outsourcing Archives - Big Ideas Blog

Outsourcing: When A Small Business Should Do It

By Kylie Jane Wakefield

Quality Outsourcing: When A Small Business Should Do It Small-business is increasingly turning to outside contractors to get work done. Whether outsourcing is right for your business, however, depends on the situation. There are times when your ebusiness could really benefit from bringing in outside or online help.

The number of independent contractors at small businesses has grown 85 percent from 2007 to 2012, according to Inc. Now, 6.26% of all work is outsourced to freelancers. Should your business be following this trend? Here are a few times when small business owners should consider hiring outside workers.

Content Creation

Creating content is a key marketing strategy for businesses. It can come in the form of videos, blogs, photos, Facebook posts, or tweets, for example. Content Marketing Institute’s Sunil Rajaraman says that content should be outsourced if a writer/creator on the team can’t produce something specific.

Need a whitepaper, but no one has ever written one at your company? Outsource. How about an ebook? Hire an ebook expert. If the content team doesn’t have time to create on a regular basis, it’s a good idea to outsource as well. Since former journalists are now turning to this field to make money, there is an abundance of talent out there. And, you’ll be able to draw from different perspectives and writing styles.

Taking Care of Finances

Entrepreneur.com reports that many small businesses are outsourcing their Chief Financial Officer positions because owners don’t feel comfortable taking care of high-level finances. There are companies like B2B CFO and Beyond the Bottom Line that provide these services. If you don’t have time to or can’t answer banks’ questions, consider outsourcing your CFO position. Paul R. Shackford, founder of B2B CFO, claims that doing so could save an owner 20% to 30% compared to a full-time worker. According to Beyond the Bottom Line’s John Gillespie, a full-time CFO can cost a company $175,000 a year, plus benefits and taxes. At one day per week, an outsourced CFO can cost $6,400 per month. The downside would be that the person won’t be in the office when you need them, and that you have to trust an outside source with your finances.

When You Can’t Afford it In-House

To determine what you’ll save by hiring an independent worker, you can use an outsourcing calculator. Take into account benefits, sick days, paid vacation time, and health insurance. Consider overhead, such as office space. There’s also equipment, electric, heating and water bills that can be cut with a virtual worker in place. If you hire offsite, you won’t have as much control over a project. Always be aware that a project might not turn out exactly how you wanted it to.

Additional Tips

When hiring freelancers, get them to sign specific contracts upfront to avoid legal or financial issues. Go to a staffing agency for help, or professional sites like Elance.com, oDesk.com and Guru.com. You should also look for sites specific to certain industries, such as MediaBistro.com for writers and editors. Require references, detailed resumes, and cover letters to ensure that your independent workers have a solid background.

Conclusion

Outsourcing should be taken in consideration, but only after a small business owner looks at the ups and downs. Hopefully, with this guide, you’ll be able to determine what the best course of action is for you.

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Can a Virtual Assistant Increase Your Revenue and Productivity? – Part 1

By Jennifer Goforth Gregory

Many business owners find their to-do list overloaded, but may not have enough capital or even enough work for a full-time employee. One solution that many owners are increasingly turning to is the virtual assistant. According to the International Association of Virtual Assistants, “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.” What better way to keep up with your small business’ emarketing campaign?

How a Virtual Assistant Can Help

Companies use virtual assistants for a variety of tasks, including scheduling, spreadsheets, editing and client communication. Often the specific tasks that a virtual assistant performs depends on the industry and the assistant’s experience. For example, a VA with an accounting background may do bookkeeping, while someone who is a skilled writer may write the monthly newsletter or update your blog.

“I use a virtual assistant to help me with basic research assignments that would allow me to jump into the meat of the project,” says Matthew DiGeronimo, a mergers and acquisitions specialist. When he was representing the sale of an internal medicine practice in Hawaii, part of the project was to send letters to all medical schools offering internal medicine programs. “I focused on writing the letter and had the VA create a list of 100 schools,” says DiGeronimo.

He also uses his VA to update his contact list, which syncs to his phone, by entering information from every business card and email he has received.

Virtual Assistant: Real-Life Benefits

Using a virtual assistant allows you to eliminate the overhead of a full-time employee, such as medical benefits and office space. At the same time, you and your staff will be freed up to focus on other things. “Having a VA has enabled me to shift focus away from non-revenue producing tasks and spend more time on cultivating direct relationships with my clients,” says Jack Klemeyer with GYB Coaching.

Other businesses find that they are able to increase their offerings by hiring a VA. Laurie Erdman, founder of Chronic Wellness Coaching, has gotten twice as much work done and increased her revenue by 300% after hiring a VA two years ago. “I have been able to offer twice as many offerings (products and courses) as I was before by being able to delegate,” says Erdman “My VA would do all the back end implementation while I could focus on creating content.”

Will a Virtual Assistant Increase Your Productivity?

If you are considering using a virtual assistant, do a cost analysis to determine the benefit to your company. “In the months leading up to hiring, make a daily list of the tasks you are doing that are not the best use of your time or skill set or those that you really hate doing,” says Erdman. She says that you can later use this list as a job description for your VA.

Then write down all of the things that you would be accomplishing with the extra time and determine the amount of revenue that these tasks could bring to your business. Be sure to factor in reduced overtime wages or just general quality-of-life issues as well. Calculate the cost of a virtual assistant, which typically charge $30 to $60 per hour depending on the specialty, and compare the cost to the increased revenue you could bring in by delegating these tasks.

In part 2 of this series, we’ll look at how you can begin your search for the right virtual assistant.

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