As small business owners, we often end up taking every role upon ourselves...
When starting up, the initial costs do not tend to give us any room or budget to enable us to hire any staff, so… in order to keep costs low, we do as much as possible ourselves.
This makes us become; the business owner, the marketing manager, the sales team, the accountant, and the designer all at once - sound a bit familiar?
The multiple moving parts of a business, despite not always best appealing to our skill sets, become a part of the job.
It might have been our initial intention to only do this for the short term, or as a way of saving some money, but taking on every role can prevent us from working on our business because we are so mixed up in our business.
So why not outsource? In this post we'll cover the options below:
Why you should consider outsourcing…
Say it with me: I don’t have to do it all.
Outsourcing work to someone skilled in their profession saves you time from having:
A) To learn how to do it
AND
B) Struggling to complete a task that may not come naturally to you
And, as much as we don’t always like to admit it; a skilled professional will be able to complete the job better and quicker.
Just think about how much time you could regain, AND the ways you can reinvest that time back into your business.
For example; on strategies, researching your competitors, or improving your products… rather than googling Wix tutorials, or trying to post regular and engaging Insta stories… (we’ve all been there).
How you can outsource
You don’t have to outsource everything.
But, it might be worth considering which jobs take you the longest and which ones you enjoy the least. That way you can re-empower yourself with the time to focus on your business and enjoy it again.
Here are 5 of our recommended ways to outsource this year:
📈 Bookkeeping
For most of us, the ‘biggy’ of bookkeeping is our tax returns, am I right?
Tax returns are an absolute headache, and I can without a doubt be certain that you have other things that you would rather be worrying about.
The benefit of hiring a bookkeeper means your finances are regularly updated and accounted for, and most importantly, can offer you peace of mind when it comes to the dreaded tax return: You know they have it all in hand.
For me, this has been a godsend for keeping on top of things, especially when I’m in the midst of a busy work period.
✍️ Office Tasks
Getting yourself a Virtual Assistant (VA) can help you with so many tasks:
Picking up the phone
Scheduling meetings
Replying to emails
Booking plane tickets
… the list goes on!
VAs are particularly great when your business is a side hustle or when you are working non-stop and need a helping hand:
~VAs mean your business does not have to stop when you’re not available~
If you’re working your other job, or have too many additional priorities to be dealing with, then you can hire some help without committing to a full in-house employee.
📝 Content Writer
Content writers are talented and skilled at crafting professional copy for your business.
They now play an integral role in marketing, in fact, HubSpot has said that since 2020, “70% of marketers now actively invest in content marketing”
They can help with copy for items such as; website pages, blogs, and email newsletters, all whilst keeping with your brand’s tone and voice to spark your customer’s engagement. You give them the brief and they will return with great copy with the right substance, messaging, and calls to action. They will become the storyteller of your business and brand.
If writing doesn’t come naturally to you or can sometimes feel like a chore, hiring a content writer full-time or asking a freelancer to help you on occasion, is the ideal way to keep your content consistent, up to date, and relevant. I’ve found that they don’t have to be too expensive and they are a reliable way to make sure your content doesn’t drop off your radar when you’re swept up in sales.
💻 Website designers & Website maintenance
Did you know that, according to Adobe, “38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout are unattractive”?
Or, that “75% of consumers admit to making judgements on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design”?
That is why using a website designer has a great return on investment.
Although you might be able to manage WIX yourself on an intermediate level, a Wix Partner can help with pretty much anything, including:
Compatibility on mobile devices, tablets, and desktops
Being search engine friendly
Having well-functioning links
Effective shop features
Website maintenance
Supporting the longevity of your site
A good-looking website that showcases your brand and goals.
As web designers ourselves, we know that there are several ways in which professionals and freelancers can help you beyond just the initial big website build.
At ID&EA, we can help you as little or as often as you would like: It could be every quarter, every month, or even on an ad-hoc basis to add things such as new images or products to your website. Whatever you need.
Businesses are changing all the time, and your website should reflect and adapt with this change. Hiring a web designer is a really easy yet effective way to do this.
🤳 Social Media
Outsourcing your social media can come with so many benefits including; new creative ideas, regular posting, increased engagement, analytics on performance, and someone to analyse customer behaviours… just to name a few.
However, there are some things to be wary of: Outsourcing means that your voice can get lost, and audiences are showing a growing interest in seeing the person behind the business and their authentic voice.
If you hire social media help, make sure that you still post, or maybe even do the occasional live videos.
📸 Photography or Videography
High quality and relevant images are crucial to your websites’ first impression to a potential customer.
When the quality of product images are low it will dramatically affect the overall look of your site, thus, impacting your brand's ‘trustability’ and ultimately your revenue.
It will depend on the type of business you are as to whether or not it is worth outsourcing a photographer, but having good high-quality images on your website is a must, particularly for the products you are selling.
If you have the time to invest in courses and learn how to use editing software well, then it’s totally worth doing, but if not, it’s likely to be more effective for your business to hire a photographer for a shoot.
FYI: Next month, we will have a guest blog with professional photographer: Jon Bell, who actually took all of my business pictures. He’s excited to share with you some tips on how to improve your own photography and how you can prepare if you choose to go down the professional photography route.
Sign up below for notifications of our upcoming blogs and freebies.
Will you outsource in 2023?
Before you start the search for a new bookkeeper, virtual assistant, content writer, photographer, and web designer, take a moment to review and reflect:
Review all the tasks you do day to day in your business, have a look at what you can outsource and see how you can save yourself time to invest elsewhere in your business.
We recommend reflecting on your log of what you do daily and where you are spending your, so that you can see if there are roles that you are spending too much time doing.
Then you will be able to conclude exactly what will be perfect to outsource for the benefit of your
SME.
You may not have a budget for it now, but it’s totally something worth working towards (the carrot at the end of the stick, as we like to say).
If you can’t outsource now, it’s great to have a plan for how you can invest in your business in the future.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for website maintenance or someone to keep your website looking fresh and healthy, please do get in touch and we can discuss the ways in which we can support you and your business.
☎️ +44 77 6232 1043
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