3 Small Business Tasks You Should Outsource… And 3 You Shouldn’t

Posted byedstillmanPosted inMy perspective

Katie Conroy of advicemine.com

Photo by mentatdgt from Pexels

As a small business owner, you can sometimes have the mentality that you need to do everything yourself — this is your business, after all, and you are the one who knows how to get things done. At the same time, you shouldn’t do it all alone. For one, doing everything yourself is a quick trip to burnout town. For another, you don’t have to do it by yourself. You need to find the balance between being in control of your company and its future and knowing that there are certain tasks that will be better left to the professionals.

Tech tasks to outsource

Here are a few things to consider outsourcing as you continue trying to find that balance:

Get your taxes prepared by a professional

There are some things you should do by yourself. Filing your own taxes is not one of them. Questions about tax codes, business tax topics (e.g., what are pass-through taxes?), and what kind of records you need to be keeping are all best directed at your tax professional. You can also receive key tax advice and be sure in the fact that your taxes won’t have costly errors.

Form your LLC online

The way your business is formed will determine your personal liability, how your taxes get paid, and other important details that you don’t want to neglect. You can absolutely do this work on your own — but there are online LLC Texas formation services that can help you form your business so that you know you’re doing it right. These services file all the necessary paperwork and help you save both time and money — both resources you can never have enough of when running your own business.

Outsource marketing and design

Freelance marketing and design consultants offer a great resource to business owners who don’t have the necessary background or knowledge to get their business on the map. The field is one that requires constant learning and no small amount of research. For instance, a lot changed for marketers in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and marketing experts have had to do a fair amount of pivoting as things continue to change. Hiring a freelancer to handle your marketing and design tasks could save you a headache later.

Tech tasks to continue doing yourself

Likewise, here are a few things you can retain control of in order to make sure your business is innovating effectively, acting on decisions properly, and getting your name out there:

Use project management tools

Project management software offers an easy way for you to stay on task, on budget, and on time. You can make your own projects, and make sure they get delivered on time, by investing in project management tools like Airtable, Asana, or JIRA. You could hire a project manager, but this part of the job you can take care of yourself.

Core competencies

This is your business — own it! Don’t be afraid to ask for input from others, but retaining the majority of this function for yourself is a good idea, especially if this is what sets your company apart from others.

Customer service

As a small-business owner, your brand is sometimes inextricably linked to your face and persona. Outsourcing your customer service function to a call center may sound financially like a good idea, but it may not pay off in the long run if that causes you to lose loyal clients.

At the end of the day…

You know what’s best for your business, but it doesn’t hurt to get help every once in a while from experts who know their fields in and out.

Are you ready to consider talking to a peer advisory group? It’s time to take your business to the next level and make better decisions for your company, your future, and your well-being. For your 15-minute consultation, get in touch with the peer advisory experts like Ed Stillman at Vistage Austin today.

Published by edstillman

I grew up in Carlsbad, north San Diego County, lost my dad as a teenager, went into the USAF for four years and hired on with 3M in 1969. Received my AA from Santa Barbara City College, BA and Masters from Redlands University and after 33 plus years, I retired from 3M in 2002. As I look back on my life, I have been creating myself and developing my skill sets to be a business coach and a Vistage Chair. I am president of SEOT, a "personal improvement" consulting firm spending most of my time working with Central Texas executives running small to medium size for-profit companies who are focusing on improving their profitability greater than their competition. My area of interest is assisting senior executives in creating a better balance between business commitments and personal relationships. I also facilatate three leadership labs each consisting of a dozen owners, presidents and CEOs. We meet monthly both in a group setting as well as in a 1-to-1 coaching session. Our focus is to sharpen each others' skills in becoming better leaders, making better decisions and taking ourselves and companies to that next level. Who are we? My members are experienced top executives who recognize that they don’t have all the answers and who actively seek the company of successful peers—both to give and receive insights and ideas. My members mine the 200 plus years of chief executive experience that comes together in our monthly meetings and members are eager to offer their own experience and insights in the process. As a group, we spend our time exploring topics members can't discuss anywhere else. My members have many other places where they can engage in idle, "cocktail party" chatter. Our mission is to provide the setting for discussing the "undiscussable." Where or who can you go to for confidential, honest feedback to assist you in minimizing your personal "Worry List"?