Running a business isn’t as easy as it may seem. As founder or CEO, you have a lot of hats to wear, especially in the beginning. As your business grows and starts maturing, it’s time to let go of some of your tasks and delegate them to others.
This is called outsourcing, which is a lifesaver for busy CEOs and startup founders. Outsourcing work allows you to focus on things that are more important and grow your business steadily rather than completing small, but essential tasks.
What is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is where a company pays a freelancer or company to complete tasks for them. For example, a research lab may hire a pharmaceutical market research company to conduct research on the current market to help them make decisions in the future.
Sometimes outsourcing means hiring someone to do small jobs that take too much time to complete for a CEO or hiring someone who specializes in the task who can do a better job than someone who is not experienced in it.
Decide Which Tasks to Outsource
Outsourcing work seems like a pretty great idea, right? The only thing you have to do is find and manage your hire. To begin the outsourcing process, you should take a look at your business and decide which tasks you can outsource.
As mentioned above, you can outsource one-time tasks such as market research to professional companies or you can hire consistent freelancers for tasks such as graphic design, data entry, social media management, and more.
It’s up to you to decide which tasks take up too much of your time and can be delegated to someone else.
Choose a Platform
The top two web platforms to find freelancers for outsourcing work are Fiverr and Upwork. It does take some time to learn how to post a job, interview candidates, and find the right fit for your company, but it’s well worth it!
There are thousands of freelancers on these websites from around the world all with different skill levels and price points. You just have to find the right one for you.
You can also take your job posting to LinkedIn and see if anyone in your network can recommend a freelancer for the job.
Look Beyond the Price
As the founder or CEO of a business, you’re constantly worried about your budget. It’s always scary to be in the hole. However, when outsourcing work, it’s important to look at more than just the price tag a freelancer quotes you.
Pay attention to their skills, how they interact with you, and their work ethic, especially when it comes to meeting deadlines. While this person won’t be a direct member of your core team it’s still important that they fit in a little bit with your core values and company culture.
