsourcing in business is a cost-effective way to scale your company. It removes the need to hire full-time staff, instead allowing you to hire specialists in certain areas. This lets you pass over specific tasks to industry experts and remote assistants who can get jobs done to a very high standard, letting you focus on core business activities.
Proactive delegation
Smart outsourcing to expert teams outside of your organisation means you can delegate time-consuming business tasks such as:
Administration.
Sales.
Marketing.
This frees up time and money internally to focus on other areas of the business. Streamlining your approach in this way means decisions can be made faster, processes aren’t held up by smaller jobs, and staff are freed up to focus on their areas of expertise.
Connect with specialists
Outsourcing specific jobs to experienced professionals lets you connect with the best people for the job and receive quality services from individuals who really know what they’re doing.
This means you can maintain a high-quality output for clients while simultaneously streamlining your internal processes. It’s an ideal approach for businesses wanting to scale quickly but effectively.
Scale your company on a budget
Outsourcing in business is one of the best ways to scale on a budget. Some companies, especially those just starting out, need support from other experts, but they don’t have the funds or the need to hire a full-time employee.
Hiring outsourced employees to fulfil tasks such as bookkeeping, social media management, PR, sales, and general administrative tasks can ease your workload while dramatically supporting your business scaling efforts.
Connect with a wider talent pool
Outsourcing gives you access to global talent. Rather than hiring internally and requiring candidates to relocate, outsourcing lets you find the best talent for the job (wherever they’re based).
Even if your ultimate goal is to have a close-knit, in-house team one day, outsourcing is an excellent place to start. It will help you scale up faster so that you can make those permanent hires sooner.
Maintain focus
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is trying to manage every aspect of their business, particularly in the early stages. As the Company founder, you tend to hold the vision and be the expert in the product or service you’ve developed. You are not, however, an expert at administrative tasks (for example).
Outsourcing services you’re not good at means they’ll be done faster and to a higher standard. This allows everyone to do what they’re good at, which will ultimately grow your business sooner and more effectively.
Increase productivity and output
When you outsource, you tap into a global talent pool. This means you could have people working for you all over the world. While your traditional working day runs from 9-5, you might have someone working for you who is only just getting started for the day when you’re clocking off.
This lets you create a 24/hr production line. Now, you can increase productivity, get through tasks faster, reply to clients sooner, and bring project timelines forward.
Gain a competitive edge
We know you want to stand apart from the competition. However, this can be difficult, especially when you’re just starting out. Outsourcing provides a cost-effective and beneficial solution. Hubstaff summed it up best when they said:
“Outsourcing can help small businesses punch above their competitive weight. Companies can maintain a smaller core of employees while accessing resources around the country (or around the globe) that allow them to tap into a higher level of experienced talent or offer more services at a better price than their competitors.”
What kind of tasks are best to outsource?
If you’re keen to outsource tasks that will help streamline processes and ultimately scale your service business, here are a few things you might consider:
Repetitive administrative tasks
Outsourcing services such as administrative tasks can be extremely helpful. While administrative tasks are an important part of running a successful business, tasks such as data entry and payroll management are extremely time-consuming, making them a great option for outsourcing.
Whether you hire an individual or a company to fulfil this service, passing it on to someone else will free up valuable time within your business.
Customer support
To scale your business successfully, you need to be there for your customers. This means answering their questions, responding to their queries, and providing support whenever and however you can.
Outsourcing customer support needs to a virtual assistant lets your team focus on other tasks while your customers receive the support they need and expect. This offers two significant benefits: it keeps your customers happy and it lowers your operational costs.
Business marketing and sales
Ideally, you need a full-time marketing team that will take care of everything marketing-related, from your business website and online presence to customer support. Outsourcing marketing services helps your customers find you. It also frees up your time and ensures your online presence accurately reflects the quality of your service.
Technical support and IT services
Whether you lack a specialised team in this area or you’re trying to take care of these tasks alongside your normal workload, it can be a lot. And trying to manage it all yourself can cause mistakes and ultimately lose revenue for your business.
Outsourcing technical support and IT services offers a huge cost benefit to your business. It helps you provide a high-quality service and helps you maintain a professional and responsive online presence.
Final thoughts
Outsourcing in business is one of the most efficient ways to grow a service company. It allows you to fill talent gaps without the extra cost of hiring internally and provides the extra support you need to tackle a wide range of challenges within your company.
We hope this article encourages you to explore outsourcing within your own company as a way to achieve growth without hiring more staff internally.
Read more from Chris Harley
Chris Harley, Mental Health Specialist
Chris has a background in clinical psychology. When Chris isn't researching the latest holistic and wellbeing therapies, he's spending time with his two cats, usually curled up on the sofa and reading a murder mystery book.
