There’s this weird badge of honor in doing everything yourself. Like somehow grinding through admin work makes you more legitimate as a business owner. It doesn’t. It just makes you tired.
The numbers tell a different story. Over one-third of small businesses already outsource at least one business process, and more than half are planning to outsource more according to recent industry data.
The global market for business process outsourcing hit $245.9 billion in 2022 and it’s growing at 8.5% annually. These aren’t struggling businesses trying to cut costs. These are smart operators who figured out that their time is worth more than $15 an hour.
Most business owners cite increased efficiency (24%) as their top reason for outsourcing, followed by access to expertise (18%). But here’s what nobody talks about. The real benefit is getting your life back so you can focus on the parts of your business that only you can do.
Top 9 Tasks That You Should Outsource Right Now
Based on what thousands of businesses actually outsource first, here are the five functions that make the most sense to hand off early.
Bookkeeping
37% of small businesses outsource their bookkeeping, and there’s a good reason for that. The work itself is tedious, requires specialized knowledge, and carries legitimate compliance risk.
Unless you’re running an accounting firm, this should be one of the first things you outsource. Hand off the bookkeeping, payroll processing, and tax filing to someone who does this for a living.
Human Resources
As your business grows, HR becomes a full-time job. Recruitment, onboarding, benefits administration, employee records, compliance with labor laws. It’s a lot.
You still own the strategic decisions about who to hire and how to structure your team. You just don’t have to become an expert in employment law to do it.
The key is outsourcing the administrative and compliance-heavy parts while keeping the culture and people development work in-house.
Administrative Tasks
Email eats up more time than people realize. Reading, sorting, responding, flagging, filing. Add in calendar management, meeting scheduling, and appointment setting and you’re looking at hours every week.
Remote workers can manage your inbox by sorting emails into categories, draft responses to routine inquiries, flagging urgent items, and coordinating meetings across time zones.
Most business owners find that 70% of their emails can be managed by a trained remote worker, freeing up hours every week for actual work.
Social Media Management
Content creation, post scheduling, comment responses and analytics tracking eats up massive chunks of your day. Outsourcing hands off daily posting and engagement to remote workers who keep your brand active online.
Brand guidelines and content themes still come from your ideas. But the daily execution gets handled by your Filipino remote team, who escalate only what truly needs your input.
Content Writing and Copywriting
Writing may seem simple but trust me it takes time. AI has indeed made it more simple but the difference of writing quality authoritative blog posts and website copy from the generic slop ChatGPT churns out as content is night and day.
If you’re not a professional writer, it takes even more time because you’re figuring out structure and messaging as you go. Experienced writers know how to research topics and verify useful information, something that AI fails on a massive scale, while structuring for readability, and optimize for SEO.
Outsourcing this provides clear benefits: you simply don’t have to worry about content briefs with target keywords, desired tone, and key points to cover. You just simply review and approve the final content.
Lead Generation
Finding potential customers and building your contact lists is tedious, and it takes time away from actually closing deals. Outsourcing lead generation and sales support lets you focus on high-value sales conversations while someone else fills your pipeline.
Remote workers can research, send initial outreach emails, cold call qualified leads and handle most administrative tasks such as data entry. While you handle the actual sales conversations and relationship building.
Video Editing and Production
Video content drives engagement, but editing is time-intensive seemingly simple tasks such as cutting footage and adding simple text overlays can take hours and all of that for just 5 minutes of video.
Remote video editors work faster and deliver polished results. They have the technical skills and have the software to make your raw footage look professional.
It’s a matter of simply sending them your raw footage with notes on what you want the end result to look like, and they’ll deliver a finished product ready to publish.
Digital Marketing
34% of businesses outsource their marketing, and it’s easy to see why. Digital marketing requires specialized skills that most business owners don’t have.
You could spend months learning how to run effective Facebook ads, or you could hire someone who’s already run thousands of campaigns and knows what works. The learning curve costs you more than the expert does.
The caveat here is you need to keep your core brand voice and messaging close. Outsource the execution and technical skills, but stay involved in the strategy and brand decisions.
IT Services and Technical Support
37% of businesses globally outsource their IT operations. Unless technology is your core product, you probably don’t need a full-time IT department.
Cybersecurity, technical support, infrastructure management, software updates. These are all critical functions that keep many businesses running to be frank, but they’re not what makes you unique in the market.
Outsourcing IT gives you access to expertise you couldn’t afford to hire full-time and removes the burden of staying current with rapidly changing technology.
How to Decide What to Outsource Next
Every business is different, but there’s a framework that works across the board.
Start by making a list of everything you do in a typical week. Not what you wish you did or what your job description says. What you actually do.
Now put each task into one of three buckets.
- If a task is repetitive, time-consuming, and someone else could do it with minimal training, outsource it.
- If a task requires specialized knowledge you don’t have and isn’t core to your competitive advantage, outsource it.
- If a task has significant compliance risk and you’re not an expert, definitely outsource it.
What You Should Never Outsource Early
Not everything should be outsourced, especially when you’re still finding your footing.
Your core product development should stay in-house. The thing that makes your business unique, that gives you a competitive edge, needs to be under your direct control.
You need to be able to iterate quickly, pivot when necessary, and protect your intellectual property.
Strategic marketing and brand development should also stay close. Your brand voice, your positioning, your core messaging. These define how customers perceive you, and they need to be authentic.
You can outsource the execution, but the strategy should be yours.
Outsourcing Mistakes That Cost You Money
Choosing based on price alone is the fastest way to waste money. The cheapest option usually ends up costing you more in missed deadlines, poor quality work, and the time you spend managing problems.
Focus on value instead. What’s the cost of doing it wrong? What’s the cost of doing it slowly? A slightly more expensive provider who delivers quality work on time is always cheaper than a bargain that falls apart.
The second mistake is failing to define clear expectations upfront. If you don’t know what success looks like, your contractor definitely doesn’t know. Set specific deliverables, timelines, and quality standards before you start.
Define how you’ll measure performance and what happens if those standards aren’t met. Look at different profiles and portfolios. Have them do a trial task so you can vet the best of the best from a sea of applicants.
Why Outsourcing Actually Works
Cost savings matter, but they’re not the main benefit. Yes, outsourcing administrative tasks saves money. But what actually matters more is you simply buy back your time to focus on high-value work that grows your business.
Flexibility and scalability become your competitive advantage. Ramp up quickly for a busy season without hiring full-time staff. Pull back during slow periods by adjusting contracts instead of laying people off.
Fixed overhead kills you during lean times, and outsourcing eliminates that trap. Specialized skills and global talent open up possibilities you couldn’t access otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I outsource first in my small business?
Start with administrative tasks like email and calendar management. Most business owners find 70% of their emails can be handled by trained remote workers, immediately freeing up hours weekly.
How do I know which tasks to outsource vs keep in-house?
Outsource repetitive work like data entry and scheduling that anyone can do with minimal training. Never outsource your core product development, strategic brand decisions, or early customer relationships. These define your competitive edge and need your direct control.
What are the biggest mistakes to avoid when outsourcing?
Choosing based on price alone wastes money. Cheap options cost more through missed deadlines and poor quality. Focus on value by considering what mistakes would cost your business. Define clear deliverables, timelines, and quality standards upfront.
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