01 May 2022

When starting our own business, many of us decide to go down the solopreneur route – we set up and run our business on our own, funding it and doing all the tasks it entails by ourselves. Over time however, as our business grows and develops, we may find that we need extra support – there may be tasks that we don’t have the skills to complete (or don’t enjoy) or there may be too much work for just one person and it’s at this stage that many solopreneurs look to expand their team

If you are at this stage in your business, then you have two main options – you can employ someone to join your team or you can outsource different tasks within your business. So let’s look at both of these options in more detail ...

OUTSOURCING

This is the best option if there are specific tasks within your business that you want to off-load. Some tasks may be one-off projects, such as developing your website or populating your CRM system; others may be ongoing tasks that are not big enough to warrant employing anyone at this stage but still take up time that you don't have, such as your book-keeping or social media content management

A good way to identify if a task is suitable to outsource is to look at how much time you currently spend doing it yourself – if it takes you less than 5 hours a week but it’s something that you have to keep on top of each week, outsourcing may be a good option. Another factor that may influence your decision to outsource a task is if you don't currently have the skill set within the business to effectively complete that task in-house ... or if you frequently put off doing it (to the detriment of your business) because you loathe and detest that particular task!

Alternatively, if it is a one-off task or project that can be completed in a month or less and once completed, need not be done again in the near future, then outsourcing may be the best solution

If you do decide to outsource a particular task or project, networking may introduce you to other solopreneurs who specialise in that task, whether that’s in person networking or through your connections on LinkedIn or other social media platforms. Virtual PAs are also a good resource, especially for the business admin tasks, or try freelancer websites, such as PeoplePerHour to help you find someone who matches your needs

When working with an outsourced service provider, it is useful to ask for a proposal document that outlines the scope of the tasks, how and when they will complete it, with a breakdown of the costs, before you decide which provider you will work with ... also check out reviews and testimonials from other businesses that have used their services or ask for recommendations from people that you know have worked with them too

Once you have identified which service provider you want to work with, you should still have a contract with that business – a contract for services. This outlines the relationship between both parties, how breaches in the contract will be dealt with and it will stipulate that the work being completed is done so on a basis that is outside IR35 (although many micro businesses are exempt from this consideration)

Remember that outsourcing is a B2B relationship; service providers will usually provide the same service to a number of other clients as well as your business; they decide how the work will be done (as you are buying their expertise) and they are not entitled to any ‘employee benefits’ such as holiday, sick pay or pension. However be aware that over time, if the relationship changes and the outsourced service provider starts to play a greater role in your business, working more hours or on-site with increasing frequency, you may need to review the situation. The line between an independent contractor/freelancer and an employee can easily be crossed if mutual reliance grows (e.g. if you become the freelancer’s sole client or you find you’re asking them to do increasingly more work, above what you originally tasked them with)

EMPLOYING A TEAM MEMBER

When deciding whether or not to take on your first employee, you need to again look at the task or project that needs completing. If the task needs doing every day or every week and takes a whole day or a good part of the week to complete, then employing someone may be a better option than outsourcing

An employee usually works solely for your business, generally for 1 to 5 days each week, every week (unless they are employed on a fixed term or zero-hours basis). If the work that you need doing is not that regular, then you can still outsource to a freelancer or agency

The tasks an employee completes define the skill-set that you look for during the recruitment process however, there can be a tendency for small business owners to try to cover all bases by going for the ‘jack of all trades’ option. This can work ... but it can also lead to frustration for both parties, especially if the variety of tasks to be completed no longer match the skill set that the employee was originally recruited for. Sometimes it is better to take on two part-time employees with different skills sets rather than one multi-tasking full-timer ... remember, round pegs in round holes tend to fit better!

As a business owner, you have more control over the work of an employee than that of an outsourced service provider - you define what work your employees do and how they do it. You also have a choice of where they do that work, whether that be on-site, remotely or a combination of the two. You do need to provide your employees with the tools to do the job wherever they work from, so you need to think about what equipment they need to do the tasks you’ve set them when calculating the costs

When you employee someone, you need to provide a contract of employment from Day 1 - this sets down your organisation’s terms and conditions of employment, including details of their holiday entitlement, auto-enrolment pension and other statutory entitlements/payments as a minimum

You have an obligation to ensure that your employees acquire the skills and knowledge that they need to do their job and you also need to manage their performance in line with ACAS guidelines. You have an obligation to ensure that your employees comply with any legislation that is pertinent to your business, such as data protection/GDPR, health and safety requirements, etc 

As an employer, you are responsible for processing their PAYE via payroll and for issuing them with an itemised payslip. You are also responsible for the health and safety of each employee and should have the appropriate insurances for your business. Look at 'taking on your first employee' for more details

So to summarise, as a solopreneur, if you are looking to off-load or delegate some of your workload, identify the task or project you want doing first:

• how many hours does it take to do each day / week?
• how frequently does it need completing?

On a sliding scale, if the time and frequency of the task are low, then outsourcing may be the better option, whereas if it's a task that needs undertaking regularly, over several days every week, then the best solution is probably to employ someone. Good luck with whatever option you choose

Which ever situation you are faced with, if you need help identifying which option is best for your business or if you require a template contract appropriate for the solution you are implementing, please get in touch. Call me on 01530 835 568 or email carol@able2consulting.com.
 

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