August 04, 2024
Hey there! Matt Levenhagen here. Until now, this blog has primarily focused on the intersection of building teams and processes. While I’ll continue to cover those essential topics, we’re expanding the scope of what we discuss here.
I’ve recently released a new guide called “Outsourcing Fit: Unlocking the 4-Pillar Framework that Drives Success,” which you can download for free if you’re interested. This guide introduces a framework that we’ll be integrating into our discussions moving forward.
To kick off this transition, let’s dive into today’s topic—scaling your team and embracing outsourcing. This journey isn’t just about adding more people to the payroll; it’s about strategically expanding your capabilities while maintaining the core values that got you here in the first place.
Introduction
In the early days of running a business, it's often just you and maybe a few close-knit team members, all wearing multiple hats and juggling tasks. But as your business starts to grow, the demand for specialized skills and additional bandwidth becomes evident.
That's when you face a pivotal decision: Do you build out your team internally, or do you look beyond your immediate circle to bring in external help? For me, this moment came early in my journey with Unified Web Design, where I realized that to scale effectively, I needed to embrace outsourcing.
Initially, outsourcing was just about getting help when there was too much work or handling projects I couldn’t manage on my own—one project at a time, short-term, and often just to get through the immediate workload. But over time, that evolved. Eventually, I started building a more permanent internal team, bringing on employees and then adding dedicated resources from external sources.
But here's the thing. Outsourcing isn't just about handing off tasks to someone else. It's about building relationships and extending your team in a way that complements your existing strengths, allows you to do better, or enables you to do more. Done right, it can unlock new levels of efficiency and innovation that fuel your business’s growth.
And perhaps most importantly, it allows you to take better care of your current and future clients and partners.
The Strategic Value of Outsourcing
When scaling a business, one of the biggest challenges is maintaining the quality and culture that define your brand. Outsourcing can be a game-changer in this regard, especially when you approach it with the right mindset. It’s not just about offloading tasks—it’s about strategically expanding your capabilities to meet growing demand and allowing your internal team to focus on what matters most.
Scaling to Meet Demand
One of the primary strategic values of outsourcing is its ability to help your business scale effectively. As your business grows, so does the demand for specialized skills and additional bandwidth. By outsourcing, you can quickly bring in the expertise you need without the long-term commitment of hiring full-time employees. This flexibility allows you to meet client needs and take on more projects without sacrificing quality or overburdening your core team.
Adding Specialized Capabilities
Outsourcing also allows you to access skills and expertise that may not exist within your current team. Whether it’s a specific technical skill, creative talent, or industry knowledge, outsourcing lets you bring in specialists who can deliver high-quality work in areas where your internal team might not have the same level of expertise. This not only enhances your service offerings but also positions your business as more versatile and capable in the eyes of your clients.
Freeing Up Your Core Team
Perhaps one of the most significant benefits of outsourcing is that it allows your internal team to focus on what they do best. By offloading routine or specialized tasks to external partners, your core team can concentrate on critical business activities like marketing, sales, and, of course, writing awesome content.
This balance ensures that your internal team remains focused and energized, driving your business forward while external partners handle the tasks that could otherwise slow you down.
Maintaining Quality and Culture
A key strategic value of outsourcing is that it allows you to maintain the quality and culture that define your brand. By carefully selecting outsourcing partners who align with your business’s culture, communication style, and goals, you ensure that the work produced externally is consistent with your company’s standards and values. This alignment is crucial for achieving smoother collaborations and better outcomes as your business scales.
Selection Process: Contractors and VAs
Selecting the right contractors and virtual assistants (VAs) is a critical step in outsourcing. Over the years, I’ve developed a robust process for vetting and onboarding external help. It starts with a clear understanding of the specific skills we need and the outcomes we expect. Then, it's all about finding the right people who not only have the skills but also mesh well with our team's dynamic.
Criteria for Selection
Selecting the right contractors or VAs is crucial to the success of your outsourcing strategy. It's not just about finding someone with the right skills; it's about ensuring they align with your business’s values and work ethic. Here are the key criteria I consider when making these decisions:
- Communication Style: Prioritize clear, consistent communication, especially across time zones and cultural backgrounds.
- Attitude: Evaluate their passion for the work, future goals, and where they see themselves in five years.
- Cultural Fit: Assess whether they align with your company culture and work style, and if they can deliver what clients or partners require.
- Skills and Experience: Important but secondary to attitude, passion, goals, and communication skills.
- Long-Term Fit: Look for individuals excited about the work and aligned with your business direction.
By focusing on these criteria, you can build a strong, cohesive team that not only delivers high-quality work but also grows with your business over time.
Trial Runs and Small Starts
I also advocate for starting small—whether it’s a trial project or a limited scope task. This approach allows both parties to assess the fit before committing to a larger, long-term arrangement. It’s like dipping your toe in the water before diving in headfirst. If things go well, it sets the stage for a more significant collaboration, where both sides are confident in their ability to work together.
How Outsourcing Facilitates Growth
Outsourcing isn’t just a stopgap solution; it can be a strategic tool for growth. By leveraging external expertise, you can expand your service offerings, enter new markets, and increase your capacity to take on more significant projects without the overhead of hiring full-time staff.
Expanding Capabilities
In my experience, outsourcing has allowed us to take on projects that would have otherwise been out of reach. For instance, we've scaled up our development teams to handle complex projects by bringing in specialized contractors with the exact skills required. This not only helps us meet our clients’ needs but also enhances our team's overall capabilities. The added flexibility means we can take on more projects, confident that we have the resources to deliver.
And that ability to deliver value consistently helps build longer-term relationships with partners and clients.
Building Long-Term Partnerships
Successful outsourcing often leads to long-term partnerships that become integral to your business. Some of our most valuable relationships started with a single project. Over time, as trust and mutual understanding grew, these partnerships evolved into essential components of our business strategy.
For example, one of our agency partners, who initially started as a contractor, has become a consistent collaborator. They now provide dedicated resources that help us continuously innovate and grow.
I can’t even express how valuable this relationship is. It gives me peace of mind knowing that we can take on almost any challenge a client or partner throws at us, and we can employ elasticity to manage demand effectively.
And to emphasize here, that is a partner who does work for my agency. See, it can be a chain. We are an agency that obviously does work for other partners or clients. But we too employ outsourcing to expand our capabilities.
Conclusion
Scaling your business through outsourcing is more than just a cost-saving measure; it’s a strategic move that can propel your company to new heights. By carefully selecting partners that align with your culture and goals, and by maintaining a balance between your core team and external help, you can expand your capabilities, improve efficiency, and ultimately drive growth.
As you consider outsourcing, remember that it’s about building relationships, not just transactions. Approach it with the intent to create partnerships that are as invested in your success as you are. With the right mindset and strategies, outsourcing can become a cornerstone of your business’s growth strategy.
Thanks for reading, and as always, stay tuned for more insights from my corner of the web. Keep building, keep growing, and remember—success is best shared with those who help you achieve it. Until next time, folks!
