Part of the appeal of running your own business is being able to do things your way. Many a talented and hardworking professional has felt restricted and constrained by their employers’ inefficient operational practices and sought to break free of them by striking out on their own.
From online startups to freelance consultants to independent retail outlets, each of the small businesses that make Britain great are founded on a desire to break out of an ideological and operational box.
Yet, while entrepreneurs are right to pride themselves on their ability to find creative new solutions to common problems, this urge can also be to their detriment. The desire to do everything your way and under your own roof can actually lead to the same operational (and cost) inefficiencies that so infuriated you in your former workplace.
It can lead you to reject the possibility of outsourcing, a growing trend among progressively-minded small businesses.
Here we’ll aim to dispel some of your unfavourable preconceptions about outsourcing and identify some ways in which it can actually be highly beneficial for your brand, for your business, and for you…
Outsourcing is not “selling out”!
We understand completely. In a market where so many of your competitors seem utterly indistinguishable from one another, you want to do whatever you can to retain your USP. Your operational practices are more than just how you get the job done. They’re part of your brand identity.
However, in an era where outsourced services are more affordable and readily available than ever, you have the luxury of choice. You can choose third-party partners with a similar ethos to your own, improving operational efficiency without selling out your ideals.
Best of all, you can usually find outsources support that is tailored to the unique needs of your business and industry. For example, ExcelloLibertas.com provides bespoke managed service packages tailored to the needs of legal firms so that they can spend less time on tedious admin and more time on what really matters to legal practices, billable hours!
Outsourcing is not a drain on your cash flow
Cash flow is extremely important for small businesses and entrepreneurs do well to remain cognizant of it. However, while it may represent some initial outlay, outsourcing can actually improve cost-efficiency rather than impeding it.
For instance, in many cases outsourcing your IT infrastructure, especially when using cloud solutions and virtual machines, you can leverage tech to gain an operational edge while keeping IT costs manageable. Virtual machines, in particular, can help you to transcend the limitations of your existing hardware without the need for costly upgrades.
Likewise, outsourcing your digital marketing endeavours to an external agency can lead to a growth in online engagement (and, thusly, sales) which more than offsets the overhead expenses that outsourcing may represent.
Outsourcing can add value to your brand
In an increasingly competitive market, your brand is what keeps your clientele coming back to you at the expense of your competitors. And rather than diminishing it, outsourcing can enhance your brand in a number of ways.
First of all, it can ease the operational pressure on your customer-facing personnel to ensure that they get to focus more of their time and attention on what matters most… delivering outstanding customer service. The kind that gets you great reviews, referrals and ongoing customer loyalty.
What’s more, outsourcing your digital marketing and PR can improve how your brand is perceived by the masses. It can boost your profile while also improving your online visibility so you can be in the right place at the right time for prospective customers.
In an era where more and more consumers expect the brands they work with to have a strong ethical focus, this has given rise to an explosion in Social Responsibility Outsourcing (SRO). This can help brands to find more efficient, ethical and ecologically sound ways of operating to build value in their brand while actually reducing operational costs.
Outsourcing can help you attain that rare thing… work / life balance
Most businesses are built on passion. It’s that passion that propels entrepreneurs through the slings and arrows of running their own businesses and helps them to face the mounting challenges that come with each new day.
But through the right outsourced partners, entrepreneurs can ease the pressure on themselves to keep dozens of logistical plates spinning so that they can focus on charting the course for sustainable growth and ongoing prosperity. This can help them to achieve a better work / life balance, reduce their propensity for micromanagement and mitigate their risk of burning out. If you regularly feel as though there just aren’t enough hours in the day, maybe it’s time to wake up to the potential benefits of outsourcing.
