Do What You’re Good At And Outsource The Rest

What comes to mind when someone mentions outsourcing to you? Do you get images of low paid non-American workers doing tech support or customer service? While such an image may not be wholly unjustified, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you rule out outsourcing as a means of helping you with your business.

If you run your own business, you may be tempted to try and be the ultimate utility player and do everything. While the philosophy of “if you want something done right, better do it yourself” demonstrates ambition, conscientiousness, and rugged individualism, it also is a sure-fire way to achieve burnout and prevent you from giving your best in the tasks that you are especially suited for.

Staff overworked? Consider outsourcing some work for the short term

Temps Versus Outsourcing

There’s a difference between hiring temporary help and outsourcing work. When you hire a temp, you bring in extra help for a limited time, and they do the work on-site. With outsourcing, you send out the work to another company or firm and have them provide the labor and talent. Incidentally, some definitions of outsourcing do include freelancers and independent contractors.

When Should You Outsource And For How Long?

If you and whatever staff you do have (if any) are completely booked up doing the everyday tasks and have no time at all for any new projects, then you should consider outsourcing. There’s no way you and your people should have a completely full dance card, day in and day out.

On the other hand, if you’re just starting out, you may want to outsource a lot of the more mundane tasks until your business is established enough to take on more people. You can always bring the work back in-house when you’re ready.

What Tasks Should Be Outsourced?

There’s no one answer that fits all. If you’re talented at certain tasks and you have the time to do them, then by all means do them; don’t simply farm out the tasks you find annoying. Stick with the things you’re good at, and outsource the things you’re not as talented at. You may have a graphic design business, but also have a knack for accounts receivable. So if you have the time, grab a copy of invoicing software and have at it.

Who Gets Your Outsourced Work?

There are businesses and contractors out there who would love to take your money and show you how indispensable they are by doing a great job. Then there’s those people who would just love to take your money and that’s it. You need to make sure that you’re using the best people and reliable companies like www.asianprosource.com to do the job.

Nothing works better than word of mouth. Talk to associates and peers and try to get some good recommendations. If this luxury is denied to you, check out online services that bring together contractors and businesses. Consider running ads in trade magazines or posting positions on relevant sites.

Everybody Needs A Helping Hand Sometimes

So outsourcing need not be a dirty word. Identify the tasks that are not in your or your staff’s area of expertise, find reliable contractors and firms in the service area you require, and take that extra load off your shoulders.

Photo Credit: Nearsoft