As a business owner, you hear the terms growth and scale a lot.
If you aren’t growing, you aren’t succeeding. Scale in business terms usually means exploding growth. When you look at growth and scaling your startup, you start thinking about hiring new people. But do you really need to bring on full-time and part-time staff?
Or can you outsource roles in marketing, human resources, IT, and finance until you reach the level of growth where you can justify outright new hires? The answer is yes.
In this article, we look at growth versus scale and the four critical roles you should be outsourcing. Much of the growth scale roles you need in the beginning can be from outsourced companies or freelance workers.
#1: Outsource a Marketing Team
The first role you want to look at filling has to do with your marketing. In the beginning, you might look at a freelance consultant or even a local digital media team.
The goal here is to find a person or team of people to market your startup. Take a look at your budget and decide if it makes more sense to hire a freelance person or an outsourced team. Generally, a consultant will cost you less because they aren’t maintaining a large office space with a large team.
You want someone with digital skills as well as public relations talent. This person should be well-versed in website development, social media marketing, SEO/SEM, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising on Google, Facebook, and Instagram.
You also want a freelance marketing consultant who can create a strong marketing strategy to help you either grow or scale your business. Look for people with experience in your industry who know how to grow a company and enhance your brand.
#2: Outsource an IT Company
You’re trying to build your business, and that always involves computers. Whether you have one computer or a network, you’re going to need IT (information technology) services.
We live in a digital age, and computer skills aren’t something to be put on the back burner. You have products and services to sell, and you need an experienced IT person to take care of your network.
Much like outsourced marketing, you can look for a local company or freelancer to help you build and scale your network and help you grow the e-commerce side of your business, too.
Data security is also vital, and an IT person will also keep your network system strong and safe from hackers. They will provide ongoing support.
#3: Outsource Human Resources Work
Most companies don’t need an on-staff HR person until they have 20+ employees. So, in the beginning, you can look at an outsourced human resource team in a growth scale role.
Outsourcing human resources is very cost-effective as they are uniquely qualified to administer benefits, process payroll, handle conflict, handle legal issues, and put systems in place for you.
When you’re looking for this growth scale role, you’re better off outsourcing it in the beginning due to the minimal workload. You can always work with an attorney who specializes in employment law or general business to help with offer letters, HR compliance, and other Human Resource related requirements.
#4: Outsource a Chief Financial Officer
When you’re looking for this growth scale role, outsourcing your payroll, bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivables and financial needs is very cost-effective and saves a lot of time.
They can manage all of your company’s finances, help you obtain investor funding if needed, and even participate in strategy sessions.
Many young companies outsource their CFO or financial responsibilities as they scale until they have enough revenue or employees to justify hiring a part-time or full-time VP of Finance or CFO.
Final Thoughts
Growing your business generally means adding new people, new technology, and even new capital. This in turn increases your bottom line and overall sales.
Yet as a new startup, this doesn’t mean you have to bring on full-time staff until it makes sense financially to do so. In the beginning, you can manage very well by hiring contractors or consultants for many of your key positions.
When it comes to your growth scale roles, you can move your business significantly forward with a competent outsourced team.
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