A Better Answer Blog

With over half of the working U.S. population starting or working in small businesses, there are even better statistics and data around entrepreneurs and startups. Read here for some interesting facts! When working in a small business, an owner or employee may find themselves doing jobs outside of their specialty. Long gone are the days of “passing the buck”. In a small business climate, every job may be your job.

The Startup

An entrepreneur with an engaging idea will want to execute on that idea as soon as possible. In today’s business world, ideas don’t come easy but they can bloom quickly with internet access and a website. For the idea-person, building a website may not be their forte. Perhaps they didn’t see themselves as technical, as a salesperson or as someone who can manufacture their product or service at an increased scale. A startup idea, however, doesn’t come with instant revenue. Unless the entrepreneur has a team of others who are willing to invest in the startup efforts, every ounce of starting a business is left up to the idea-person to execute.

Small Business Operations

Even after a business gets off the ground and more are being hired, every employee must feel comfortable wearing many different hats. With each new position being filled, there are more expectations from a human resources perspective. The CEO may have done the hiring but has he ever written an HR manual or looked into employee benefits? Can the small business salesperson answer the phones, solve technical questions and feel comfortable loading the dishwasher? Does your social media marketing person also have the ability to manage a project or plan an executive outing?

Building out a business is a slow and sometimes arduous effort that is based on the success of the business. Much like the old chicken and the egg story, you may need more people to help sell your product or service however you cannot afford to hire more unless you sell more products or services.

Outsourcing

As an interim to hiring a full-time employee to work a specific job, outsourcing may be an option for the small business owner. Doing everything may allow the CEO and staff to save some money in the short term, but eventually an expert touch may be required to propel the business forward. Some of the first positions that are typically outsourced for a small business are:

• Accounting/Payroll
• Social media and other marketing efforts
• Administrative support including phone answering and voice mail

As your business continues to grow, jobs may become more specialized and specific. Wearing many hats is an obvious necessity until that time. Making the transition to hiring more full-time employees can be eased by outsourcing some administrative duties in the meanwhile.