When you own a business, it’s common to have your fingers in many pies, to be part of its every function and process. You do the bookkeeping. You’re in charge of sales. You pioneer the product development. But when your business starts to grow, you might find yourself a little… stretched. It might no longer be possible to take on every single job within your business. When you’ve built it from the ground up, it can be tough to let go.

But it’s so, so worth it when you do. Not only do you suddenly have more time to dedicate to the growth side of your business rather than the day-to-day management, you suddenly get a better perspective, both in terms of the bigger picture and your competition.

To get to this point, you might consider taking on some more employees to help you out. However, full-time employees can be expensive to pay salaries to, not to mention the time and money-consuming qualities of recruitment, pensions and paid leave. You might not feel your business needs a full-time employee just yet. In any one of these scenarios, a better option might be to outsource.

What is outsourcing?

When you outsource a business function, such as website design, accounting or SEO, you give the job to a freelancer or external company. The work is taken on by someone who is not employed directly by your company. You can either pay that party a monthly retainer or pay them by the work or particular projects they complete for you. The internet has meant that it’s more and more common to outsource things digitally.

What can I outsource?

Anything. Well, most things. It’s really down to how much you feel comfortable sharing with an external third party. A lot of freelancers or companies may have contracts drawn up, or you can have them sign your NDA (non-disclosure agreement) forbidding them to pass on any confidential information if you do share it. Here are just a few ideas of things you might choose to outsource:

• Website design and build
• Print design
• Print collateral
• Copywriting
• SEO audit and management
• PPC management

What are the Advantages of Outsourcing?

You can bring the best experts out there into your company only when you want them, and pay them only for the time you need them. This can save you a lot of money in yearly salaries and other employee-associated benefits. If you’re not keen on one person’s work, you simply don’t have to work with them again, without the need to dismiss them.

Outsourced parties can also bring a wealth of experience with them, and they are likely to be highly skilled and specialised in one particular field. They can offer fresh perspective and ideas as they’re a little bit further removed from the day to day running of your business.

On the other side of the coin, you might choose to outsource the dull, repetitive tasks that are crucial to successful management of your company but don’t really warrant a full-time job role. Things like one-off data entry projects can easily be picked up by agencies or freelancers.

What’s the problem with Outsourcing?

The main issue with outsourcing lies with choosing your freelancer or partner business carefully. If you’re trusting them with company information or an important project, you need to make sure they’re reliable and can deliver. Read plenty of prior testimonials and speak to them about working together on a trial basis. Most good freelancers will expect this and welcome it.

In addition, it’s easy to tell if an employee isn’t pulling their weight, as you see them in the office every day. You need to have good, open and constant communication with your chosen company or freelancer to make sure there’s no disconnects or misunderstandings which could cause a project to derail. Be clear about deadlines and establish where everyone stands from the start, as it isn’t always so clear without the hierarchical structure of an office.

Where do I start?

If you think it’s time to start outsourcing, get in touch!

As a full-service digital agency serving London and the home counties (Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey), Clever Marketing are the perfect partner to outsource your print, web design or digital marketing needs.

Just call 01276 534 680 to see what we can do for you.