Business Tasks: What to Outsource, What to Handle

When you run a small business, you wear many hats. There’s no way to get around that. However, there are some responsibilities that may be better off left with someone else. For most entrepreneurs, these are the tasks that require extensive experience. When learning these would take up more of your time than you can commit, finding an outside source to handle them for you may be more beneficial to your business. However, it makes sense to keep your finger on the pulse of other areas. Free Fundamentals invites you to keep reading for a few quick tips on responsibilities that you might outsource and those you should handle in-house.

Outsource

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is the process of promoting your business across online channels, including social media. But, there is much more to it than simply posting content. One example: search engine optimization. This means optimizing your content and website so that it reaches the most people organically. It is a highly specialized skill, and a local SEO services provider can help you get the job done on time and within your budget. Look for a freelance platform that gives you plenty of options and that has contractors that are well-reviewed and can keep up with your schedule.

Cybersecurity

Even if you have a brick-and-mortar establishment, you probably have a website, computers, servers, or cloud apps. This means that your company’s sensitive data is at risk. According to Kaspersky, nearly 8 billion records were exposed in the first three quarters of 2019 alone. This number continues to rise with each passing year, and being in the middle of a data breach scandal can have a negative impact on your business. Cybersecurity is a blanket term that covers a wide variety of tactics from breach prevention to data recovery. Unless you are already a digital security expert, don’t leave your systems to chance. This is not an instance where it’s best to learn as you go. 

Accounting

Every business should make accounting a part of their daily, weekly, monthly, and annual routines. The bigger you get, the more important it becomes to bring in a dedicated bookkeeper or accountant that can keep your numbers crunched and your books in order.

Handle

Hiring

Onboarding employees is an important part of your operation. Even if you use a recruitment firm, it’s crucial that you have a hands-on role when it comes to hiring personnel. The Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness explains that hiring by personality, which you can only truly do when you are involved, is an effective way to make sure that your future employees will fit with your company’s culture.

Inventory

Inventory management is not difficult and keeping your eye on what you have, what you need, and what moves the fastest is one of the best ways to know where to invest in your business. While you can employ old-fashioned manual methods, inventory management software is exponentially easy to use and can help you keep your business organized. SquareUp asserts that an inventory management system is available on any device and allows you to keep track in real-time. You also have access to reports that help you forecast accurately. Perhaps most importantly, keeping tabs on your inventory can help you improve cash flow and increase sales.

Logo

Your logo speaks to your brand, and only you know what that should say, particularly if you’re in a process of refreshing your look. While it’s possible to outsource this task to your marketing agency, this is something you can handle on your own, or you can work on with an employee who understands what you want to represent. If you’re worried a lack of design skills will prevent you from pulling this off, don’t be! Sites like Adobe Spark offer an array of design tools that help inexperienced designers craft images or graphics that look professional-grade. Their free logo maker online, for example, provides templates, fonts and images that enable you to produce a custom piece you’ll be proud to use. 

Customer Service

Customer service is best left to those who know your products, turnaround times and processes the best. Although there is nothing wrong with using a call center service to help field queries during your off-hours, make sure that you have an actual employee available when your customers need them the most. This applies to all businesses, from travel agencies to software development.

Reviewing Your Business Plan

Your business plan is a valuable document that’s beneficial in many ways. It sets the tone of your business by outlining your mission statement and overall vision. Your business plan will also contain insight into your industry, your customers, and your competitors. When written correctly, your business plan will also help you and your employees maintain consistency throughout your operation. Suppliers, lenders, customers, and potential investors will also want to review this document, which showcases your dedication to your business. Be involved in the writing and annual reviewing of this and other documents. 

The bottom line is that your time and money may not always be best spent handling components of your business. Sometimes, it makes more sense to outsource. That said, there are plenty of things that you should make a point to fully understand, especially those that deal with the day to day and customer-facing aspects of your organization.

Article by Annabelle Harris of elders.center

Annabelle Harris is a writer, wife, mother, and grandmother. She started blogging nearly a decade ago when she was still facing the prospect of retirement and old age. She was terrified and needed an outlet for her thoughts, fears, and uncertainties. It was through her first blog that she found the support of a community that truly helped her through the process of aging.

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