What are the benefits of outsourcing key startup functions?- You have a great business idea and you’re primed to turn it into a real business. Great!

Do you have the design skills to build your brand? Are you equipped to manage the complex finances of a startup?

If your answer to some (or all) of these questions is a resounding no, don’t get discouraged! You’re in the same boat as most other budding businesses. 

The good news is that today, you can partner with a number of organizations that have specializations across business areas to meet the needs of your newly-minted business. Outsourcing, especially at an early stage, can be the key to getting the right expertise you need and saving you precious time and money, which can make or break your startup. Here are key functions where outsourcing can give you a competitive edge over other businesses in your space.

When they need technical help, most entrepreneurs will tap their network to see if they have a friend or acquaintance who might want to join to build out the first version of their product. 

That’s quite tricky; it’s challenging to convince a talented person to leave their job for something new and still unestablished. 

There are some options for you. You can pursue no-code options to build the first version of your product, or you can work with outsourced technical agencies. Outsourced staff like experienced engineers can help you build a prototype, or if you’re on a budget, some development agencies in places such as Eastern Europe or India can provide quality engineering at low costs. 

It’s no secret that working with an outsourced software development company can potentially be expensive. However, look at the big picture: it can save you considerable time and is likely more cost-effective than building out your own engineering team. In the long-term, once you have a product, you can prove if it has product-market fit, get funding, and then eventually recruit an in-house team to pick up where your development outsourcing left off. That’s a winning strategy!

Your product is probably not going to fly off the shelves right away (although that’s the dream!). Therefore, the majority of your finance and accounting needs, as a startup, will centre around payroll, taxes, and keeping a close eye on your company’s bank account. But your time is precious and best used for pouring into your passion and driving your business forward. So spending time on those tasks is time better spent elsewhere.

That’s why accounting and finance is an area that’s great for outsourcing as early as possible. An outsourced CFO can provide everything you need from bookkeeping to accounting to forecast and planning, so you can focus on what matters most.

Outsourcing marketing is one of the most effective strategies you can use as a startup. Unless you happen to be a marketing expert already (which is unlikely), you’ll likely spend a lot of your startup’s precious capital on marketing and frustratingly, have very little to show for it. Trying to learn, optimize and target Google or Facebook ads can eat up a lot of time and money. On the other hand, you can work with a marketing agency that is already a pro at setting up and running effective marketing campaigns.

Find a marketing agency that meets your specific needs, whether it be bringing a product to market or exploring new marketing channels. Trust us; the premium you pay to access an experienced marketing firm’s expertise can save you time and significantly improve your return on investment at critical stages of your business.

Companies equal employees. When you begin hiring employees, the HR responsibilities start to multiply: setting up payroll, employee contracts, workers compensation insurance, 401Ks, and health insurance, just to name a few. 

When you’ve never done this before, it’s hard to know where to start, and it can be a real drain on your time. Tell me, do you want to spend your time reading up on employment law or focus on growing your business? 

Having a reliable outsourced HR partner can help you scale at an early stage while doing HR the right way, which also prevents future liabilities.

When you’re starting a business, it’s difficult and expensive to find an in-house team to help materialize your vision. Instead, working with an outsourced specialized agency to cover things like tech, finance and marketing can help you get your product or service to market faster and more effectively. If you try to do everything yourself, it can take much more time and reduce your chance of success. It may give you the competitive edge that makes or breaks your success.

Looking to outsource parts of your business so you can get back to the business of getting your business off the ground? Megan Killion Consulting is a team of experienced, professional experts who can take over your marketing and branding so you can get back to what matters. Contact us today so we can discuss your business needs and how we can help your startup thrive.