Galvanized by a new product idea, a young entrepreneur would often set out to lay the groundwork for a new enterprise. Often this exercise meets an insurmountable wall as the deluge of tasks that need to be done overwhelms the young businessman and discourages them from pursuing their goals.
If there is one thing that starting business owners need to understand is that they do not need to do everything alone. Tasks could already be portioned out to other groups that would have the expertise in handling such tasks. It is good that due to the development of new manpower options as well technology already available, the entrepreneur has now an option to outsource some of the tasks.
What is Outsourcing?
Basically, outsourcing is securing from an outside party certain tasks or services needed by the company but not core to its business. Companies started with the outsourcing of basic administrative work such as sanitation, repair and maintenance. However, other services have soon become available for companies to take advantage of, like backroom accounting work and legal services. Outsourcing help keep costs low for a company since salary increases and direct employee benefits are already taken of the company’s expenses and transferred to a third party. This is especially important for a business that is just starting as it eases on the capital requirement of the enterprise.
Outsourcing provides businesses with additional resources it needs but may not have the capital to cover. This especially includes the expertise of professionals of a certain field that would help in the growth of the company.
Steps to Undertake
1] List the Tasks at Hand
The entrepreneur has to allocate time to list all the activities involved in the business. This includes support services like human resources, firm infrastructure, technology and procurement. Depending on the business, the entrepreneur would have to make a decision in identifying which of these activities are core to the business and which are not. It is important to note that entrepreneurs make a rationale decision on these tasks and not just avoid the tasks that they do not want to do. Consideration also has to be done on the particular tasks that the entrepreneur is capable of doing as well as those tasks that needs to be directly controlled by the businessman.
Tasks that are usually outsourced are those that are repetitive and usually manual. These tasks can be delegated to outside of the company as it requires too much manpower from the company. Tasks that also entail specialized skills or expertise. Fully hiring personnel for these tasks would be very expensive for the starting business. Outsourcing these tasks allow the new business to secure the same expertise at possibly a lesser cost for the business. The same goes for tasks that require specialized knowledge that is not core to the business.
2] Identify the Appropriate Outsourcing Company
From among the tasks, it is good for the entrepreneur to identify the proper outsourcing company to engage. To do this, the following factors may be considered:
• Find an outsourcing company that is willing to work with you
The outsourcing company must be willing to sit down with the business owner in identifying and prioritizing the goals and needs of the enterprise. The outsourcing company must be willing to be an active partner in the growth of the company. It is important that the outsourcing company is engaged early on to make the most impact in the business operations.
An example of this is AScaleX. An all in one outsourcing solutions company, AScaleX provides and executes the marketing strategy of the new business as well as monitor the metrics to track the company’s growth. They work with the entrepreneur in focusing on what is needed and assemble a team to respond to client’s needs.
• Consider the price and the rules of engagement
At the onset, it is important that the business owner and the outsourcing company would come into a clear agreement of the services required and the cost to the owner. This entails agreeing on clear deliverable per task and the lines of authority between the owner and the outsourcing company. This would avoid misunderstanding later on as the business progresses.
• Consider accessibility
The outsourcing company must be accessible to the owner. This down not mean geographically as technology has already made it possible for easy communication regardless of location. Accessibility refer to the ability of the outsourcing company to respond to the needs of the client immediately. This would help ease the concern of the owner in the long run.
Outsourcing has already become a viable business that it is not difficult to identify the appropriate outsourcing company for a particular business task. One need only to surf the web in order to choose among a variety of options.