It was legendary business theorist Peter Drucker who first said, “Do what you do best and outsource the rest.” And he was a pretty smart guy all round, so his views are not to be dismissed lightly.
It’s a principle that applies to pretty much every business, from start up to multinational. It can save time, money and get better results, and once you adopt the principle you’ll find more and more places it can be profitably applied.
So here are some things we think you could legitimately be outsourcing:
Organising receipts
Receipts – vital little scraps of paper that prove to the tax man that you’ve spent the money you say you have. You keep meaning to sort them out, but they aways end up piling up in your wallet until you can’t actually close it. Or crumpled up in a shoe box somewhere. Or lost. Enough is enough. You need a book keeper. Ideally before you get audited.
Finding documents
No one wants to go in the archive room because it’s dusty and it smells funny. Also, they don’t know where anything is. And frankly, why are you wasting £150 an hour sending highly skilled engineers into questionably safe spaces to find paperwork anyway? It’s time to get yourself an offsite storage facility with barcoding and super fast document delivery services. As it happens, we know just the people (hint: it’s us).
Driving around
No really, hear us out. How much time do you spend stuck in traffic going to meetings and such like? If you could spend that time sitting on a bus or a train or in a taxi actually getting work done, wouldn’t the cost of the fare be less than what you’d achieve? Hm? Think about it. It’s not free when you do something yourself – not if you earn a salary.
Fixing computers
Seriously, this is definitely something you need help with. Bob the sales guy might reckon he’s a dab hand at the old “switch it off and switch it on again” but these days businesses are so tech reliant. Can you afford to have your systems go down? A monthly support contract will almost certainly save you money in the long run. And frustration. And possibly having to spend time in prison after accidentally hitting a passing stranger with a flying laptop.
Your weaknesses
By which we mean, if you’re not great at something then get someone else to do it. So if you’re not especially good with words then get someone in to write your blog for you. If you can’t design for toffee, hire a designer. If you make a terrible cup of coffee, get an intern (kidding!!). Be honest with yourself, and stick within your personal ‘zone of genius’. Your business will thank you for it.
If you need help with document storage – or indeed document scanning, secure data destruction or any of the other services we offer – get in touch today for a quote. You might be surprised at how cost effective it is to outsource some of the jobs you’ve been trying to do in-house all this time.