Spotlight On Pink Spaghetti
Prior to running Pink Spaghetti journey, I along with many others no doubt, had perceptions of what “outsourcing” was about.
This was purely based on my own experiences working in larger organisations, where some aspects of business operations such as IT support, as part of a cost-cutting measure were given to third-party companies and quite often, linked with offshoring too.
I’d personally encountered this as a consumer also, needing to speak to my phone provider or bank and ploughing through endless menu options on the telephone before reaching a human who was sitting in an overseas call centre. These conjoined experiences had only ever been tinged with exasperation.
So, now here I was, busy networking, trying to convince small businesses and busy professionals to “outsource” their daily work headaches to me as a freelance Business Manager. How on earth was I going to achieve this, if like me, the very word “outsources” conjured up frustration? Furthermore, how would I convince a small business owner to “give up” the reigns/control on some aspects of their coveted business? After all, why would these business owners pay me to do the things that they already did themselves?
I took my personal experiences during conversations with small business owners and turned them into relatable snippets to demonstrate:
I hate cleaning windows, especially with the cat sitting on the inside who thinks it’s a game of “chase the cloth” and who distracts me more when I start to playback. It also took forever, and I did it badly with streaks all the time. So, I outsourced it to a window cleaner.
Mowing the 3 lawns always took me an age with a probably inadequate mower, even more so in Summer if I didn’t do it every week. It’s so much easier and less hassle for me to pay a gardener to come round every 3 to 4 weeks to do it and it looks lovely, even and lush now. I don’t have to panic pre-barbeque about cutting the lawn as well as sorting out the food and drink. It always looks pristine now.
Running my own business I knew the basics of book- keeping but what did I do with all of it at regular HMRC intervals? I wanted to make sure I was 100% compliant and didn’t miss anything to incur a financial penalty, so I outsourced it to an accountant. I now have peace of mind.
All these things that I outsourced I paid for, but all of them took me a long amount of time to do and at times, stressed me out.
They took a long time because I didn’t need to do them.
I didn’t compromise my home or my business by outsourcing as there were people out there who were far more experienced and far better at doing it than me.
I realized that I had become savvy. So, when it comes to looking at outsourced services, every business owner and busy professional must learn how to be savvy too …
- Savvy professionals don’t keep themselves busy doing repetitive tasks that aren’t their main business focus. They’ve recognized that a freelance Business Manager is probably quicker and slicker at handling those things than they are. They’ve gained valuable hours, days and probably weeks to re-focus on their business and get back the passion and drive those daily tasks had worn down.
- Savvy professionals have witnessed themselves that a freelance Business Manager picks up the tasks that are essential but don’t necessarily need them to do. They’ve learned that a freelance Business Manager makes it happen leaving a business owner to make other work happen – a clear inbox leaves a clear mind enabling focus to be directed properly.
- Savvy professionals don’t stress about raising their business profile across all social media platforms. They’ve learned that a freelance Business Manager can not only write the content but can also undertake prospect research and engagement.
- Savvy professionals realize that a freelance Business Manager doesn’t just follow processes. They create them specifically for your business making it more productive and streamlined.
- Savvy professionals have realized that a freelance Business Manager isn’t a cost that they can’t afford, they are a credible investment and in a lot of cases, they can save a small business money, not just time.
- Savvy professionals have achieved a work-life balance by outsourcing to a freelance Business Manager.
If you want to become savvier in your business, then contact Jayne at pinkjayne@pink-spaghetti.co.uk and see how she can help you with your business pain points!
