Your Business Needs You, or Does It?

Small business1 comment

The mantra from the recent conference season seems to be “Your country needs you” as we are all told to pull together over the current economic difficulties.  But what about when it comes to business?  Does your business need you, or should it?  You might think this is a daft question if you’re currently running your own business but then I’d ask you why you set one up in the first place?

A lot of people start up in business because they want to be their own boss, and have some kind of financial and personal freedom.  However, business ownership can mean the total opposite in the early days.  You’re working all hours of the day and night, earning very little money and doing all that you can to get clients!   Most business owners expect this at the start but what about further down the line when the client work starts to flow in?

You may have started to outsource various functions that you don’t have the time or skills to do, and I’ve talked about the virtues of outsourcing in my previous blog “Why outsourcing is the key to business growth“.  However, you may still see the business as your “baby” which you’ve nurtured over time and are reluctant to let go.  But remember, you’ve only got a business if you can go away for 6 months and it’s still running when you come back.  If you have to be there for the business to keep going, then you’re not running a business, you’re self-employed.

There is a difference and I’m not saying that one’s better than the other.  But if you went into business to achieve personal and financial freedom and you’ve ended up working all the hours as you struggle to manage everything yourself, then perhaps it’s time to step back and relook at your goals and strategies.

So does your business need you?  Or can you take a break from it, confident that it can run smoothly and successfully without you?

Why outsourcing is the key to business growth

Outsourcing, Small business1 comment

When you first set up in business, you find that a lot of your time is spent juggling multiple roles and demands.  Whether it’s handling your admin, doing the accounts or making sales calls, this may not be what you went into business for but they are tasks that have got to be done!  However, spending too much time on these activities can have a negative impact on your fee earning work.   So how can you grow your business when your time is limited by all the other tasks that you’ve got to do?

Well, the answer is outsourcing.

If you want your business to expand then there comes a time when you have to look at outsourcing those tasks that you either don’t have the skills or time to do.  Some businesses may see this as an additional cost that they can’t afford.  However, remember that when you do these tasks yourself, you are doing them at your hourly rate.  And it’s fair to say that for the majority of tasks you could easily outsource, you will pay a significantly lower rate for someone else to do it!  Also, by using a third party contractor, you don’t have to pay staff or overhead costs and can usually hire their services only when you need them.

So whether you hire a virtual assistant to handle your admin, a book keeper to organise the accounts or a telesales company to manage your sales calls, outsourcing these activities will give you more time and energy to focus on those activities that you enjoy doing and which bring in the money.

Remember, if a business owner tries to do everything themselves then they have less opportunity to increase their income and gain new clients.  So outsourcing is essential for any business that wants to grow and succeed.