EmojiLIFE is a rapidly growing software company whose software analyzes your emotions in real time based on body language and facial expressions. It then immediately reports said emotion by projecting (from your watch or phone) an appropriate emoji directly onto your face so you can’t hide what’s deep down inside.
For example: If you are in a meeting and agitated by your colleague who not only overuses the word “literally,” but also uses it incorrectly, EmojiLIFE detects your agitation and projects an agitated emoji directly onto your trying-to-hide-it stoic face. 😫 This groundbreaking software is a huge hit in boring corporate settings where bosses no longer have to wonder what their direct reports are thinking or feeling about them…
Impressively, the EmojiLIFE team has scaled to $5 million in annual revenue with only 4 people on staff. When they realized they were going viral, the creators felt the pressure to hire more help 😰 but also wanted to keep a lean operation. They made it work by outsourcing the bulk of their back-office functions. It was a brilliant, financially smart move that also power-packed their team to be excellent in every area of their business without draining their finances.
EmojiLIFE weighed all of their options and chose to hire external expertise to scale. Is that the best choice for your business? I’d love to be your financial balance, helping you weigh all of your hiring options through the lens of financial health and success. There are many options to consider and it’s best to customize your choice to your exact business scenario and needs. Schedule a call with me today to ensure your financial scale stays balanced as you grow. 🤩
Hiring Vs. Outsourcing: Q&A on Scaling and Growth
You may feel confused 😵💫, overwhelmed 🫠, or unsure 🫤 of what to do when it comes to hiring help as you grow your business. These Q&As can help.
What business functions can I outsource?
Typical back-office roles and areas that most small businesses can outsource include low level work and higher, expert level work:
- Administrative Tasks
- IT Management
- Marketing or a fractional CMO
- Human Resources or a fractional CHRO
- Bookkeeping
- Financial analysis or a fractional CFO
- Tax Advising
- Customer Service
Pro tip: Don’t fall into the trap of trying to hire a flying unicorn. 🙈I see many business owners try to put multiple job roles onto one person to save money. For example, if you have a wonderful receptionist who works at the front desk, you may be tempted to also task them with doing bookkeeper responsibilities in their down time. This is a big mistake! While I’m sure your receptionist is lovely and represents your company well behind the front desk, he can’t do it all (and do it well). Just like unicorns, such a person doesn’t exist no matter how well someone sells themselves in an interview.
Should I hire an employee or contractor?
An employee regularly provides services for their company, and their performance is measured against the company’s set metrics. An employee can be full-time or part-time, and the business pays the employer portion of their payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare).
If you need help conducting a key activity of your business (or with the services your business provides to others), you should hire an employee.
A contractor is self-employed and can provide services to many different businesses simultaneously, not just yours. A contractor has to pay both employer and employee payroll taxes themselves. Benefits are not offered to contractors, nor are contractors expected to complete performance reviews.
There are many ways and scenarios in which you can hire a contractor – every situation is different. One example: If you are hiring within a fixed time period and there is no expectation that the work will continue afterwards, you can hire a contractor.
Pro tip: If you make payments to a company name or an LLC entity, that points to a contractor relationship, while making payments to an individual could be an employee or a contractor.
There is no one single defining difference between an employee and contractor, as classification is situational. But misclassification can cause your business big penalties with the IRS. 🤑 Make sure you know and understand the 3 big factors to consider regarding the Employee Vs. Contractor Trap when deciding if you should classify hired help as an employee or contractor.
Should I hire full-time or part-time employees?
Many business owners immediately jump to thinking they need to hire full-time help, but that isn’t always the best decision. Many people are looking for part-time positions (stay at home parents, college students, etc.) and hiring part-time is a great way to ease into making the decision to hire help. For example, I’ve found that bookkeepers are more likely to want part-time work, but it might be more difficult to find a lawyer who will work part-time. Assess your specific business needs, the level of expertise you desire, and how likely it is to fill the role.
If you decide to hire for a part-time role, it might grow over time as your needs grow. You can always start with part-time help and hire full-time later.
Is it more expensive to outsource or hire internally?
Sometimes it’s more expensive to outsource a back-office role, but there could be significant benefits that outweigh the financial investment. The value from outsourcing expertise is much higher than what you can do on your own, and it’s nearly impossible to find someone who can “do it all”. 🙄
Consider bookkeeping tasks, Financial Controller tasks, and CFO tasks – three different roles that require different skills and expertise. If you outsource those three roles separately, you get partial amounts of high-value time from each of them instead of trying to hire a jack-of-all-trades unicorn.
You can learn more about this business strategy for building a financial team in From Mini-Golf To Golf-Pro: Expert Advice On Hiring A Bookkeeper, Controller, and CFO.
And when you need to evaluate a potential contractor (or vendor) to ensure you are choosing a partner that is best for your business, come back next month for expert tips on doing it right.
Customize Your Hiring Decisions with Financial Success in Mind
So which way is your business scale tipping? 🤔 If you aren’t sure if hiring internally or outsourcing is the best plan of action for your business, I’d love to be your financial balance. Together, let’s weigh all of your hiring options through the lens of financial health and success. Schedule a call with me today to set yourself up for even more scaling and growth as you hire.
