Being able to do something you're passionate about day in, day out, is what leads many people to start their own home business. It can be a great opportunity to create a company around your particular expertise or area of interest. But while entrepreneurs may be experts in their field, setting up a home business can bring with it a whole range of tasks and responsibilities, such as creating a website and keeping on top of accounts. If small businesses lack the relevant skills should they learn them, or outsource the service?
For Emma Beck it was a straightforward decision. Beck set up Lollipop PR in 2010 and uses an external accountant, web agency, law firm and social media consultants. Outsourcing these services means she can focus on her business.
"I know my time is better spent doing my PR stuff," she says. "I know what I'm good at and I know what I'm not good at. If you're starting a business you have to be honest about that."
She knew better than to tackle her own accounts, for example: "I would put it right to the bottom of the in-pile. PR is a creative industry – filling in forms is not what I enjoy." Using an external accountant, who came recommended by a friend, means Beck can feel reassured that her side of the business is taken care of: "You know you are not going to get a mad rush at the end of the financial year." They meet up once a year to go over her annual accounts and she sends them VAT bills, invoices and so on every three months. "I still stay very much in control of it," she says. "I also have a financial adviser."
Beck, who lives in Sale, Greater Manchester, also uses local solicitors Slater Heelis. "I approached them not long after I set up. Some of the contracts with my clients are big and cover quite a few years. They go over the contracts, confidentiality agreements and advise on professional insurers to get. It's light touch, it's as and when I need them."
The most time-intensive service she outsources is social media. While she does her own, she outsources the social media for her clients to company Social Media Boom. She met Naomi Timperley of Social Media Boom when she worked at an agency and knew they would work well together.
"We talk every day," says Beck. "I tell her what I'm doing PR-wise so she can tweet about it. It's seamless between PR and social media, it has to be. It works really well."
Nicola Dickinson, who set up her business Fresh Therapies, selling natural nailcare products, in 2012, and also chose to use external expertise for parts of her business. She says while she could learn the relevant skills, she just doesn't have the time.
Dickinson decided to get another company to create her website. "I was never going to get it to look how I wanted it to look because that's not my thing," she says. When searching for a company to provide the service, chemistry played a big role.
"The people who designed my website I met at a local trade fair," explains Dickinson. "I went to them because the guy was down to earth. There was a connection there. He came across as friendly and I felt more comfortable with him. They didn't give me a heavy sales pitch."
She advises anyone looking to outsource a service to take their time before they agree to anything. "I went to their offices, met the team and we discussed what I wanted the website to feel like. And then we built on that. There were quite a few meetings before I said I'd go ahead with it. I talked to them a lot during the process. They didn't try to take over and do their own thing." While they don't always agree on every point, they have a good working relationship: "Sometimes I go with their decision and sometimes it's the other way round."
Bringing external expertise into your home business doesn't always come at a cost. Skill swapping, where people barter their time and skills in return for reciprocal help with their business, can be a good option.
Louise Pearson, who runs her PR company LP Communications from her home in Bishop's Stortford, says her skills swap came about as the result of a casual conversation with her personal trainer Chris King. He told her he was setting up on his own and they discussed how he was planning to promote his new business. "I said, 'You should run a competition with the local paper, I don't mind helping you out because I need IT skills'."
Pearson produced the copy and secured him coverage in the local press. In turn, King advised her on what software package to buy for her computer and set it up for her. "It's probably an equal match if you look at hourly rate and in terms of his experience and mine," she says.
The skills swap worked well. For businesses just starting out it's worth considering, as long as you know the person you are swapping with, says Pearson. However for established businesses such as hers, it's not something she'd do often. "You can't do too much of it because you give away your skills and time. My priority is paying customers. If you were just starting out you might do a bit more of this."
Beck also had a successful skill swap. Design agency Carbon Creative designed her website and she did some PR for them. "I came across them in a previous job," says Beck. "They're a small company and I liked them. I know I could have gone online and created a basic website but it would have been rubbish and I'm a perfectionist. A lot is the chemistry, you know you can trust each other and get on well." It was based on a verbal agreement rather than anything being put on paper. If you're not sure whether to go with a company, "do a trial project like a business card," says Beck. "A website is a big commitment." She says bring external expertise into her business means she hasn't needed to employ staff. "My clients get me and all my expertise, not someone junior," she says.
If you are using external expertise, make sure it is reflected in your insurance policy, says Jazz Gakhal, head of Direct Line for Business. "Public liability cover will make sure you're covered for any accidents that may occur either at your business premises or outside of this space - perhaps when you are visiting or working at one of your partner sites for instance. You may also want to consider cover for your business equipment in transit as well as legal protection in case of any disputes."
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