This era is the time when entrepreneurship is easier than ever. The increasing flow of enterprising individuals entering the entrepreneurial space has presented more challenges vying for attention.
One of the main challenges has been finding ways to make entrepreneurs more productive.
Decades ago, the traditional way to fix this problem was to hire employees. It is still an excellent solution for medium and large companies. However, most of the new entrepreneurs entering the business sector are startups.
Most startup companies are bootstrapping or trying to run a lean business. These companies have a staff of less than half a dozen and have likely held a prior work or personal relationship before going into business.
Even with a team of six people, day-to-day operations can still be overwhelming for a small business to increase.
For example, startups always try to get mainstream publicity and often hope to get it for free. Would one person be enough to score features from several popular publications in a short period?
If not, would two people dedicated to public relations be enough? What about customer service, accounting, marketing, or raising capital? Will the company have enough time to address those areas adequately?
Such a business needs a strategy to maximize productivity without allocating more time to projects. Companies like Airbnb and Uber have become more essential to utilize leverage in this economy.
Airbnb owns no real estate, but they created a rental platform to leverage other people’s property. Uber is another example. They started with a taxi platform that has enabled them to leverage other people’s time — people who desire to be taxi drivers, providing their cars.
Moreover, leverage goes further. All of us know that there are only 24 hours in a day. So, why do not more entrepreneurs realize that outsourcing can make them more productive?
Perhaps, some entrepreneurs are aware of the benefits of outsourcing. Although, I can only wonder what is stopping them from adding it to their business.
I would presume that the culprit is ignorance. Most people know about outsourcing but do not know where to start.
First, the entrepreneur needs to know and plan which areas of their business are better suited to be outsourced to an agency or group of freelancers.
There is no doubt that there are parts of your business you would prefer not to do, whether due to a lack of competency or interest.
Why spend days or weeks working on tasks that are simply frustrating for you? Would it not be better to outsource those things to someone with a track record of delivering superb results?
You have options! You can choose to hire from freelancers’ platforms like Upwork or hire an agency like Infintech Designs.
Second, careful consideration should be given to determine if it would be in the business’s best interest to outsource locally, nationally, or abroad.
Many entrepreneurs may overlook this one because they feel it is unimportant. It varies from business to business.
If your business is based in the United States and looking to outsource customer support staff, it would be best to hire local, native English speakers. Otherwise, hiring an agency who have foreign English speakers may dissuade customers due to communication problems.
Lastly, it is pertinent to consider the qualifications of potential freelancers or staffing agencies. This is the most critical step to make or break your business.
Many startups will often try to find cheap talent to work within their budget. There is nothing wrong with being budget conscious, but it should never be at the expense of quality.
If you want to grow your business as fast as humanly possible, then you need to find a way to multiply your efforts. Some software applications like HootSuite can help manage your social media. However, the software does not solve all the problems that may inhibit the growth of a business.
Often, entrepreneurs get stuck working in their business rather than on their business. It is this very premise that determines the speed of growth of a company.
Social media is essential, but it can overwhelm you with focusing on other parts of your business.
Entrepreneurs need to return to the realization that they cannot do it all themselves.
While having a small staff can make things slightly more straightforward, it is best to have them focus on areas that are congruent with their strengths. Anything else of importance should be outsourced to competent professionals.
In an era where competition in entrepreneurship is high, it is pertinent to maximize productivity by leveraging other people’s time.
As an entrepreneur, outsourcing is your most important form of leverage. If you want to grow your business fast or even put your business on auto-pilot, nothing will be more important than outsourcing.
