5 Key Tasks Your Small Business Should Outsource

September 10, 2018 by Gordon Advisors

Running a small business can be expensive and time-consuming. That’s why many entrepreneurs resort to outsourcing certain business tasks. Instead of investing a lot of money into hiring and training new departments, you can get certain jobs completed by an external service.

Outsourcing helps small businesses save money and time at the same time as trusting their expertise to get the job done right. What exactly should your small business be outsourcing? Here are some key tasks you might want to outsource.

Marketing and Public Relations

Businesses both big and small often turn to professional services to handle marketing for them. There’s no shortage of marketing firms prepared to carry out campaigns for your business or even devise a marketing strategy for you.

Similarly, public relations firms often work on getting press coverage for businesses. They can ensure you maintain a good business reputation, handle your social media, and attract more people to your company.

Whether you’re looking for digital marketing, television advertising, press coverage or any other form of marketing, you’ll have no problem finding services online or locally to handle the job for you. Always check an agency’s case studies to determine how much they can help you.

Accounting and Finances

When it comes to finances, businesses often rely on external companies. A survey by Global Business News found that 75 percent of US and European firms outsource financial tasks. This includes roles such as accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll.

Having your finances handled by a professional is important. Filing your taxes wrong or making a mistake when it comes to bookkeeping can be extremely problematic and costly. Outsourcing tasks such as payroll can also help save you time, reduce late payments, and keep your employees happy.

Employing the help of professional financial services can also help your business save a lot of money. They can analyze your expenses and help you make the right cuts. An experienced business accountant will also help ensure you save money when it comes to taxes.

Human Resources

A human resources department covers a lot of important roles in a business. Between hiring the right talent, firing, training, and dealing with employee problems, you’ll need more experienced human resources representatives the more staff you have. That’s why many businesses choose to outsource these tasks.

Recruitment services are commonly used when it comes to hiring new talent. They can handle your whole advertising, interviewing, and recruitment process for you, or work alongside you to find the right people. You can also employ the help of executive recruiters or headhunters- dedicated recruitment services which focus on filling important roles with highly qualified employees.

There are also human resources consultancies and agencies which can help you with all facets of employee satisfaction, from training to creating the right working environment. It’s a task that’s well worth outsourcing if you want to get the most out of your staff.

Web Design

Having a practical and modern website is vital for any business to survive today. Chances are that most of your customers or clients will find you through the internet. Building a stand-out website can be hard unless you have years of coding knowledge- that’s why most businesses outsource it.

There are tons of services and freelancers who can tailor a professional website to your needs. It may take some investment, but considering how much revenue it can lead to, it’s well worth the cost.

Your business website can also be used for things like content marketing and online sales. It’s simple enough to implement tools for these tasks to your website so you can handle them yourself. If you don’t have a website already up and running, be sure to talk to a professional web designer about building one with everything your company needs.

Legal Matters

Running a business can be a legal minefield. Inexperienced entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of breaking laws or regulations without even realizing it. That’s why having a legal professional to support your business is often advised.

Large companies often have their own legal departments to handle any legal matters that come their way. This isn’t practical for small businesses, but outsourcing the job is simple enough. You can always hire a lawyer once a legal problem finds you. But it can be better to work with a business lawyer from the get-go who can keep you out of any hot water.

Law firms and consultancies often help businesses with these issues. It’s a common role to outsource and one that can save business owners a lot of money and hassle.

How Much Should You Outsource?

Outsourcing can be highly helpful in growing businesses, but don’t outsource every department of your company straight away. Carefully consider how much help you need in each sector of your business and how much external help will benefit you.

Accounting and marketing are the most commonly outsourced business tasks, but they don’t require a lot of investment. You can often find freelance marketers to help you with small jobs. A single accountant is often enough to help a small startup. Likewise, a small business with a small number of employees won’t need to employ the help of an HR firm, but an HR consultant can help them with advice on certain matters.

There are plenty of different options when it comes to outsourcing, so weigh up the pros and cons and do what’s best for your business.