Start-up Vs. Outsourcing
This is one of the arguments that makes outsourcing a real good deal. The term ‘start-up’ is interesting as young or upcoming entrepreneurs feel freshen to hit up the business in a different way other than others did whereas trying to pick templates, learning from other past mistakes etc. Interesting enough, these young guys are investing their own funds, working their own hours hoping to put up smiling face to their financial institution after making some cash as they forecasted.
However, while it might look so sweet to own a start-up, the reality is that a successful entrepreneur dreams of when his business can get to a stage where it can scale-up. The definition that makes a business scalable is when it grows at 20% per annum over past three years, however for this to have been achieved it means this company has clearly identified a scalable business model and what tools that could help.
According to a business magazine called Forbes, it points out that the average length of the start-up phase is about three years but it all comes down to how quickly a business grows. Some start-ups can remain same for a period beyond three years after their launch, while others grow so quickly that they achieve scale-up status within a year. The key factor is when that distinctive growth period occurs and the secret to any future success is having the right level of support when it does.
When an investor put money into business, his expectation is to make ROI within a short period of time and in doing that he ends up trying to do far too much on their own. After putting ideas and limited funds into a business somehow makes the business owner or founder to get accustomed to doing what they have always done and refuse to think outside the box in a way of managing resources. Not only that, they also are reluctant to let go the control of their products or services with the feeling of always been in charge and seeing things from inside. But sometimes, it is important to give up control in some areas especially the back-office operations. In as much as you are the owner of your business, always remember a word from a business philosopher Peter Drucker, a man who knew a thing or two about modern management: “Do what you do best and outsource the rest.”
What is outsourcing?
So let us go back to definition, until now some people believe outsourcing is same as Human Resource third party. Outsourcing is the process of hiring talented remote staff or team member to take charge of some tasks that would have been done in-house. Rather than trying put all your hands in everything, many start-ups have realized they are less stressed when dedicating their funds and resources to their main business while outsourcing their back-office operations such as customer service, sales, digital marketing or human resources to a business process outsourcing. A very smart strategy for start-ups to help scale up faster which gives key important benefits – time, money and talent.
A start-up says why should I outsource?
Outsourcing is not particular to a certain business by sizes, types, models etc but has been proven to benefit organizations of all types and sizes. A survey revealing 37% of small businesses outsourced at least one important business process and more than half were planning to during the next year. If it is in your dream to enter into business growth as a start-up company, below are what outsourcing would bring to helping you achieve your ambition.
Cost cut: Let me say this, when some people hear about outsourcing, they are like why should I pay money for another company to do what my company can do. Truth, when expanding a start-up, you put some capital into it and you cannot overstate how powerful the tool “outsourcing” is to drastically reduce operating costs. Outsourcing has helped businesses to achieve 70% reductions on labor and operating costs and these funds are put back into the business to impact growth.
Office infrastructure: not to say much, a start-up company needs every dollar to keep the business running. So why do you have to spend much on providing big office space, buying expensive tools, equipment, and systems for your staff to work with when partnering with a quality BPO company can help you handle this. A quality BPO company has the infrastructures in place and all you need to do it to give tasks.
- Staffing: I love this aspect of outsourcing and I will tell you why. When a start-up or any business roll out job adverts, there are quite number of applicants and a business owner at start-up might be overwhelmed with numbers of applicants and how to go about it. But as a quality BPO company, there are always pool of qualified candidates for every job role which have passed through the filtration already. Also, you don’t need bother about training staff or other form of staffing benefits. These are headache off your neck.
What do start-ups outsource?
Another fantastic question that comes to mind is this?
You might be a service provider or a product seller, you need to have back-office personnel that handles your administrative work. These roles are not importantly to be in your office, they can be well located out of your country but still keep up your work. These are because they only need internet structures, softwares/workspace platforms. Below are what you can outsource:
- Digital marketing: the analogue approach to marketing can only take a start-up so far. Although word of mouth and some social media engagements may help attracting a few customers, but as start-ups looking to enter business growth need to be more strategical. Digital marketing more than just a marketing tool but the best tool to getting customers. There are different strategies involve in DM and these cut across all businesses regardless or size or type. DM requires time, expertise and resources, which is why many start-ups choose to partner with outsourcing providers that specialize in digital marketing at highly cost-effective rates.
- Book-keeping: this is one part you don’t want to joke with. if there is one thing a start-up needs to enter a growth phase, it is finance and accounting. At start-up, you can still be managing your money, but more money means more potential headaches and that is especially so for start-ups that have traditionally dedicated few resources to the area. Outsourcing accounting and financial services to offshore providers is a cost-effective tool for accessing highly qualified personnel, with thousands of graduates in Nigeria who operate in a fiscal and financial.
- Revenue Drivers: bottomline, start-up growth requires one key ingredient – drive sales – however this task normally is assigned to in-house staff, but never underestimate the power of a strong offshore team supporting them. From preparing reports and organizing correspondence to managing databases and CRMs, sales support team plays a key role by handling time-consuming and repetitive tasks and allowing business development managers and sales experts to do what they do best – sell. The best offshore providers are also supported by CRMs such as Hubspot and Salesforce that ensure in-house teams can easily access any information they need to deliver more sales and, ultimately, more growth.
Take your start-up to the next level
Are you thinking what I am thinking now? Are you not better to invest small money to buy your peace of mind and have a better business growth. You are just a click away from getting into this business of outsourcing. Just book a consultation with us here.