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Outsourcing for Freedom

 Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Is outsourcing right for you?

As business owners we are always looking for ways to create more time and freedom.  One of the best ways to do just that- is to outsource.  Walibu is a company that practices what we preach and will tell you first hand, it’s not as easy as you’d think, but if you do it correctly, with the right team, it can be amazing!

Take hiring an in-house marketer:  You’ve got a website that needs to be developed and updates, you’ve got SEO and social media; on several different platforms that haven’t been touched, you’ve got an ad that needs to be to print by tomorrow, a banner for your booth at the trade show that you haven’t even submitted a logo for yet, the list goes on!  Unless you’ve got an endless budget to hire a marketing team, how does a small business find someone that can handle all of this?

The answer is they probably can’t, you need a team.  Let’s say you did find someone qualified to do this, why would they stay with a company that’s not a marketing agency when they could be surrounded with that environment?  To top this off, now the state wants you to pay extra, file more and be on the hook for way more liabilities!! What’s the answer?  You’ve probably already guessed, but its outsourcing.

Our example was of course marketing, as this is what we do, however there are many more scenarios where this same scenario falls into place; payroll, HR, benefits, etc.

Now that I’ve accepted that I need to outsource, what do I do?

1. Define your core competencies and weaknesses
   Once you’ve established what it is that you do well internally, stick to it and don’t waste time on the things you don’t.
   
   
2. Define your goals
   Clearly identify what you are looking to achieve with your outsourcing partnerships.
   
   
3. Find the right partners to outsource with
   Be it local, overseas or the neighbor kid, make sure that it’s a partnership that will work beneficially towards your defined goals.
   
   
4. Create mutual expectations at the start of the relationship
   Don’t go into this relationship, or any for that matter, without clear expectations and create an internal procedure to liaison with the outsourced companies or individuals.

We’ve briefly outlined several benefits and methods to go about setting up outsourcing at your company, however some thorough research on software may be something that suits your business better financially.  Take QuickBooks, its fairly simple for small businesses and allows you to not have to outsource accounting, which some business owners have a difficult time with.  As mentioned above, partially outsourcing the payroll may benefit the time but still keep you in your comfort zone.

If you have any questions on outsourcing and or marketing Walibu is here to help!

Your marketing family,

Walibu
Marketing Paradise
Marketing + Technology + Design