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4 Frequently Asked Questions About Outsourcing Answered

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Outsourcing|4 Frequently Asked Questions About Outsourcing AnsweredFor those who are not yet on board with the prospect of outsourcing, this Q and A post shall help to quell your concerns. Below are four commonly asked questions that are often asked by business owners about outsourcing. And accompanying them, the answers to help you decipher whether or not outsourcing of some kind is a good choice for your business.

What is outsourcing?

Outsourcing refers to business owners finding and paying talented professionals (such as freelancers) and companies to do the work they don’t have the time or expertise to do themselves.

Depending on the scale of your business, there are usually multiple activities you (and your team) need to complete to ensure the company runs smoothly. For example, an entrepreneur who plans to launch their startup will need to work through the below;

  • Create a business plan
  • Build a website
  • Craft a brand
  • Set up and manage social media pages
  • Create a marketing plan to entice new customers
  • Hire, employ and train staff
  • Record every expense, income, and outgoing to ensure you have all the necessary information ready to complete your tax return

Everyone has a limited amount of time and resources available to complete business tasks, therefore attempting to adopt multiple jobs at once and do them well is near impossible. As a solution, outsourcing is often the answer to entrepreneurs’ who are short on time.

Providing numerous opportunities to outsource all of the tasks mentioned above and more, you can, for instance, outsource a trusted business partner to take care of everything related to human resources, such as hiring employees and managing the payroll. Or hire a freelance social media manager to take care of all the business’s social channels such as Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin.

What services can I outsource?

Practically each and every area of your business you can think of can be outsourced. Here are a few of many examples;

  • Sales
  • Digital Marketing
  • Human Resources
  • IT services
  • Customer services

Can small businesses outsource work?

Of course, there’s no minimum amount of employees or turnover required to outsource services, but some freelancers, contractors, and services are better suited to smaller businesses than others; you just need to research and find out what works for you.

Is there a cost advantage?

Perhaps one of the most significant benefits of outsourcing is the amount of money your company can save. If your company has been affected by the pandemic, cutting costs is likely compulsory rather than a choice.

Delegating tasks to businesses outside of your own eliminates the costs associated with hiring employees to perform a specific role.

For example, hiring an in-house human resources team to take care of every aspect of interviews, employment, pensions, and healthcare is costly. Furthermore, you need to provide the same service to the human resources team you’ve hired too.

Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. – Jessica Jackley, entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs can’t do it all. If you want to cut costs, save time, improve efficiency, and concentrate on the parts of your business, you are passionate about, delegate tasks to other professionals.

Is a Master’s Degree Worth the Effort?

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Master's Degree|Is a Master’s Degree Worth the Effort?Whether you have just graduated from uni or have had your degree for some time, you might be wondering, is a master’s degree worth the effort? Many of the results that you can get from some master’s courses, like additional job opportunities or better career prospects, can also be gained from alternative means like graduate schemes or industry qualifications. And at around ten thousand pounds for a year of study, getting a master’s degree doesn’t always come cheap either.

If you’ve been pondering going back to uni and getting a postgraduate qualification, it’s always worth taking the time to determine whether or not it will be worth the effort for you. The answer will depend on your personal situation and your career goals.

What Do You Want to Do?

First of all, consider what you want to do with your career. Will a master’s degree be essential? If you want to work in a field or a position where a master’s degree is required as a minimum, your choice has been made for you. However, bear in mind that the jobs where a master’s degree is the minimum requirement are few and far between, and most of the time there will be alternative pathways to getting there. Do as much research as you can on your chosen career path, to determine whether getting a master’s is right for you.

Studying for the Right Reasons

Even if alternative options are available, studying for a master’s degree can be fun and it will make a great addition to your CV. However, it’s important to make sure that you want to get a master’s degree for the right reasons. Don’t apply for a master’s simply because you miss uni life or aren’t sure what you want to do after graduating; there’s a risk that you’ll end up in more student debt and still not sure about your next steps at the end of it. If you’re unsure of what to do next, why not try a graduate scheme, go travelling, or work in various jobs for a year or two to help you get some more experiences that you can use to choose your pathway?

Masters Vs. Industry Qualifications

In some industries, there are other qualifications that you can do online or at local colleges that will help you get your foot into better career options. For example, if you studied psychology and want to become a counsellor, you might not need to get a master’s degree; there are industry-recognised qualifications that you can study for in less time that will enable you to start working in your chosen profession. And, they will often cost a lot less than getting a master’s degree. Weigh up the costs and benefits of each option available to you, and determine whether you actually need a master’s degree or if there’s a cheaper, faster way of getting to where you need to be.

Choosing the Right Degree

If you’ve decided that a master’s degree is the right way forward for you, it’s time to consider which degree course you are going to apply for. Again, this might be an easy decision based on your career, if a master’s in a certain subject is required for you to get there. But more often than not, you will have a range of options to choose from. Take a look at this guide at unicompare.com designed to help you choose the right master’s course for you. University Compare allows you to shortlist suitable master’s courses and compare them to each other in terms of course content, facilities, teaching styles, employment prospects and more to help you make the right decision for your career.

Choosing Your University

You don’t have to stay at the same university to study for your master’s, although this is a popular choice for many students, with many universities offering tuition discounts for students who decide to return. And there’s no reason why you shouldn’t study at the same university if you enjoyed your time there as an undergraduate and they offer a suitable course and facilities for your needs.

However, you might decide to go elsewhere, which is when you will need to do a little more research. Perhaps you want to attend a higher ranking university than the one who studied at first, in order to improve your CV, or maybe you want to attend a university that is highly specialised in the master’s degree course that you have chosen, with state-of-the-art facilities to take advantage of.

Start your university search early and attend open days to get a feel for the campus, teaching staff and facilities before you make a final decision. And, apply to more than one university so that you have more options.

A master’s degree can be worth the effort if you’re doing it for the right reasons. It’s a great way to advance your career, boost your CV and get in front of more opportunities.

Startup Ideas: 5 Sectors Unaffected By COVID-19

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Startup Ideas|Startup Ideas: 5 Sectors Unaffected By COVID-19The COVID-19 novel coronavirus has changed life as we once knew it for virtually everyone across the planet. Billions of people globally have had their lives turned upside-down, with COVID-19 failing to spare individuals from any background, location, or class in society.

Businesses have also been hard-hit by COVID-19, with small independent and large multinational firms alike having to close their doors for good. But, some firms have escaped relatively unscathed from the devastation brought by this global pandemic.

If you’re looking to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit from within you, it’s likely you want to start a business that is most likely to survive such global pandemics like COVID-19. With that in mind, here are five examples of startup business sectors you need to consider:

1. Vehicle Maintenance

When countries impose strong lockdown curfews on their citizens, only businesses deemed “essential” are allowed to operate as normal. Vehicle maintenance garages are one such example and have seen no decline in trade despite the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Vehicles used by key workers and emergency services still need to function as intended. Those repair workshops are crucial at keeping a nation’s network of supplies and essential services working as it should.

2. IT Services

Technology is another necessity in today’s modern world. It has proven a welcome boon when coordinating COVID-19 care and support for communities across the globe. And it’s still going to be around long after the coronavirus pandemic becomes a distant memory.

IT consulting and support services companies offer a variety of solutions for residential and corporate users alike. They are one of the few sectors virtually unaffected by COVID-19. IT services encompass sectors ranging from cloud computing through to content streaming.

3. Delivery Services

Logistics play a vital role in the functioning and development of any nation’s infrastructure. Without delivery services in place, businesses wouldn’t have the resources they need to provide their products and services.

During the peak of COVID-19 in many countries, particular attention got focused on delivery services. Especially ones that could transport much-needed items such as medicine to healthcare centers, and groceries to individuals self-isolating due to COVID-19 symptoms.

4. Insurance

It might surprise you to learn that the insurance industry as a whole is least affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the economic chaos that the coronavirus has brought most nations, it’s still “business as usual” for insurers.

For a start, workers at insurance companies can mostly continue providing services remotely from home. That’s thanks, in part, to the digitization of insurance products. Another reason is due to the continued requirement for consumer and corporate protection against risks.

5. Pharmaceuticals

One sector to consider that is both unaffected by COVID-19 and economic recessions is the pharmaceutical industry. Irrespective of what’s going on in the world, people (and animals) still need medicine to treat illnesses and diseases.

When talking about the pharmaceutical industry, there’s not just the production of medicine. Related sectors such as research and development are also largely unaffected by the COVID-19 crisis.

5 Methods to Attract More Customers to Your Restaurant

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | 5 Methods to Attract More Customers to Your RestaurantRunning a restaurant is hard work. It’s not simply a case of cooking up some food, serving it up to customers, and earning a profit. Many different elements need to be considered. This includes everything from managing a front of house team to the logistics of regularly ordering fresh ingredients.

With so much going on, it can be challenging to find the time to actually market the restaurant.

However, adequate promotion is an essential component for your restaurant – particularly if you’re a newcomer to the market. Established, award-winning eateries can get by on their reputation alone, but beginners have to fight for every customer.

If you’re struggling to get people through the door to sample your food, here are five methods to attract more customers to your restaurant.

Place your restaurant details online

As a starting point, ensure your essential restaurant details can easily be found online. This should begin with both a Google My Business and Facebook page, where you can feature details such as the restaurant’s location and opening times.

Also, it’s highly recommended to create a dedicated website for your restaurant. This site can add further information, including your menu complete with prices and exclusive deals.

Speaking of deals…

Run a limited deal

If someone is undecided about visiting your restaurant, there’s one way to ensure they turn up as a paying customer: offering an enticement of some sort.

What can this enticement be, exactly? Well, for one example, it could be an offer where a customer buys one meal and receives another for free. It might be 20% off the total bill or a significant reduction on a set menu.

People love to feel like they’re getting a deal, and this is an effective way of giving them that feeling.

Use PPC advertising

If your restaurant is in a bustling city with a plethora of restaurant options available, it can be challenging to gain any visibility via local SEO means. There is, however, one way of having your restaurant show up in local search results: PPC.

PPC, aka pay-per-click, is a way of placing an advert for your restaurant above organic results in search results. Mostly, if you use Google Ads, your restaurant will appear first in any relevant local searches. For more information, Made by Factory, one of the leading PPC management agencies around, can provide all the help you could need.

Ask for reviews

Reviews are often the lifeblood for any small business. Positive reviews for your restaurant will help illustrate the quality of your food and service. The more glowing reviews you receive, the more potential customers will believe your eatery is the real deal.

As a result, don’t be shy in asking previous patrons to leave a review if they were happy with their visit.

Don’t avoid traditional marketing techniques

Yes, the above tips primarily focus on digital marketing. However, you should never avoid traditional marketing techniques. Leaflets are an excellent method for supplying potential customers with details about your restaurant. Another example would be to run a print ad in a local newspaper.

On the Hunt for the Best CPA Review Course out There? 6 Questions You Need to Ask Before Making the Decision

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article | On the Hunt for the Best CPA Review Course out There? 6 Questions You Need to Ask Before Making the DecisionIf you are planning to take the CPA exam, you are probably very aware of exam courses. In fact, most experts agree that taking the CPA exam without taking one of these courses is a lot like having someone blindfold you, turn you around several times, then having you throw a dart at a dartboard and expecting to hit the target. You might accomplish your mission, but it would be excruciatingly difficult to do. That’s why taking a CPA prep course, whether in-person or online, is so important.

If you have done any homework on these exam reviews, the chances are good that you have already discovered that there are many of them. The following six questions will help you select the one that is right for you, or at least get you headed in the right direction.

1. Are there any virtual CPA exam review classes? As many review courses as there are, not all of them are created equal. Some are given online, while others are in-person. Some are a combination of both. Some are better than others. Be sure you pick the format that works best for you and your schedule.

2. Is there an instructor available to speak with? As great as online courses are, there is no substitute for being able to interact with a real human. Ask if you have this option available.

3. How long will a candidate have access to the materials, and can their access be extended if the person runs out of time? Most CPA exam reviews are goldmines of materials, but these are of little good if after you complete the course you have no access to them.

4. What is the total cost of the course, and are there discounts available? CPA exam review courses aren’t cheap. In fact, some are as expensive as a used car, so unless you have someone bankrolling you, you will need to come up with the money for those fees. Make sure you know what that price tag is and whether you can handle it. Be sure to ask if they offer discounts and if you qualify for them.

5. What is the policy about students who fail a part or parts of the exam? Can a candidate retake that part of the review course? Some review courses offer students who don’t pass legs of the exam the opportunity to take those portions of the course again. Make sure the course you select offers this.

6. Can a person get updates as they are released, and is there a cost for this? Most CPA review courses are good about keeping their materials up to date. Make sure that the course you elect to take is one of them. Otherwise, all you will be learning is information that is out of date and won’t help you pass the exam a bit.

These questions should give you a start. Most CPA review courses have this information and much more on their websites, but if you can’t find it, or have other questions, be sure to ask. You have a right to know what you are paying for as well as to make sure that the course lives up to your expectations. Helping you to pass the CPA exam is not only their most important job, it’s their only job.