They are the words a long-standing client declared to me on Monday in one of our sparky, rather honest conversations… Kate Chastey writes about why entrepreneurs need to consider Outsourcing as a viable growth option.
It is always so great to hear our clients really grasping the concept of outsourcing within their fast paced, ambitious businesses but it got me thinking as to why more of our local entrepreneurs and business owners don’t see this as a viable growth option in their businesses too.
In my experience it’s three things:
- Fear of losing control
- Concern that it costs too much and
- Believing that nobody could really understand what they do, how they do it and who for – or more to the point, care as much as the business owner/management team about the success and development of the business.
As Passionate PAs we hear these concerns all the time about outsourcing in general. Occasionally we even hear them from business owners that could really value an executive level personal assistant in their life.
So let’s address them:
Fear of losing control
We really get this. It’s safe to say we are control freaks too. However, no successful, profitable, progressive business is ever run by one person alone. It’s critical that the business owner knows what’s happening at every level, but to remain indispensable is not scalable and actually, really short-sighted. No matter how hard you try you cannot do everything and retain a good work/life balance. Business success is important but so is having the headspace to do the things you love and LEAD your business rather than push it. So to ‘fear of losing control’ we say the answer is to learn to be an effective delegator and leader.
Concern over costs
Yes, experts are expensive. However, knowledge is valuable. If you, as a business owner or entrepreneur are doing something you are not great at, it’s probably holding your business back because it’s stealing time you could be spending on the things you are brilliant at! Bookkeeping, social media, website management, email marketing and general admin process management are all prime examples of things people think they can do themselves to ‘save money’ but, more often than not, they are inefficient and lacking knowledge of best practice which in the long run costs money! If an expert did it and returned the desired results in half the time, whilst you were doing something only you are brilliant at – well, that’s priceless. So to ‘concerns over costs’ we say it’s probably time you had a good look at how much you value knowledge and experience, and ask yourself what you’d be doing today if you weren’t working on all the day-to-day operational tasks.
Believing that nobody could really understand your business.
New business owners and start-ups are often guilty of this; feeling they are the only person in the world that cares about their new venture and as a result feel lonely and sometimes even trapped. However, choosing to outsource means bringing in expertise to drive success. Your success is their success – that’s why outsourced experts care. As executive PAs, we pride ourselves on getting so far into our clients’ businesses that we actually bring ideas to the table they haven’t even thought of yet. In our experience there is nothing more rewarding and motivating than seeing a client meet their goals and knowing we were part of that journey. So to the feeling that ‘nobody will ever understand or care enough’ to demonstrate real value, we say you just haven’t met the right person yet :- )
We’re passionate about business here at The Passionate PA. The clue is in our name. But generally, the beauty of outsourcing is the flexibility, external knowledge and experience it offers. Managed well, outsourcing is a perfect growth strategy.
