Small and medium sized businesses are collapsing under the weight of the global financial crisis. Many SME’s are having to close their doors, while others tighten their belts and prepare for the continued stormy weather they expect to face for the next several years. Many have put on hold their plans for expansion, instead favoring the security of cash-flow and fearful of moving forward with untested plans. In the current “Cash is King” reality, it’s no longer acceptable to gamble capital reserves on future growth. Luckily, there is an alternative: Outsourcing non-vital business processes offshore. As the internet continues to connect people worlds away, small businesses are finding that the outsourcing industry no longer has the monstrous problems it had a decade ago and that it’s quite affordable. It now carries considerably less risk in that long-term entanglements and confusing contracts are a thing of the past. Small business owners are looking to offshore outsourcing in droves and those that have gone overseas successfully are finding it easy to compete.

Outsource personnel to boost cash flow – Did you know that you can outsource non-critical business tasks for less than half of what you’re paying in-house employees? Most offshore outsourcing companies charge $6.00 – $10.00 per hour, depending on the experience level of the employee and most will include a supervisor for projects that require five people or more. Compare that to $12.00 – $20.00 per hour for comparable employees in the US, not to mention benefits, taxes, office space, computers, etc. It’s no surprise that small businesses that have begun outsourcing have realized 30% – 50% savings on personnel expenses. With most offshore companies, they work your hours, have access to many different Instant Messaging programs, and often have cameras and software to where you can actually view what your employee is doing, day to day.

Expand business and improve quality through offshoring – Rather than dip into cash reserves for growth, small business owners can outsource personnel, realize their cost savings, and use a portion of that to improve the quality of their product/service or take growth risks they otherwise could not afford. While the economic downturn has hit most SME’s hard, there are opportunities available to those businesses that can afford to grab them. Most businesses are realizing that customer service goes a long way to separating themselves from their competitors. By adding additional well-trained, polite service reps offshore, business owners are able to improve hold times and get response times down to incredible levels. Taking the savings received through outsourcing and investing a portion of it into new marketing ideas allows you to both decrease costs and market your business to new customers.

While outsourcing used to only be available to the large companies (Cisco, Intel, etc.) many small companies are today able to take advantage of the opportunities that outsourcing has provided. Not all business owners are keen to the idea, worried that sending jobs overseas will leave a bad impression with their customers, worried about the reaction from current staff, etc. While those concerns are valid, it really doesn’t matter if your competitors are looking offshore and are able to beat you to the punch…it’s hard to compete if they get their first. Instead, consider offshore outsourcing as a viable option and improve your margins before they do.