Outsourcing: the New In-sourcing

Running a business requires a constant juggling of two of your main resources, namely time and money.

With a host of DIY-style tools available on the internet, a company can create their own logo, website and marketing collateral. Savvy business owners can even deep dive into specific functions, schooling themselves on HTML coding, SEM advertising and Milton language.

The problem with DYI’ing every aspect of your business, is that if you are trying to accomplish something that is not necessarily your area of expertise;

1. how much time are you spending on getting it done (and thus not focused on driving business), and
2. how is the end product going to rate against product that has been created by an expert in their field?

(Having attempted tiling my own bathroom, trust me when I say that I can answer both of those questions… It’s, a ton of time and the end result is probably quite crap).

Of course, managing your finances plays a large part in the decision making process, and employing a full-time employee to take care of various functions, doesn’t always work out cost effective when measuring your return on the salary investment.

Freelancers are able to effectively plug the skills vs. budget gap, by providing high-quality, temporary or project-based service focused on a niche, potentially time-consuming requirement for your business.

Still not convinced? Whether you’re a big corporate or a one-man micro-business, below are 5 more reasons why outsourcing to a freelancer is a great idea:

Cost effective

Per-hour and project rates can be enough to make an employer break out into a cold sweat, however, in the long term it can work out cheaper to employ a freelancer than a full-time employee.  

Freelancers work from their own space, so there are no overhead costs and no health, pension or other benefits for an employer to cover.  They can be employed on a short- or long-term basis, based on ad-hoc jobs, projects or retainer work.  

Either way, you are literally paying them only for the work they produce.

Creative and innovative

Freelancers love what they do. 

As such, they invest their own time and money into keeping their knowledge up-to-date, developing new skills and finding creative new ways of doing things.  They are able to offer a unique range of services, backed up by real-world experience.

Flexible

Work-life balance is one of the biggest reasons freelancers shy away from the 9-to-5 corporate-job mindset.  

They are less confined to traditional office hours and this flexibility can be hugely advantageous to your business; a freelancer is probably working at times that a full-time employee is not (and won’t be complaining about it)!

An outsider’s perspective

Sometimes the same way of thinking and doing things bogs down your ability to stand out from your competitors.  

Freelancers tend to work with a diverse array of clients across various industries, which means they are continuously forced to come up with new and innovative ideas.  Getting an outsider’s perspective can help resuscitate your business by approaching problems from a fresh angle.

Pressure to perform

Freelancing does not guarantee a steady income which makes freelancers less complacent than full-time employees.  

A good reputation is good for business, so they are more likely to deliver high quality work and less likely to miss deadlines as their income depends solely on their ability to keep their clients happy.  

So, whether you’re currently considering starting a business from scratch or have an established company that’s looking for an innovative new ways of doing something, think outsource!

Megamalist is a freelance digital writing specialist. If you need words for your website, blog, social media or anything in between, I’ve got ’em! > (opens in a new tab)” href=”https://megamalist.com/contact/” target=”_blank”>Contact me >>