How to boost your business with outsourcing

Regardless of whether you run a traditional ‘bricks-and-mortar’ business or an online enterprise, there are always ways to do the things you do more efficiently. One of the terms you may have come across in connection with improving efficiency is ‘leverage’. In the same way as a mechanical lever enables a heavy object to be manipulated by a comparatively small force, business leverage is all about finding easier ways to accomplish the many and varied tasks that comprise your business. In fact, every business that has employees is using leverage: using their employees’ time and skills to allow the executive team to concentrate on overall strategy.With the opening up of the global labour market, largely due to technological development, outsourcing has become one of the most popular (and controversial) ways in which businesses, small and large, have leveraged the time and skills of outside agencies to increase their productivity.

Start by out-tasking

If you are a fairly inexperienced internet marketer, it is unwise to go straight in at the deep end by outsourcing an entire business function to another company. Instead, think about a relatively minor task that you could do yourself but would be willing to hand over. For example, you may have an article to write for your blog or a small ad to design. Giving this work to another company or individual is called out-tasking, and there is minimal risk involved (providing you don’t pay extortionate rates).
By occasional out-tasking, you will build experience of how to recognise and work with quality professionals. At the same time you will get used to relinquishing absolute control over your project, something you will almost inevitably have to do if you want to enjoy success.

When – and what – should you outsource?

There are no definitive answers to this question. As your business grows, you will probably want to explore new avenues for growth; as one marketer succinctly put it, you will want to spend more time working on your business than in it.
At this point you will probably want to outsource those tasks that aren’t actively making you money (analytics, customer service, data input, etc.) along with those that you don’t enjoy.
 Ultimately, as your business starts to acquire a more complex infrastructure, you might find yourself needing to outsource work to organizations employing highly-trained professionals.

Where to find outsourcing candidates

Potential hires can be found on various well-known forums, directories and job-seeker portals, some of which allow previous clients to rate them or to leave testimonials. Of course, you shouldn’t take any of this information on face value. Long-term outsourcing requires a high level of trust, so you should research potential partners carefully, performing background checks, contacting previous clients, conducting interviews and asking for samples. If you choose wisely, your business will grow as your working relationship develops and your partners learn more about your business as a whole.

Other precautions to take

When you do form a working relationship with another company, you have to be careful about what information you are sharing with them and how it is being protected. If you are intending to share any customer details you should check the Data Protection Act carefully to ascertain what is legally permissible.
If possible, you should only give your working partners access to confidential information if they need it to perform their work. To protect your ideas from being exploited you may want to draft a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Finally, be careful how much detail you reveal when posting your project online. Certain internet marketers have admitted to scouring the biggest outsourcing directories for new ideas they can use to further their businesses.