One of the biggest setbacks preventing a business’s growth is a pile-up of back office and operational work. Owners expanding a company love and excel at their particular area of expertise; however, there are always tasks that they do inefficiently, are not experts at, and do not especially enjoy doing.
As a result, their core business activities are prioritized while less urgent tasks fall behind, which can seriously harm a business’s productivity and potential to grow. At one time, outsourcing tasks to service companies was considered a popular strategy only for large corporations; but today, businesses of all sizes can realize the benefits of outsourcing.
What is outsourcing? What are the benefits?
Outsourcing describes the relationship where a business obtains a product or service from an outside provider rather than handling it in-house. When business owners delegate certain tasks to professional service companies, they alleviate the need to manage the work, procure the resources needed to perform the work, and remain diligent as to the quality of the work. Generally, an outsourced provider can accomplish more with less hassle because they are set up to complete the outsourced projects efficiently and profitably. Projects are completed on time and in budget without the costly, time-consuming process of recruiting and training a new team member.
If a business lacks certain resources required to complete a job, then outsourcing is a great option to gain an advantage in a specialized area. Acquiring mutually beneficial partnerships can lower prices of labor for faster turnaround time and better services. As a small business, outsourcing work to trusted professionals regulates costs, increases efficiency, and gives the business more time to focus on its products or services.
Most importantly, outsourcing eliminates the dilemma of adding a high cost, full-time position. Choosing to outsource allows companies to focus on the core mission of their business—it immediately improves efficiency, productivity, and focus. As a result, the business increases its competitiveness within its industry.
Common Roles and Trends
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
The CFO is a senior executive responsible for managing a business’s financial decisions. An outsourced CFO brings an unbiased perspective to the company. Their duties may include financial forecasting and reporting, managing income and expenses to ensure profitability, cost-benefit analysis, and proposing strategic solutions. They are able to complete in-depth internal assessments and unique competitive strategies; and help business owners break their goals into measureable steps. When a CFO handles a company’s financial management, they put a system into place to ensure compliance, avoid errors and fraud, and manage important private information.
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
The COO functions as the CEO’s second-in-command. An outsourced COO can bring a wealth of new knowledge, experiences, and indispensable resources to the table. The COO focuses the company’s business plan as well as designs and implements operational strategies. They oversee daily administrative tasks and operational functions of the business, such as vendor management, inventory management, warehousing, shipping strategies, and more. In addition, COO’s can bridge communication between the CEO and the employees.
Chief Legal Officer (CLO) or General Counsel
The CLO is responsible for the legal foundation of the business, including keeping the business free of unnecessary risks and preparing the business to jump on potential opportunities. Outsourced legal work can include contract negotiation, drafting sound legal documents, legal research, intellectual property portfolio management and protection, review of company formation as well as new business entity formations, and corporate governance and compliance.
Legal outsourcing is a great way for business owners to handle complex, time-consuming projects on an affordable basis. Outsourcing takes a load of administrative work and complex legal work off a business’s plate, leaving them the free time to focus on what they do best. Outsourced general counsel also gives businesses the opportunity to have necessary conversations about legal protection and new avenues for growth. Outsourcing legal work has been a growing trend over the past few years because it is such an essential and involved sector for every business.
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
An outsourced CMO functions as the head of marketing for a company, and their main role is to advise how to best increase brand awareness, expand markets, drive leads into sales, and enhance customer engagement to grow company revenue. The CMO is responsible for performing market research and analysis to further refine and develop the company’s brand message or its products and services. The CMO will then create clear advertising strategies or initiatives that may include areas such as: content, social media, website design, search engine optimization (SEO), or other branding materials. An outsourced CMO brings fresh perspective, specialization, and sophisticated marketing tools to overall improve a business’s ROI and accelerate business growth.
Legal Considerations
When planning to outsource professional services, business owners need to implement legal safeguards to ensure confidentiality of private information and to protect competitive advantages. Contracts are the building blocks of a business. Well-written, specific contracts create solid foundations for a business to grow securely. Poorly-constructed, generalized contracts can put a business in jeopardy. Contacting a trusted legal professional to draft and negotiate important business contracts ensures the company is protected.
An essential contract that comes to the forefront of outsourcing is the non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This agreement creates a confidential relationship between the parties involved. As a result, private information like trade secrets, business plans and strategies, product development, new technology, and client lists is protected from the public. In addition, implementing professional service agreements and quality control agreements presents clear standards for successful working relationships between parties.
Success in business is a team effort. It’s crucial to recognize when outside support is needed in order to take your business to the next level of growth. By contracting services of a trusted professional, business owners invest in a support system that helps build stronger foundations for their business.
Next Steps
If you’re interested in outsourcing professional services or discussing these topics further, please call or text 484-801-0021 or reach out to Cassandra Ortner at cassandra.ortner@peytonlaw.com to set up a 15-minute meeting with Snyder Law to discuss your business’s needs and to find the best options for your business’s success or click here. We proudly support the nation’s business owners.
*Janelle Peyton is the CEO and Managing Partner of Peyton Law, a leading boutique law firm designed to provide the highest quality branding, business, and legal services to companies via quarterly subscription called Strategic Legal Solution. Peyton Law offers brand building strategies through corporate and intellectual property law, including business entity formation, buy+sell, contracts, joint ventures, trademarks, patents, licensing, and other growth-related transactions.
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