You’re living the dream.
After all the time, money and pressure of starting your business, you’re now experiencing the kind of growth of which you’ve always dreamed.
But this growth means a greatly increased workload, which causes a problem you haven’t before dared to consider – hiring more staff, or contracting out some of the work. This would fix your workload problems, but it would also eat into your hard-earned profits.
Yes, some staff would be great, but salaries are the single biggest expense of any business, and you can’t yet justify the expense – it would absorb any extra profit, and you’d find yourself needing to grow bigger, faster to stay ahead.
Luckily, when it comes to resourcing solutions, there are several ways to have your (profit) cake and eat it too.
Before you leap into resourcing though, it’s imperative you take a good look at your business. Careful strategic planning is the first step in managing your resource needs.
Ask yourself. What are you spending most of your time on? What should you should do more of and, crucially, you should do less or none of? A clear picture of where you are and a strong focus on where you’re going will help you achieve your goals.
When you know what you need, it’s time to consider your options.
Small Business Society’s top three alternative resourcing solutions for your business are:
Outsourcing. Consider outsourcing anything that isn’t your core business (an activity that drives revenue). This includes your taxes. All these non-core activities are sucking your time on peripherals. That is time that could be of more value spent on core work.
Barter. Trade your time and skills to someone whose skills you need. You not only get what you need, you build new relationships and networks.
Leverage your existing networks. This includes your friends and family. Be respectful, but when you need help, ask. They love you and want you to succeed, and will likely be happy to donate their time and skills to help you achieve your goals.
Remember to stop every so often, take a step back and review what you’re doing. The only person who can make positive changes is you.
Good Luck!
If you are unsure where to go next, contact Small Business Society and we can step you through the process.
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About Kate Tongue
Kate Tongue is the founding Director of Small Business Society.
She is a qualified and experienced Human Resources professional with more than 10 years of experience across the private and public sectors.
Her particular interest and experience is in managing the employee life cycle, delivering process improvements, and Human Resource strategy.
Looking for more information on the various stages of the employee life cycle or Human Resources in general? The following may interest you.
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The steps I take to write a job advertisement that attracts the best people
How to get the most out of a phone screen interview
Articles to assist you with planning in your business:
Know your business through HR reports
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15 must know HR terms
Plus lots more information and advice:
Small Business Society Blog