As many entrepreneurs and business owners know, managing and maximizing the use of one’s time is crucial to successfully building and growing a new business. One of the biggest ways that many new business owners waste a lot of time (and money) is by trying to do multiple job functions themselves. However, according to the US Small Business Administration hiring the expertise of subcontractors, independent contractors, or freelancers, your business can quickly scale up without the creating of additional overhead.
Are you scared that hiring someone as an independent contractor to do certain business tasks might not be smart? Think again. Hiring independent contractors can limit costs such as paying for employee benefits, insurance, benefits and training. Most of the time, freelance specialists can do what they do best, while your team focuses on their areas of expertise that relate to growing your business. By outsourcing and delegating certain business needs to specialists, you’ll actually have more time to focus on your client’s needs. So while the decision to hire out may seem like an expense now, it can actually end up being a cost and time saver in the future.
Here are four jobs that a small business owner should consider outsourcing to help grow one’s business, while saving time and money.
Accounting and/or Tax Professional.
Is your dad the family tax and money man and willing to file an track your business’ taxes and finances for free? While accepting your father’s offer may be tempting, tax preparation should not be taken lightly. If you aren’t an experienced finance professional, you could end up doing a lot of harm to your company’s finances. Here are some great tips from the A recent Huffington blog post on the pros and con of hiring a CPA states that hiring a tax professional is a great way to bring on expert advice, save money, and save time preparing complicated returns. In all, the guidance you receive can save your business run-ins with IRS auditors and should be seen as a long-term “investment.” Here’s a great Yahoo! Small Business article on why you should think twice before you decide to do your own taxes.
Yet, if you do decide to take the route of doing your own taxes, make sure to at least consider taking a class or seminar on tax preparation to make sure you understand the nuances of filing taxes for business.
Website Designer/Developer.
For many businesses, the company website is the first portal to sales, new customer leads, and overall brand messaging and position. Having a optimized for mobile and a navigable and user-friendly website has become a business necessity. Though it’s pretty easy to use well-known website platforms to start a site, having an expert work on it can save you a lot of your precious time that you could be devoting to another important business task. Professional web designers understand the technicalities of mobile, HTML, CSS, search engine optimization, browser capabilities, Javascript ,Flash and other internet language. Also, a professional web designer can help you create a custom browsing experience that can help set your company site apart from other competitors in your industry. Before making any hiring decisions, make sure you understand these seven essentials about website development.
Social Media/Marketing Manager.
With social media being such an important part of a business plan nowadays, having someone who sole job is to focus on increasing follower engagement, acquiring new leads, and sharing company content is key. Hiring a social media or marketing specialist can be a strategic move for a young business. One young entrepreneur, Amina Yamusah, founder of Breaking it Down, a diversity-driven black collegiate network, describes how hiring out somehow whose specific job is to focus on social media and marketing is helping to grow her business.
“With me being so busy on business development, I know I couldn’t try to handle social media and marketing myself anymore. I hired a virtual social media/marketing intern whose responsibilities include running and managing our social media, blog, newsletter and email lists so that we can successfully pitch partnerships to sponsors. Because [he’s] successfully done this before and is well-known in my target audience, it doesn’t make sense for me to waste time (and potential financial backing) by trying to do it all myself.”
With a wide range of freelance social media strategists available, take the time to do your research and find a professional who you can partner with to start helping you make strides on your business goals.
Virtual Assistant.
If you’re finding that you are constantly overwhelmed with the amount of speaking engagement, travel requests, and overall administrative tasks for your business, it may be time for you to get a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants are independent contractors who (from a remote location, usually their home or office) support multiple clients in a variety of industries by providing administrative, creative, and technical services. Click here for seven reasons why hiring a virtual assistant might be a good choice for your business. If you’re not sure how to use a virtual assistant, here are 101 examples of how you can use one for your business.
The next time you feel burned while trying to grow your business, take the time to step back and reflect on what you could eliminate from your workflow to ease up your time so that you can focus on your business strategically. When it comes to growing a business, focusing on what you do best and finding the best people to help you with everything else you need to get done can be a worthwhile investment and predictor for company success.
What are some jobs that you made the decision to hire out/ outsource that have resulted in saving your business time and money? Share your experiences and advice in the COMMENTS section below.
A version of this article was featured on Madame Noire Business. Read it here.
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Rana Campbell is a branding professional who helps brands succeed in the digital and social media spheres. Check out some of her work here. Follow her on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
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