5 Surefire Signs It's Time to Outsource
If You Want Your Business to Thrive
Are you stressed and struggling at the office? There comes a time when every small business must find help or risk going under. Here are 5 signs it’s time to hire a SmartMomGig freelancer, or as we like to call them, Guru.
You’re Super Stressed & It Shows
A healthy work/life balance is vital to long-term health. If you frequently take your work home with you, work can quickly erode your downtime. It can be hard to mentally leave work even when you plan time off. Plus, if you’re logging a lot of hours, it can make you restless and quick to snap. Below are the most common signs of work stress.
Signs of Work-Related Stress:
Frequent stress headaches
Anxious thoughts
Short temper
Trouble sleeping
Inability to relax during downtime
If you’re feeling stressed and overworked, try outsourcing some of your easiest, but most time-consuming daily tasks like managing your business’s social media or answering emails. Outsourcing just a few hours can help you restore your work/life balance.
You’re Neglecting Your Customers
Customer service is the core of good business. But when you’re slammed at work, it’s one of the first things to fall by the wayside. Are your customers complaining about poor customer service?
Or, are you having trouble keeping up with sales demands? Increased sales are generally a good thing in business. But if you can’t keep up with the demand, that uptick in sales will soon drop off.
Luckily, customer service is one of the top ten tasks a freelancer can easily do for you. Customer support is easy to hire for, whether you do customer service online or over the phone. Plus, businesses that hire freelance see increased customer satisfaction because the extra help allows them to deliver better service and higher quality products.
If your customer service is taking a nosedive, get a handle on it now, so you can focus on fulfilling sales and retaining the customers you have.
You’re Forgetting Too Many Things
A classic sign of too much work but too little time is forgetting important things like paying bills or replying to emails. We all forget things. But if you’re consistently making careless mistakes or forgetting appointments, that’s a problem. It undermines your credibility to customers and shows vendors and colleagues you’re not dependable.
Things like updating your website or posting to your social media get pushed to the back burner when you’re overbooked. These things may not sound all that pressing, but these are what potential customers look for, so they matter. A poorly designed website or lack of a social media presence may be what drives away your next customer.
If you find more and more things are slipping through the cracks, you may need some help to get it all done. Web design, copywriting, and social media management are all things our freelance experts can do.
You’re Missing Out on Opportunities
Would you love to expand your business, but you just don’t have the time? Business growth is a challenge for small businesses, but small business outsourcing is on the rise. Companies that are serious about their business growth choose to utilize outside help because it lets them focus on expansion. In a small business, there’s typically only a handful of employees. And during times of growth, there’s often the need for an extra pair of hands (or several).
For startups or solopreneurs, it can be even harder to break out of the mentality of doing it all yourself. While keeping a small one or two-person team gives you more control, this kind of small-time thinking will eventually come back to bite you. When you’re a one or two-person team, you don’t have the staff to take on new opportunities. So, you stay stuck at the same level of business.
If you’re not accepting new clients or projects because your team is too small, then it’s time to hire help! Yes, you have to let go of some control when you hire a freelancer, but it’s much cheaper than putting someone new on the payroll, even part-time. Hiring a freelancer as needed is your most affordable option.
You Don’t Know How To Do It
Because sometimes we just don’t know. Businesses today are technology-dependent, but small businesses aren’t generally able to afford full-time IT help. Maybe you’re hoping to hire someone who has skills in various areas like IT, marketing, and web design. But where are you going to find such a unicorn?
The reality is that some things like web development, IT help, and graphic design are best left to the experts. Trying to build a do-it-yourself website or logo is not the way to impress potential customers. Your website and logo need to “WOW,” so it’s best to hire someone who knows what they’re doing.
Marketing is another thing many small businesses attempt to do themselves. And if it works, that’s great! But if your marketing isn’t bringing in any new sales, it may be time to consult an expert. A professional freelancer can help you conduct market research, craft a solid content strategy, and implement it.
Why Smart Mom Gig Is The Best Solution
Outsourcing business tasks is the most affordable way for business owners to grow their businesses. You can build a team of skilled freelancers without needing to bring on any more full-time employees.
Plus, with Smart Mom Gig, you don’t pay by the month, the hour, or even the project! We are one of the only freelance sites specializing in short-task-based jobs or Gigs. You can divvy up a big project by posting a gig at a set rate for just a small part of the work. This allows you to do the parts of projects you do LIKE and have time for while allowing your Gig Guru to concentrate on their task and deliver high-quality work!
Working with SmartMomGig’s Gurus lets you gain expertise when you need it, for as short or as long as you need. And with so much more free time on your hands, you can finally get around to all the things you’ve been putting off, or just enjoy some nights off.
Ready to start posting gigs?