So, you have a small business.  Like, a very small business -- a one-woman operation.  You also might have kids, and possibly a day job, or older relatives to care for.  You don’t yet have the income to hire anyone else, but your business has needs you just don’t have time to address.  How can you do everything that needs doing without a staff expansion you can’t afford?

The good news is that there are lots of great outsourcing hacks you can take advantage of today.  You no longer have to do everything in-house.  That includes trying to do all your admin tasks and answering your phone line with your kids making noise in the background.  Here are five ways to solve your staffing problems through modern outsourcing.  

Web Chat Companies

Instead of answering all the inquiries that come up when someone visits your website yourself, think about hiring a company to provide a chat function.  Web Chat businesses will generally offer chatbot services, software to answer inquiries yourself, or managed services.  Learn more about web chat software here.  

Get help with your admin

Lots of companies are now offering virtual or remote administrative or even personal assistants.  Pricing can be surprisingly reasonable.  If you need someone to coordinate your calendar, keep up with emails, answer your phone calls, and generally take some things off your plate, this can be a great option.  A PA can even help with kid’s schedules, birthday gifts, dinner reservations, and online shopping.  These services can free you up to focus on your business’s business without making you manage all the paperwork and expense of hiring. 

Marketing, marketing, marketing

You know from Debbie’s article that marketing is important, but you wear many hats as a momtrepreneur or small business owner.  But it is a lot to expect of yourself to figure out graphic design, search engine optimisation, ad management, website design, video filming and editing, and social media on top of everything else.  Today, many organisations can take all this off your plate, and you might be surprised by how affordable they are.  There are even companies out there connecting you to marketing and graphic design students at a discounted rate.  

IT issues

There are more and more companies providing external IT services for small businesses.  The bad news is, most of these companies are geared toward larger small businesses.  The good news is that the “hire a nerd” model of IT support for tiny companies is also becoming formalized and available online.  Sure, if your three-year-old has spilled their juice right on your keyboard, you have your backups, and you are perfectly capable of restoring everything on a replacement computer.  But is that the best use of your valuable time?  

You ARE Your Business!

As a one-woman show, you are your business.  Make sure your time and energy are going to the things that matter the most, and especially the things that only you can do.  Think about the tasks you would most like to delegate to an employee, then take a look around online and see if there is a service out there that can do it for you!