There is a common misconception when it comes to outsourcing, many people think this means sending work overseas. However, this is simply not true. In reality, you probably “outsource” some of your business functions already to other local businesses. For example, if you pay an accountant to prepare your taxes or have your company vehicle serviced at the dealer, that’s outsourcing! When deciding whether or not to outsource a function of your business, there are few things to consider. It helps to look at the cost vs. time and how cost effective each scenario will be. Most people forget to pay themselves when they consider doing it in-house. Your time has value! If you typically get $40/hour and the task will take 10 hours a week, that’s $400 your company will spend each week. Another thing to consider is the value you will receive from doing it yourself or paying a professional. Outsourcing a task that you are not skilled at, whether it is online advertising, tax preparation or hosting email servers, could actually save you time and money. Take the above example, it could cost your company $400 to do a sub-par job in-house which could lead to complications or mistakes, or $480 to give the accountability to a professional who is trained in the area. Once you have decided to out-source certain things, the problem arises of who to choose to work with. Simply, DO YOUR HOMEWORK! The simplest way to research a company is to go on Google and search the company’s name + “scam” or “complaints”. You can also check with the BBB for their assessment of the company. Doing these two relatively easy things can give you a pretty good understanding of the company and how their customers feel about their services. There is an old saying we like to share: “Good is rarely cheap and cheap is rarely good.” Remember to ask detailed questions. Too good to be true offers usually are just that, too good to be true. Good luck!