When your business is in its early stages, you may be able to manage all of its internal processes yourself. However, as your company grows, this approach will become unrealistic.
In order to better serve an expanding group of clients, many companies outsource some of their workloads. What and how much work you outsource will vary depending on several factors, such as your company’s size and industry.
With that being said, there are some surefire indicators that it is time for you to start outsourcing specific business processes.
There Are Not Enough Hours in the Day
As a business owner, occasionally feeling overwhelmed with the sheer size of your to-do list is perfectly normal. However, if you rarely (or never) get through all of your essential tasks in a given day, then it is likely time to outsource.
Even the most motivated entrepreneurs will experience a decline in productivity when they are overworked. Therefore, you must know your limits.
Contrary to popular belief, outsourcing does not necessarily mean that you will delegate a large percentage of your daily workload to third-party entities. You can start with small, affordable changes that free you to start focusing on tasks you are most skilled at. For example, a small doctor’s office may hire a medical scribe so that their physicians can spend more time interacting directly with patients.
You Are Ready to Expand But Don’t Want to Hire More Staff
Hiring new team members is a tricky business. If you bring in too many new hires too soon, these individuals will put a strain on your financial resources. On the other hand, if you wait too long to begin hiring, then demand for services may rapidly outgrow the capabilities of existing staff.
Outsourcing provides you with a great third option. Most third-party providers have scalable service packages. This gives you the ability to access much-needed resources without committing to additional full-time staff. If your needs grow behind the provider’s service, simply upgrade to the next available package they offer or seek out a new outsourcing partner.
Adding New Services Would Require Discontinuing Old Ones
As a business owner, there will come a time when you will need to discontinue old products or services to make room for new offerings. However, it is generally not a good idea to stop popular services or products during an expansion, as this may negatively affect your revenue stream. If your decision to expand forces you to shrink your service or product lineup, it is probably a great time to begin outsourcing.
Take a closer look at auxiliary business operations, such as customer service, account management, and other processes that are not directly related to the services you provide. Identify which tasks can be managed by a third-party provider to avoid dropping clients or reducing the lineup of services you offer.
When done right, outsourcing can reduce the stress that you feel on a daily basis. Outsourcing can also fuel continued growth for your organization. That’s what we call a win-win.