Handshake by Svadilfari via Flickr

One of the smartest things you can do for your business is to determine what you do well and what you’d be better off outsourcing. Sometimes entrepreneurs feel like they have to do it all, that using an outside source to provide part of what they’re offering to customers is cheating. But really, it’s okay. It’s even expected.

Everyone has their own area of expertise – you can’t be everything to everyone. So it only makes sense to find someone who excels in what you don’t, so that you’re providing the best to your client. Recognizing your own expertise and limitations allows you to provide value to your customer. It’s not that you’re just marking up what someone else does to make middle-man profit; you know who the best source is to fill their needs, and they’re counting on the fact that you’ve done the research and have found the right solution.

It might be tempting to try to create the solution in-house – so you don’t have any external costs to worry about. But make sure you weigh all factors before you make that decision. Some questions to ask:

• Will I truly be able to provide a service comparable to the existing providers?
• Does my staff have the capacity to fill the tasks on an ongoing basis?
• Will the amount I can charge for the services adequately account for the amount of time to design & implement the new product?
• Does the new product fit my business model and brand?
• Would finding a partner/provider negatively impact my brand message?

If your answer to any of the above is no, you should probably find a partner.