Outsourcing Ideas That Can Upgrade Your Startup

So, you finally got your startup off the ground. Congratulations! It’s probably been a whirlwind getting this far, and you have every right to be proud. However, this is only the beginning, and there is a long way to go before you can put your feet up. Your next task is to develop your business so that it outgrows its fledgling status.

It’s a tricky period to get through. Many startups struggle to break through due to an unfortunate vicious circle. Firstly, they don’t have the staffing levels to serve a larger market while the second is that they haven’t got enough customers to afford to pay for more staff.

If you have reached this stage, then you might want to consider outsourcing work to an external company. Here are five types of business services that can help your U.K. startup break through those barriers.

Accountants

A good accountant is worth their weight in gold to any startup, but it is important to choose one that has experience in your industry. Not only will they help you to keep your finances, tax and VAT up to scratch, but they can also help you to identify areas where growth is achievable. A professional eye on your bottom line can never be a bad thing. Speak to other startups or companies in your field to see if they have any suggestions. Word of mouth and personal recommendations are always more trustworthy than finding one blind.

IT Support

One of the joys of starting your own business these days is that you can do it from anywhere, with very little equipment or technology. But a major problem faced by new businesses is that they are unable to scale things up when they need to. The IT systems that you use can be one of the biggest issues you will face. According to IT support firm NetStar, businesses can gain from outsourcing in many ways, including better efficiency and increased revenues. And, if you are intent on breaking out of the startup market, those are important factors.

Marketing Team

Let’s say you are a software startup. The likelihood is that you have been in the development stage for quite some time and have had no need to employ a marketer. But, now the product is built and ready to go, you will need to start getting sales – and quickly. As good as they are at their jobs, your development team aren’t going to cut the mustard when it comes to marketing. According to marketing firm Mediareach, outsourcing to an agency will give you a deeper understanding of your target demographics.

Call Centres

Once you have a good marketing agency in place, they should be able to provide you with a plan to move forward with. While they might be able to take care of the marketing and advertising for you, there are still other useful ways of getting those all-important sales. One of the most popular methods is to outsource to a call centre. They will provide you with direct leads that you can follow-up by cold-calling the relevant people, or could even give you useful market insights. Although you might turn your nose up at call centres, many successful businesses wouldn’t have got where they are without them.

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