"Small business owners have a bad habit of trying to do everything themselves," writes Cash Miller in Small Business Delivered. After all, most business owners start out with just an idea of a product or service to provide. Often, all the technical stuff that a business requires is overlooked. As a business owner, you can easily find yourself one day trying to be a lawyer, accountant, marketing expert, and a slew of other roles at the same time. In the meantime, actually running your business takes a back seat. This certainly isn't ideal. As such, you may want to get outside help. This can free up your time to focus on your business. Leaving other tasks to the professionals means they get it all done right and in less time to boot.
Legal
From getting all the required permits to making sure you comply with the many constantly changing federal, state, and local laws (such as those regarding fair labor), getting professional legal advice can save you loads of time and headaches. This includes potentially saving you from stiff fines or even imprisonment.
Accounting
Many people dread the word "accounting" and specifically "taxes," and with good reason. First of all, mathematics just isn't the strength of many. Keeping accurate, updated records of transactions, payroll, bills, taxes, etc., can make anyone dizzy. On top of this, in business, almost every move you make can be subject to tax. Paying the wrong amount or even failing to file on time can lead to stiff penalties. Save yourself the trouble and get someone with professional training to handle your books.
Marketing
Elise Wile of Demand Media writes in Chron Small Business: "No matter how good your product or service is, if the public isn't aware of it, your business won't be a success." Marketing is yet another role that can distract you from focusing on said product or service. It involves a lot of research and implementation to effectively reach your target market. Aside from traditional marketing, digital marketing simply cannot be ignored or underutilized in today's world. While it provides cost-effective tools for the small guys to compete with, it also tends to be complex and time-consuming. With so many platforms and all this talk of figuring out algorithms and curating content, online marketing is a rapidly growing industry in itself. This means there are plenty of experts out there that can help.
Other Things to Consider
There are a host of other roles needed to run a business, such as human resources, office management, and tech support. With so many things to do, business owners who are just starting out tend to have the Superman Complex coined by Max Carey as far back as the 1980s. A victim of the complex, Max had frequent breakdowns and a failing business. Learning what tasks to outsource or delegate turned both his life and business around. With that being said, however, remember who's the boss and keep an eye on everything to make sure things are going the way you want them.
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