The Confident Copywriter

Posts Tagged ‘outsourcing’

Last Tuesday, we talked about ways to find better clients by using value to set yourself apart from your competition.

Today, I want to address the value concept of broadening your scope. This can be done in several ways; outsourcing, joint ventures, and partnerships are just three.

Teaming up with others offers great value, including:

• Extended market reach
• Enhanced resources
• Greater credibility within a target market
• Access to new markets
• Sharing strategic decisions

Outsourcing is very common in modern business; yet some fear it. Images of stolen clients, shoddy work, less control over processes, and accidental or intentional exposure of confidential information stop business owners from choosing outsourcing.

These are valid fears. However, the amount of work you can do each day on your own is limited. While you can certainly attract better clients as a solopreneur, you cannot grow to accept more clients, beyond what you can accomplish on your own. For some, this is fine. For others, growth is about expansion. The only way to expand your business is to rely on other people. Therefore, you must find a comfortable way to do so.

Outsourcing, or contracting to outside providers, allows you to offer a more expansive range of skills and expertise.

Outsourcing can also reduce costs. I outsource frequently and have found that, with attention and perseverance, it is possible to find suitable vendors who are as detail-oriented and savvy as I. I’ve outsourced to graphic designers, web developers, blog builders, writers, etc. Because of the limited nature of outsourcing, I retain project and company control, which feels safe, but I can still say “yes” to the client, which feels good!

A joint venture is a strategic alliance- its members maintain separate businesses but team up for a common purpose, say completing a large project. I’ve created joint ventures with several firms to whom I previously outsourced. The outsourcing arrangement helped us become accustomed to one another, paving a smooth road to engaging in larger pursuits together.

In a partnership, the members work together for one company. While the partnership offers elements of outsourcing and the joint venture, a partnership is more often a legal entity, with all the ramifications you would expect. A partnership can be a great thing…when you choose your partner wisely.

Growth is exciting. It can also be painful. When your business is ready to grow and expand, the decision before you will be:

Do you want to be captain of the ship, co-captain or first mate?

Whatever you decide, teaming up with others is a great way to add value for your clients.