If you are struggling to keep up with your workload or planning on expanding your business, outsourcing is a great opportunity to achieve your desired output. Outsourcing is the process of hiring someone else to do a specific task required by your job or business that you would normally complete yourself.

This is useful for expanding your business from being a freelancer to a proper business, ideal during times when you have obligations elsewhere. However, there are many things to think about when considering this process.

Why Is Outsourcing Beneficial for Freelancers?

When the workload of any freelancer becomes too heavy, considering outsourcing is a great way to build a larger portfolio. However, what are the many benefits that go along with it? There are multiple things to consider, many reasons it can improve your quality of work, and make you more productive overall.

1. Flexibility

Time is our most valuable resource, so as a small business or sole trader, you have to consider how to allocate your time. Outsourcing provides the chance to have specific parts of your jobs completed by someone else for a price, and this allowance of time provided in return can be more valuable than what you pay.

With this assistance, a freelance will have more work completed, as well as extra time for planning, budgeting, and personal activities. To many, running a business or being a sole trader is hard work and very time-consuming, and outsourcing can be your solution to reducing the strain and giving you more time to live and breathe. Imagine having an extra day per week to dedicate to yourself!

2. Helps Increase Income

Ever thought about adding a new type of service to your business, but don't have the time to do so? Perhaps you want to write scripts for video games or pitch feature stories to high-profile online magazines.

If this is the case, outsourcing is a wonderful way to increase your overall business's income, allowing you to do twice as much work within the same time frame. If you have good time management skills, you can plan while having multiple freelancers doing jobs for you.

On top of being able to increase workload, it allows you to expand your company, such as by hiring more employees, and reduces overall business expenses if done correctly. Increasing income enables you to upgrade your home office, purchase higher-quality equipment, or dedicate more time to business travel while working remotely.

3. Reduces Business Costs

Do you always dread looking at your expenses each month? Increasing your income by outsourcing will assist with business costs. Outsourcing also offers an amazing chance to reduce your usage of supplies or cut down on power costs and other utilities, which are ultimately saving you money.

However, to reduce your business costs most effectively with outsourcing, you need to do regular budgeting and be disciplined with your profits. If you need a great way to plan money for the month, here are some free printable expense trackers to help you stay on budget.

4. Improves Workflow

Do you consistently stress about how you're doing activities throughout the day? Outsourcing is an effective way of increasing work output, but also the workflow. It gives you the perfect opportunity to increase production at a faster and more consistent rate, so you can focus on sourcing higher-paying clients.

Consistency is valued in the professional world. Having your business do a higher volume of production will increase the chances of gaining more contracts or sales from new and existing clients. Outsourcing may be the perfect opportunity for your business to gain a great reputation along with profits that follow.

What Precautions Should Freelancers Take When Outsourcing?

As well as a way to increase your income streams over time, outsourcing can come with several issues, both for the freelancer and whoever is being outsourced for work. Personally, financially, and legally, there are things any freelancer needs to be aware of for the outsourcing process to be successful with all parties.

1. Increase in Business Costs

One Dollar Bill in Hand

Aren't too great at crunching the numbers? Although outsourcing can be excellent for making extra capital, you need to consider your budget to ensure you aren’t dealing with losses. This means you need to outsource for a lower price than you would be paid to complete the task, to make sure you make a profit.

For example, if you're outsourcing to get work done for short notice jobs, you may consider doing it for equal to the payment you would receive. However, this is rare and for situations where you can't complete the job yourself. You mainly need to make sure when negotiating or setting prices that you are fair, otherwise you may get a bad reputation.

2. Experience Levels

Elderly Man with Glasses on Black Laptop

Wanting to outsource your business tasks but concerned about the outcome of work? When outsourcing, the person you outsource needs to have the experience required for the task, similar to how a cybersecurity professional needs qualifications to do their job correctly. You want to know you're getting quality work submitted, after all.

Work completed by those you outsource reflects directly onto you and your reputation as a freelancer, so requesting proof of skills is a good idea. This could be in the form of a portfolio, a website, relevant qualifications, or even a trial depending on the type of work being outsourced.

3. Job Locations

Four Time Zone Clocks, White Background

With outsourcing for your business, the location of the job and the intended person should always be considered, even if a job can be performed remotely. When a job or project needs to be performed at a specific location, make sure the person you choose to outsource is within a reasonable distance of the location or has transportation of their own. Hiring someone too far away may cause issues with reliability and punctuality.

Likewise, if the job is performed online or remotely, be aware of time in other countries. Always check time zones when discussing outsourcing projects and agree on an appropriate deadline relative to their time zone. Want to know where to begin? Here are some time management tips when working in different time zones.

4. Insurance for Work Outsourced

Although this can be complex to think about, insurance should always be considered, as someone you agree to outsource work to may not complete or do it incorrectly. To avoid issues that arise from these scenarios, make sure to outsource well ahead of time, so you can correct any issues or outsource to another person with the relevant experience.

The best way to protect yourself in any case of outsourcing is to develop a contract. This will state that the work must be done fully to receive payment, along with any other terms and conditions to prevent loss of profits.

Another way to protect yourself when outsourcing is preparing briefs of what the task is and the criteria for that are clear and easy to understand. If you're new to this topic, consider the most important things to include in your freelance contract.

Expand Your Business and Skills

Not only is outsourcing great for expanding your business, but it is also a smart way to expand your existing skills, both personal and professional. Skills you can expect to build upon are time management, communication, leadership, and budgeting. They're one of many things to add to your resume.

So, if you aim for expansion and skill-building, outsourcing offers the opportunity to provide you with the experience you need. Not only will you learn to improve your people skills, but you'll be able to start doing the things you want to do.