When you first start a business, you usually wear a lot of hats. You’re responsible for accounting and bookkeeping, sweeping the floors, and managing your computer and network needs, not to mention sales and marketing, networking, and trying to keep your customers happy. Many business owners never make it out of this phase because there is just so long you can juggle everything
The business owners who take it to the next level have a secret though. They do what they are best at and they find help for the things that are outside their specialty. Unfortunately, many business owners will hire people who are jacks of all trades. They hire an assistant who takes on some of the tasks like posting to social media, straightening the office, and managing computer problems.
You might be surprised to hear that one of the first things we encourage a small business owner to do is to hire a bookkeeper/accountant. Why? Because not only will they be able to make sure you are billing your clients and collecting your invoices, but they will also be able to guide you when it’s time to start hiring. They will tell you whether you can and should hire in-house or whether you should outsource. More times than not, they are going to tell you to outsource your IT department.
Too often the last department to be filled in a small business is the IT department. The good news is that it can be outsourced and we highly encourage you to do so.
1. You Can Focus on What You’re Good At
You have heard it said before, do what you do best and hire the rest. This is so true. IT professionals study for years and are always learning more about your computers, networks and other systems your business depends on. If you try to do what they are so good at, chances are it will take you longer to do it, you will not do it as well and worse still, you will be neglecting the things you are best at.
2. IT Requires Specialist Skills
Managing a computer network is a complex task that requires specialist skills and knowledge. By outsourcing your IT department, you can be sure that your network is being managed by experts who can keep it running smoothly. Our team at Gryphon Consulting has been training for years and as technology advances, we are constantly learning to keep up with it. Although we are true believers that the most successful entrepreneurs are always learning, we know you need to be learning in your specialty before taking on the taxing and we admit it, boring world of IT.
3. IT is Cost-Effective
Outsourcing your IT department can be a cost-effective way to manage your computer network. By using an external IT provider, you can save money on salaries, benefits, and training costs.
If you are currently having the most technical person in your office tackle problems as they come up, you will also find that outsourcing your IT is cost-effective. Why? Two reasons. First, you most likely hired that person to do another job. When they are pulled away from their 9-5 job to do something they don’t specialize in, your clients aren’t being served and they are most likely not catching problems before they start. It’s simply not their job.
4. Outsourced IT is More Flexible
One of the best parts about having an outsourced IT department is that you don’t have to add to your staffing costs. Very few small or even medium-sized businesses need a full-time IT staff. Outsourced IT can give you the flexibility to scale up or down as your business needs change. If you need to increase your IT support during busy periods, you can simply add more resources from your IT provider.
At Gryphon Consulting, we charge by device. Our clients loved this during COVID because it was as easy as letting us know when an employee left and as the pandemic lightened, it was just as easy to bring everybody back on board.
5. You’ll Get Peace of Mind
By outsourcing your IT department, you can free up time to focus on running your business and leave the technical details to someone else. This can give you peace of mind knowing that your computer network is in good hands.
One thing that most small business owners don’t realize is how much value they get from someone being on top of their IT needs all of the time. We are here to catch issues before they become an actual problem.
Another thing our clients love is the fact that their employees can reach out directly to our team for technical help as part of the contract and the owner never has to be disturbed. Consider the number of interruptions you face each day. Now consider how freeing it would be to have someone else take some of those off your plate.
