When you think of Streamlined Organising and outsourcing, you probably think of our customers outsourcing work and projects to us. But did you know, we are also a small business outsourcing to other businesses? That’s what I want to talk about today.
Let’s start with a bit of background about Streamlined. Back in 2009, I was looking for something flexible around young kids. I looked around and I saw all these business owners who were fed up with admin. Hated it! They’d gone into business for a passion – baking cakes, for example – but they were spending hours on paperwork instead.
Me, on the other hand, I love admin and processes. I always have. So I thought, here are all these people who hate something I love, and I could help them by doing it for them. That’s how Streamlined Organising was born.
That’s actually a key thing for any kind of outsourcing. Find someone who loves doing the things you hate. It’ll make you happier and it’ll make them happier too.
While I like admin, there are other things I don’t like, and things I’m just not very good at. Right from the beginning I’ve recognised that, so Streamlined has partnered with all kinds of specialists to support us, in the same way we support our clients.
Which areas of the business have I outsourced?
There’s a line between consulting an expert and outsourcing to a trusted partner. I like to have every professional be a partner too.
Finances
I started off right at the beginning getting help from an accountant – Greg Olsen of Argo Accounting.
I have another accounting partner too – that’s Joanne Brooker of Pengwen Bookkeeping. Greg’s more involved in the annual tax returns, budgeting and planning, whereas Joanne looks after all our weekly and monthly financial tasks and data.
Technology
Big shout out to Alex Iconomu of Preterion IT. He and his teams save us so much time in terms of keeping our equipment up and working. A simple example is that I upgraded my laptop recently. It would have taken me all day to do it myself. I’d have been stopping and starting, checking whether something had finished installing, configuring accounts and so on. But for Alex, he knows everything to begin with, so it’s simple and quick, and takes barely an hour of his time. So much better than wasting a day of mine when I have plenty of other stuff to do.
Even more important than saving me time, Preterion make sure I have all the cybersecurity I need. That means my data (and the data clients share so I can deliver services for them) are backed, protected and safe.
Marketing
I’ve done marketing in-house, and I’m still doing the social media myself for now. But blogging is a different matter, and I’ve handed that over recently to Bridget Holland of NoBull Marketing. She knows a lot about SEO, analytics and websites in general, so I’m looking forward to a blog which performs better and gets me more visible.
I’m looking forward to a blog which flows better, is more engaging and gets me more visibility.
General Business Coaching
Cynthia Painter of Create Action Now is my business coach and a true partner in my business! You could argue a coach isn’t exactly outsourcing, but it’s so similar. It’s really helpful to get advice and guidance from somebody who isn’t caught up in the middle of the business. I love to be accountable to someone to keep me motivated and Cynthia does that for me.
Virtual Assistance
I actually have a VA all of my own! It sounds a bit funny at first, because I run a VA service, but when you think about it again it actually makes sense. Like any other “busy” business owner, I want time to concentrate on the big issues, not just lots of little distractions.
So my VA looks after things for me like
- Email management
- Calendar management
- Updating my CRM
- Accounts admin (not bookkeeping, but creating and chasing invoices etc)
- Newsletter
Has outsourcing worked for Streamlined Organising?
It most definitely has!
Having a team of experts around me has helped so much with my business, and that’s how I’ve grown from just myself to now having a team of virtual assistants. The wisdom you draw from having partners in your business is priceless.
It’s not only business success though. Remember I said I started my own business to have flexibility about my family? I have that too. It would always be great to have more, but I’m not one of those business owners who’s stuck at a desk doing stuff they hate every evening, instead of spending time on the business they love and the family they love.
But the main thing is that my outsourcing journey has helped me achieve what I want to do. I do the bits of the business I love. And the ones I don’t like? I outsource those to someone who loves them.
Recent Comments