The whole point of being an entrepreneur is that you’re the primary driving force behind your business. It’s your baby, and you feel that you need to be involved in every single aspect of the business. But the smart entrepreneur knows when to keep a tight hold on the reins – and when to delegate. When it comes to your tech then unless you’re some kind of a Tech superhero, there are going to be aspects of the business that you’re not the most qualified to tackle. It’s at this point you should be thinking about calling in outside help. So what should you outsource, and what should you keep ‘in-house’? Here are our top tips.
#1 – Accounts – You will probably want to keep a tight hold on the accounts initially, but as the business grows you may need to redress the situation. To start with, a good accounts package such as QuickBooks Online accounting software will allow you to keep track of your expenses, but be prepared to hand things over to a professional accountant once the business starts to grow. This will give you more time to be an entrepreneur, whilst your accounting software will keep you in the loop financially.
#2 – Small projects – It’s much easier to delegate a small project than it is to relinquish control over a major one, particularly when we’re talking projects that contain a lot of coding. Web development projects that are outsourced should be the smaller ones, which limits your reliance on an outside firm to produce coding that is compatible with your own existing projects.
#3 – Mobile apps – Unless you’re a mobile apps specialist, let someone else take control of this aspect, especially if it’s not an essential or core part of your business.
#4 – Website design – As long as you give clear guidelines and have a say in each aspect of the process, outsourcing your website design is perfectly safe. The key to a successful relationship with your webmaster is communication.
#5 – Core business – There are some aspects of your business that need to remain in-house, so if you need to hire the right people to do the job and keep them on your team. Major business decisions such as growth into new areas should always be down to you, the entrepreneur, and never dictated by outside forces.
#6 – Outsource for the right reasons – Outsourcing isn’t about saving money – it’s about getting the job done to the highest possible standards. So make sure you’re outsourcing for the right reasons and find a partner who brings real value to the deal and will be happy to commit to a long-term business relationship with you.
Almost any type of tech work can be outsourced, but once you learn to let go of the reins a little, make sure that you’re not over-delegating by default! The trick is to find the right balance between keeping your core business essentials in-house and outsourcing those parts of the operation that would be better handled by someone else. The real key to successful outsourcing your tech is good communication. Maintain that and you shouldn’t have any problems.