Running a successful small business is difficult. With limited resources, including employees and finances, entrepreneurs can find themselves wearing many different hats. Along with being the owner, they’re also the receptionist, accountant, salesperson, and so on.
At least, that’s the case if they don’t make use of outsourcing.
Outsourcing, which is the practice of utilizing external firms to take on tasks usually performed within a business, is a game-changer for many small outlets. It helps to cut down costs, boost efficiency, and level the playing field when competing against large organizations.
If you’re ready to change your mentality of doing everything on your own, here are four services your small business should outsource.
1. Customer support
These days, and no matter what time of day it is, customers expect to receive service instantly. Yet for any small business, it’s not viable to offer an in-house dedicated customer service department that’s available on a 24/7 basis.
It can be offered, however, when you outsource the task to a customer support specialist. With 24 hour answering services available, it’s possible to meet customer demands by outsourcing and effectively gaining a service department to handle calls. This keeps customer satisfaction high and reduces the loss of potential sales.
2. IT services
When you factor in the equipment needed and expertise required, it’s uncommon for a small business to possess the necessary resources to manage all of their IT services in-house. In fact, it’s not just uncommon, but also unwise to take this approach.
There are numerous reasons why this is the case. By outsourcing your IT services, you can reduce costs, gain access to the latest and greatest technology, boost performance, and increase your overall competitiveness.
IT services that can be outsourced include backup and disaster recovery, hosting services, network maintenance and monitoring, and IT helpdesk.
3. Cybersecurity
Extending on from the previous point, cybersecurity is one of the most important IT-related services a business requires in this day and age. Just one security slip-up can result in a company losing substantial money, trust, and customers.
Operating with an in-house cybersecurity team is an expensive endeavor. Trying to run without a dedicated team is also dangerous as, no matter how sophisticated your security system is and educated you feel, the cybersecurity world is one that is ever-changing. With a specialist outsource team, however, you can be safe in the knowledge they’re always up-to-date with all of the latest changes.
4. Accounting
Initially, the vast majority of businesses will tackle accounting on their own. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the more a business grows, the more complex juggling the numbers becomes. This is why a lot of growing companies outsource their accounting work.
By outsourcing accounting, this allows a serious task to be dealt with by professionals. Along with alleviating you and your in-house team from the stress of balancing the books, you can also be safe in the knowledge your accounting is done correctly. The result: no issues with the taxman down the road.