Outsourcing has become a critical part of the growth strategy of small businesses since it gives them the opportunity to be more competitive in the global marketplace while maintaining control over their overheads. Technology gives small businesses easy access to the time, skills and experience of a vast network of resources which means they can offer their clients more comprehensive problem solving solutions. The main problem most small businesses struggle with is to get into the mindset of outsourcing. You need to move from working IN your business to working ON your business and make outsourcing part of this process. This presentation is a short introduction to the benefits of outsourcing, the pitfalls to look out for and how to get the ball rolling.

1. Outsourcing for Small Businesses
Brought to you by Chameleon PA

2. This is John and Sarah

3. They both design, manufacture and sell decorative
wire thingamajigs.

4. John does it all himself.

5. Sarah has a different idea.

6. She draws up a detailed task list of everything that
needs to be done to make her wire thingamajig
business a success.

7. She places the tasks in three categories:

8. 1. Core competencies and capabilities that will make
her thingamajigs the best in the industry
(innovation, design)

9. 2. All the other thingamajigs creation tasks: such as
research, manufacturing, assembling, packaging,
quality control.

10. 3. Other tasks that are essential for the business but
simply don't make sense for her to deal with
personally (book keeping, payroll, HR, marketing,
sales, social media, blog writing)

11. Her core competencies and capabilities she keeps
in-house.

12. The other thingamajig creation tasks she will
incrementally start outsourcing to free up time to
spend on her core competencies and capabilities

13. The rest of the tasks she will immediately outsource
so she can free up as much time as possible to
focus on generating revenue.

14. John is fully booked, working 16 hour days and
producing forty thingamajigs and month.

15. Sarah is also fully booked. She spends around 70%
of her time on innovation and design…

16. …and 30% on managing her clients and resources.

17. She produces 400 thingamajigs a month and
continues to focus on expanding her collection of
designs.

18. When an order for 4 million thingamajigs arrives
John can’t deal with it, but Sarah simply upscales
her network of resources to deal with it

19. Sarah appoints two new designers and her business
is into its next growth phase.

20. The Main Benefits of Outsourcing:

21. It frees up your time to focus on what really makes
your special and as you focus on what makes you
special you will start out-classing the competition

22. It gives you access to the time, skills and experience
of others without having to appoint or train them.
Internal staff might also benefit from this exposure.

23. You can dynamically scale your business to fit the
current workload without increasing your direct costs

24. It makes your business more flexible to changes in
the marketplace

25. The Dangers of Outsourcing:

26. Quality risk. The resource might simply not be
capable of producing the quality you and your client
expect.

27. Communication issues. The resource might
interpret the brief differently or make the wrong
assumptions where things were not specified.

28. No direct control : Outside resources set priorities
according to what is best for their business

29. No commitment to the bigger picture. The
resource might simply execute your instructions and
not care to find the best possible solution

30. It takes time to build up a good network of
resources.
NO PAIN – NO GAIN

31. How to start the process

32. Get into the right mindset. Stand outside the
business. Be a manager.

33. Identify all the tasks required to make the business a
success

34. Group the tasks into:
• your core competencies and capabilities (keep
inhouse),

35. • the rest of the tasks required to create the
products and service on offer (outsource
incrementally) and

36. • everything else needed to make the business
function (outsource ASAP).

37. Identify the right resources – Remember this:
contractors will often say anything to get the job, so
be cautious.

38. Know what you are looking for

39. Ask people you know for referrals

40. Ask those in your social media networks for
recommendations

41. Remember: you get what you pay for. People will
even do things for a fiver

42. Making it work

43. Discuss your requirements and expectations

44. Before the project starts make sure you have an
agreed Statement of Work in place. Requirements,
Expectations, Scope, Schedule, Costs, Payment
schedules, Deliverables

45. DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING.
Make sure that you have stipulated ALL the details
of the project.

46. Keep a paper trail of everything.

47. Don’t micro-manage but keep on top of progress

48. Catch anything that’s off track as early as possible

49. Remember, this is about freeing up your time to
focus on your core competencies and capabilities
and running a successful business.

50. Oh, and one last thing about outsourcing:
Think about using a virtual office and PA service.
Chameleon – The business support you need, at a
price you can afford.
www.chameleonpa.co.uk