It is so difficult in this day and age to see the sense in spending money to save money and yet it is more appropriate than ever. The need to reduce expenses whilst focusing on core business income is top of the priority list. Without the income from the core business activities there is no business to save and grow.
The hard part for the very small business – with one or two employees – is to value the time of the main earner, skill owner or tradesperson. The assessment of their input as a function of business income is a vital and necessary calculation. There is really no point in trying to do all the work, large and small, associated with running a business if it leaves no time for actually doing the core function the business is set up to do.
For every hour spent doing a job that another could do as well, or better, than you there is an hour you could have been earning the business much needed income from core activities. Take the need for a small piece of in-house office software, perhaps a small adaptation to existing generic software, one could sit down for a day with an online manual and figure it out, losing a day of core business earnings. Or it could be put out to an external software outsourcing contract.
Although the first option would seem to save money, actually it costs the loss of one day of earnings for the business. Once engaged the external agency may have specialists that can write the required code in an hour, the cost maybe minimal or even cost slightly more than the lost day from the other option. This is still a saving though, especially if one were to engage a Lean outsourcingcompany to do the work.
The elegance and efficiency of the process and the final code will be easier to maintain and come with a support package that will last after the contract has been delivered. This is an on-going saving as every time in the future that there is an issue with the software (if indeed there are any issues at all) immediately there will be someone to contact for support.
The use of such software development companies especially ones that promote and use Lean management principles is becoming more relevant in these tight economic times. It is a marque of trust and accountability that allows trust and faith in the outsourcing company from the start. An absolute must in the outsourcing world.
Source:http://sms58.com/23891/outsourcing-difficult-jobs-can-save-your-business/
