As a small business owner, there are two central ways in which outsourcing can add value for you and your business. First, there is the issue of time. You may be able to do the task yourself but it’s much more convenient for you to outsource the function to focus on your core business activities. Second is the issue of expertise. Outsourcing lets you access expertise at a fraction of the cost required to hire a full-time skilled employee. From a virtual assistant to debt collectors and accountants, we look at the functions that you may find useful to outsource and why.

1. Marketing and Advertising

Marketing and advertising requires a good degree of specialise knowledge. However, small businesses should be selective in the type of marketing and advertising that they use as mass media advertising can be expensive for new businesses. Logos, graphics and website design, copywriting, cold calling, online advertising, and search-engine optimisation are all ways in which business owners can have specialist subcontractors generate leads and clients without having to engage in the work themselves.

2. Accounting

Accountants and lawyers are most commonly engaged on an hourly or project-by-project basis for small businesses, rather than in-house. A skilled accountant is well worth the money for small businesses – you can avoid pitfalls associated with compliance, particularly in your first year of operation. Don’t be shy about shopping around and talking to a few before you commit to a trusted accountant. They could be your best partner for business success.

3. Administrative Services

Outsourcing administrative services not only de-clutters your time and frees you from non-core business functions, it can create a great impression for your business. If you’re time-challenged, use an answering service to make sure you don’t miss any client queries or new leads. Virtual offices are great if you’re working from home and want to create the highest degree of professionalism to clients. Data entry, research, organising files, transcription and other administrative tasks can all be outsourced to maximise your time, allowing you to concentrate on key business tasks.

4. Function Rooms and Conferences

There’s no need to rent a large office space if you only hold functions twice a year. Virtual offices and conference spaces can be hired on an hourly basis for those times that you need to connect and communicate with a large audience.

5. Fundraising and Event Planning

If you are charged with organising a fundraising activity or need a big event for your small business to be well-organised, why not engage with a professional host and event planner to save time and ensure everything goes as planned?

6. Consulting

Strategy and consulting advice will come handy later down the line, when your business has expanded and needs a new plan with fresh ideas. However, if you’re in a niche industry and have large budget, you may find it useful to hire a consultant on an hourly or project basis from the very start to clarify your objectives and obtain invaluable advice.

7. Public Relations

PR companies are probably useful for medium to large company or where businesses suffer some reputation damage. However, if you have aggressive expansion plans and have the budget for it, using a public relations company can help with rapid expansion.