Small Business Outsourcing: How Good is the Decision to Outsource Your Small Business?

No doubts, outsourcing is the in-thing for just any type of business regardless of the size. And of course, the reasons are not far-fetched and would include massive cost savings, enormous time saving leading to faster delivery to the market, and access to expertise you may not have been able to afford in-house. But, is small business outsourcing a good decision?

The honest answer is yes, as long as you precede outsourcing with the following steps;

Step #1: Check if Outsourcing will Help Achieve Your Business Goals more Effectively

The number one goal of any business is to minimize cost and thereby increase profit earning. Now, the question is, will outsourcing help you achieve this feat? The answer is definitely yes, as long as you do outsourcing the right way by adopting the subsequent steps.

Step #2: Find Out if it is the Right time to Outsource

While outsourcing helps put a business in the right direction in terms of achieving its goals, it has to be implemented at the right time. Some of the signs that it may be time to outsource your small business include the following;

• You are no longer able to cope with the business functions alone
• The present staff capacity is over-tasked
• The core tasks that guarantee the continued existence of the business are being neglected
• You are incurring more expenses on in-house staffing
• …and more

Step #3: Weigh Outsourcing Costs against the Benefits

Truth be told, outsourcing is a huge cost saver. But, it’s also good to weigh what you’re spending currently to keep up with the task you need to be outsourced so that you can determine whether or not it will outweigh outsourcing cost.

In essence, find out if the cost of outsourcing will be significantly less than what you are spending currently to execute those tasks in-house. If this is the case (which is often so), then you shouldn’t delay implementing small business outsourcing measure. However, ensure you rigorously shop for the best price (taking cognizance of quality and value as well) in order to achieve real cost savings with outsourcing.

Step #4: Ensure that Outsourcing will result in Business Growth

Again, outsourcing usually aids business growth by combining all the benefits mentioned earlier. But, it doesn’t hurt to carry out actual analysis to be sure you are gaining ultimately. For instance, if you’re hiring outsourcing marketing campaign agents, ensure that the final outcome would be customer base expansion as a result of increased patronage.

Step #5: Hire Carefully

Don’t be carried away by claims. You should adopt strict standards in hiring an outsourcing provider for your small business. If you’re looking to hire a professional IT expert, don’t settle for just a computer literate individual who is claiming to be an IT pro.

Indeed, small business outsourcing is definitely a smart decision as long as you adopt these steps.

Daven Michaels is a New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of premiere global outsourcing company, 123Employee. The company employs hundreds of young bright individuals on three continents. His International event, Beyond Marketing Live! inspires entrepreneurs to build & grow their business with revolutionary new theories and systems allowing them to design the business and personal lifestyle of their dreams.