Join our live Q&A between 1pm and 3pm on Thursday for expert tips on outsourcing as an SME
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Outsourcing is something of a buzzword in the SME community. On the network, we caused quite a stir when we asked whether or not small businesses should outsource their social media. The consensus? There's no global answer; it depends on the business, the industry and the aims you are trying to achieve.
Back in 2011, UK manager of Freelancer.co.uk Saif Bonar stated that cutting down on labour costs by hiring project-based workers is a great way for SMEs to rise above the economic challenges and make the most of the options available to them.
For startups especially, employing staff can be tricky. It requires careful forecasting, planning and budgeting - not to mention the legal and practical implications that go with becoming an employer. Sometimes outsourcing is a great middle ground. It frees up your workload so that you can be more efficient at what you do best.
That said, it can be hard to be sure that you're making the right decision. How do you decide what to outsource? How can you find the right person for the job? What about agencies and outsourcing certain areas of your business on a more permanent basis?
To address these issues, or any other questions, doubts or queries about outsourcing as a small business, we have compiled a panel of experts who will be on hand to share tips, advice and expertise during our live Q&A on Thursday 21 February between 1pm and 3pm. You can leave your questions in the comment section below or tweet us your thoughts @GdnSmallBiz.
Here's this week's panel:
Ella Gascoigne is the founder of Startup PR, and works with SMEs wanting to outsource their PR. They also provide a service which gives small businesses the tools to do their own PR in-house if they decide against outsourcing.
Aylish Jarvie is the community manager at PeoplePerHour, an online marketplace connecting small businesses with more than 400,000 skilled freelancers who they can outsource to.
Kirsten Glaze is head of virtual operations at the virtual PA company Time Etc, which works with SMEs who want to outsource their admin tasks.
Neil Murray is the founder of Sussd.it, which enables startups to outsource their sales to them on a commission basis.
Jay Wheeler is the managing director of Red Potato, a small business which outsources the production of short films, animations and surveys to freelancers and students.
Bill Little is the European director for freelancer.co.uk, an outsourcing website which connects SMEs with seven million freelancers around the world.
Louis Fairfax is managing director of CUB, a small business which other SMEs outsource to for energy management consultancy.
Martyn Hart is the chairman of the National Outsourcing Association and has more than 25 years' experience in outsourcing.
Katherine Ogilvie is an SEO consultant at the Fountain Partnership, an internet marketing company which outsources its copywriting on a regular basis.
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