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Outsourcing vs. Doing It Yourself: When is it time to let go a little?
How do you know when to hold tight or let some duties be handled off-site? Do you currently outsource any of your tasks? If so, which ones? Was it a tough decision?
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As a PR/Marketing Consultant I have to convince many of them that outsourcing social media and pr marketing are a must. If you are a small business owner it is hard enough to manage finances, employees, products etc why would you want to worry about pr and marketing? I ask my clients to get involved with the process of course but in no way should a small business owner be updating their Facebook and Twitter and even more so why should they have to spend hours learning the tools and techniques needed to run a successful marketing/pr campaign?
Outsource as needed
As a small business owner, I am having a hard time with outsourcing and delegating. I have just gotten use to doing everything myself and now it's hard to let go of the reins. However, as I begin to ramp up I am finding out that I cannot be everywhere at once. Therefore, as I surround myself with able people, I have begun to outsource and delegate some things to others and I will continue to do so as my company grows.
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Main advantage is cost savings. Most of the savings will come in the way of salaries and other staff benefits but there will also be svings on office costs and systems. So outsourcing is good.
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When you are looking around wondering why you are doing all the work yourself. That's when you should start looking to outsource. In addition outsourcing is a great way to get new ideas from others and to free up some time for running the business.
As an import and export manager, I think outsourcing can absorb risks that you may take, besides, outsourcing makes your products or services more competitve, globally speaking. Doing it yourself may save the money, but waste time and energy, and more important, you won't sure about the outcoming results when you lack of related experience.
Never ask yourself when it's time to outsource, it's high time to outsource now. Think about it, if your competitor is outsourcing now, and he's found out more competitve goods or services earlier than you, it's time for you to close the business then. So take action now.
Innovation or development comes along and is part of entering the business industry. The target market surely will appreciate the quality service it is offering. We always want the best accommodation; quality service so I think it is the right place to have. You ever get tired of doing all the work for a bunch of parasitic suits, watching your life run by you and not having much to show for it? Well, perhaps this is the onus for you to think up some small business ideas of your own. The most successful businessmen all started out that way. To create a business, you should take an idea or passion of yours and figure out how to turn that into an income – stay motivated, and make sure you do your homework and market research. You don't want to waste your whole life worrying about office gossip and whether to get a payday loan or not because of lousy pay.
Being in the business support outsourcing industry, I can tell you that 1) if you're not outsourcing, your competition is. 2) there is always a look of relief and calm when someone experiences the benefits of outsourcing. 3) turning over critical aspects of your business takes trust. And trust takes time. So start small. Delegate a few hours per week to start. Then when you actually see for yourself the quality, the time savings and the benefits in terms of freeing you up to focus on your core competencies...the real ROI, then increase the number of tasks and the number of hours. If all you know is that outsourcing saves you time and money, it's worth investigating!
WHEN YOU DONT HAVE THE NECESSARY SKILLS TO DO A CERTAIN TASK FOR A PROJECT THATS WHEN YOU SHOULD DELEGATE. MANY PEOPLE TRY TO DO IT ALL THEMSELVES EVEN WHEN THEY DONT HAVE THE TRAINING IN ORDER TO COMPLETE A TASK TRYING TO SAVE A BUCK OR TWO, BUT IN THE END IT GOES OVERBUDGET, AND TAKES WAY TOO LONG OR END UP OUTSOURCING ANYWAY AS THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE, BECAUSE THEY SCREWED UP SOMETHING.
If you can do it yourself - do it, if you cant, don't OUT-source to a foreign country to save a few bucks, give a job to a local freelancer. You'll still save money, develop a good relationship, and can use eachother as pivots to gain ground on new and prospects that you couldnt have covered without eachother. Finding local people that you can work alongside and grow with is a must. There are plenty of starving entrepreneurs out there who do amazing work, at half the cost, and can't get a break, if you're looking to outsource, look local.
To Limit outsourcing in geographical locations is not possible because we have to look at several aspects while outsourcing and two important points are "COST FACTOR" and "TIME"
I'm not against the localization of business but its hard because cost will vary in "developed" and "developing" countries.
I suggest to business owners to do what they do best and engage others to do what they do best. The business owner should be finding customers, delivering their product or service, billing the customer, collecting their money, putting the money in the bank, and going out to find new customers. Time is your most valuable asset. The internet has everyone thinking they can and should do everything themselves. I strongly suggest using a professional gets the job done right the first time. Finding just one new customer will more than cover any additional cost. If you have any questions about this response, I'm Robert Clark
Outsourcing is necessary to maintain focus on the core business while getting cheap help in other time-consuming but necessary areas. I agree with Robert Clark that time is the most valuable asset for business owner - especially start-ups.
As for Matthew Walsh's comment on saving bucks, I couldn't agree more. I don't intend to sound self-serving, but I know this from my own experience. We were interviewing people in India and found that many years of experience can still be gotten cheap (in dollar terms). If the outsourcing firm passes that value to the end customer, it will result in significant savings. I'd like to say that it is Pareto optimal!
I tried the do it all approach and realized there was not enough time in the day. I stopped all activities to regroup and consider alternate strategies. At the end of the day, no individual can really succeed to a high degree. It takes a team. Whether the team members are outsourced, employees, contractors, partners does not matter really. Each of those has positives and negatives.
I managed an offshore software team for 6 years. I mostly had success but it took 2 years until I was satisfied with the results. Different time zones, languages and cultures make things difficult in ways I never imagined. Some of the difficulty was that I had to learn how to handle a team like that. Offshore can be successful, but it can be hazardous.
i think American companies should try avoid outsource
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There is only 24 hours in a day and one cannot be an expert at everything.
My company, Enspyre, does Virtual Secretarial and Telemarketing services in Taiwan. So we of course want companies here to outsource some of their admin and marketing to us. At the same time, as I have grown this business from scratch, I have encountered the same question myself - what/when to outsource. For the longest time we did all our own MIS, design and programming in-house but there came a day when I realized I needed more professional help. I was not able to hire a really great computer guy no matter how much I paid since he/she felt lonely without other computer people to chat with. Outsourcing this function solved this problem. Same idea is true for many other functions. We have always been using an outside accountant - that's outsourcing. So I think the answer is - whenever you think your business could move faster and better if you could get access to better people by outsourcing. Elias
As entrepreneurs, we tend to be somewhat controlling by habit. Your business is like a child you've created and nurturing to maturity. In order for that business to reach maturity you must focus on things like strategy, revenue, and client management. To successfully guide your business, the most critical elements must be your focus. Tasks or duties that can be outsourced should be done. It has a two fold purpose as it allows your to focus on critical elements and save time and money.
Remember time is money. Don't allow yourself to get caught up in the less critical elements of running your business. If your aim is to grow your business, you will need to find strategic partners to align your business.
I strongly believe that you should only outsource mechanical tasks that do not depend on your personal skills and can be done by anyone. For example, in my business I offer various services to people, starting from mechanical link creation (which can be outsourced if needed) and ending with ad text, article writing and similar. I would never outsource article since I know that people who order expect them to be written by me personally. They hire me for MY writing skills not for skills of an outsourced worker from India or China.
I will outsource my weaknesses and as for everything else, I will do it myself until life, time, stress level tell me I simply can't do it anymore. There have been some things I have had to let go of simply because there isn't enough time in a day. It's been a great learning experience for sure. Bottom line, in my opinion, pay attention to "YOU", and you will know when it is time to hand things off to others.
Outsourcing makes sense as long as you trust the quality of the work being done! Many agencies use subcontractors (I've been one) when their work load is high or for special projects. The relationship you have with those you outsource to is very critical to your success and/or the success of your clients.
One key question a company torn between "do-it-yourself" or "outsource" needs to ask itself is "What are our core competencies?" It is highly recommended that a company sticks to its core competencies and outsources all other activities to companies that are competent in those areas. The opportunity cost in terms of time and other resources will be very high if a company chooses to do handle every business function on-premises. These days companies are outsourcing PR activities, HR record keeping and payroll etc as it saves time and money for small businesses. Until now it is believed that due to economies of scale it makes sense for large businesses to do everything inhouse however this myth is getting busted as even large businesses are waking up to the benefits of outsourcing to geographical regions that are cost effective and economical. However it is very crucial that the goals and corporate culture of the two companies match as the firm handling the outsourced task is representative of the primary firm. This will also ensure that the operations and the customer relationships of the primary firm are not impacted due to shortcomings of the outsourced firm.
outsourcing is great, but really hard to get a good service provider. most of the time outsourcing is a head ache. but there are some good companies as well, those you can trust in. once you find a good company you can save $$$ and also focus on your core business....it's over great to outsource....
When it is cheaper both money adn time wise to allow someone the ability to complet ethe task. My job as the entrepreneur is to ge tth venture up and running an d let other people handle te details. The tough part of the equation is getting the venture running smoothly to continue the growth
When looking to outsource, look for activities that are repetitive, activities where you add little or no value or those that require a specific set of skills to perform. Things like web design, bookkeeping, editing, graphic design are all activities that can be easily outsourced, either locally or internationally, and will help accelerate up your business results.
There are very few comprehensive outsourcing solutions for small businesses so be selective about what you choose.
As a Virtual Business Owner, who encorages outsourcing due to the nature of our business, I try sit with my clients and show the benefits of outsourcing. It sometimes can be a very hard decision to make because of trust.
Running a Virtual Assistant Business have really allowed me to educate small business owners to the benefits of outsourcing. Once you start a company, it entails so much into to achieving your goals, that it becomes hard to handle the day to day operations. That is where a Virtual Assistant or a Virtual Business Support company comes in to assist in reaching your goals.
When needing an extra hand, don’t forget the Temp Employee option. There are many semi-retired baby boomers with the experience you need. Through an employment agency, or a free lancer there is a very large pool of qualified candidates to select from.
"Letting go" seems to be particularly difficult for entrepreneurs. There's always a concern that no one will handle a project as well as you will, or that you'll lose control. I suggest delegating incrementally. Start with delegating the organization of your newsletter or monthly payment of bills. Entrepreneurs can ease into these acts of delegation by remaining responsible for newsletter content, and approving and signing all outgoing checks.
After several months you'll become comfortable with the delegation of these projects and can move forward with delegating other tasks. I suggest making a list of every major business task that you perform each day. Then break the list down into areas that absolutely require hands-on attention and those that are routine, standard procedure tasks that don't require a personal touch. Continue to delegate incrementally.
The Temp agencies too have their pros and cons. Candidates are pre-screened and sent to you as qualified as you request them to be. However, don't forget the agencies fees which are typically 20% or more of the candidates salary.
On that note, make sure you have a good rep. who is genuine in helping you and not just trying to put a warm body in a chair to collect!
The time is NOW! Outsourcing has really helped me to reach the next level in my business. News shows us that India Outsourcing Companies Ramp Up Hiring As US Demand Grows.
As I build my business it has become important to share the information with others. This is what led me to write my latest post Outsourcing 101 - http://www.jasonclegg.com/2010/02/outsourcing-101-the-who-what-when-where-why-how-of-paying-other-people-to-do-your-work/  You must be logged in to post comments.
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