Whether you are a startup in your growth stage, or still trying to get your product to launch, you will find that you may need the services of experts you cannot afford to hire full-time into your team. At this point, outsourcing is the way forward.
I stumbled across a write-up that talked about how outsourcing could compromise quality and data security. However, I think these only apply when you are dealing with an individual or business that lacks integrity. Once you get the integrity question out of the way, outsourcing can really be a lifesaver. Sometimes, a task as simple as getting quality content on your social media handle or website can be sucking up precious time that you would love to channel towards more productive tasks.
Here are some reasons that entrepreneurs agree with outsourcing.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 15 (Sept 9 – Dec 7, 2024) has started registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
You get expert inputs at your rates
As a startup, you may not be able to hire the quality of niche experts you need to work on your project, at least not on a full-time basis. Outsourcing allows you to get their expertise when you need it, on one-off pricing and without too many financial pressures on you. Studies suggest that this has helped a lot of companies improve their performance substantially.
Focus and speed
Outsourcing will help you and your team focus on your core areas while allowing the niche experts to take care of the other areas. In this way, work often gets done faster. It may also not be a matter of expertise. Some business owners attest that outsourcing allows them to push the chores they hate and time-consuming tasks doing off their desk, allowing them to focus on the things they love. Whatever the reasons, you get speedy project completion a more productive team in the end since people are focusing on what they do best.
Risk management
There are risks in every project. By outsourcing and letting people manage their area of expertise, they can also plan and mitigate against potential risks in those areas since it is what they do best anyway.
Cost-effective
You cannot hire an expert full-time on your team if you only need that skill for about two months in a year. It is cheaper to simply outsource when the need arises. Also, recruitment processes incur some costs which you can avoid by outsourcing.
Fresh perspective or the benefit of a third eye
There are blind spots that may only be spotted by an expert, or a perspective to issues that you can only get from one who is not an integral part of your team. Outsourcing tasks to an expert brings in that breathe of fresh air that a different perspective brings to the table.
Leaner and more targeted operations
By outsourcing to niche experts, you can keep your operations lean and your team efforts more targeted and effective, allowing you to take on projects you may not have otherwise.
As a caveat, it is important that you try to research and confirm the integrity of the individual or team you are outsourcing to. You do not want a team that would default on timelines, or deliver poor quality of work to you. There should be checks in place to confirm the quality of what they hand back to you. If you have a small team, you might never have enough time to do the things that need to be done so why not take advantage of outsourcing. You can shop for talents on some of these freelancer sites, or even on LinkedIn.