---
title: The A-Z of Small Business Outsourcing - GeekBoss
description: Outsourcing is a competitive advantage and a time saver for ambitious businesses of any size. Get inspired by our list of things you can outsource.
image: https://geekboss.com/hubfs/AdobeStock_215949089-1-3-1.jpg
---

[Entrepreneurship](https://geekboss.com/blog/tag/entrepreneurship)

# The A-Z of Small Business Outsourcing

[ By Matthew Stibbe ![Matthew Stibbe](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/c0fe13642b2329271b9ce0a5b41d744a) ](https://geekboss.com/blog/author/matthew-stibbe)

 Published 24/Dec/2018  Updated June 2 2026

![Man looking at computer screens](https://geekboss.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AdobeStock_215949089-1-3-1.jpg?width=1600&height=1000&name=AdobeStock_215949089-1-3-1.jpg)

It used to be a question for the biggest businesses: what do we outsource? Time has levelled the playing field and, today, even small businesses and solopreneurs can outsource virtually anything. Indeed, for ambitious businesses, outsourcing could be a competitive advantage.

## Creative outsourcing

- **Brainstorming: **[P&G](https://www.ideaconnection.com/crowdsourcing/procter-gamble-00007.html) famously use crowdsourcing to innovate, but it’s just as easy for small firms. Sites like Quora and Reddit can help with simple questions and crowdfunding apps can let you test ‘minimum viable products’.
- **Creatives:** Manage clever creative types from a distance. Online ‘marketplaces’ are springing up for [design](https://99designs.co.uk/) talent, ad creatives, writers, programmers… the list is growing: [peopleperhour](https://www.peopleperhour.com/), [Upwork](https://www.upwork.com/) and [guru.com](https://www.guru.com/) are just a few places to find talent. Increasingly, this extends across the workforce: **contractors** from sales to data entry to web design & software application design will work by the hour. (It sounds ruder than it should.)
- **Ideas:** This is more a case of outpouring than outsourcing, ensuring you get ideas down when they occur to you, either [digitally](https://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2010/07/05/productivity-tools/) or on [paper](https://pocketmod.com/).

[![Marketing Strategy foundations course CTA](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/289742/f5078ad8-43c6-493e-bdd4-7530d06591d3.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/289742/f5078ad8-43c6-493e-bdd4-7530d06591d3)

## IT and office outsourcing

- **Data storage**. From document repository [Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com/) to bigger gig guardians such as [Rackspace](https://www.rackspace.com/en-gb), you can get someone else to house big file servers– and potentially do away with the office altogether.
- **Servers **Web-based activity can be outsourced to [‘hosts’](https://www.fasthosts.co.uk/) with far greater server capacity than most small businesses could afford independently. Security is usually included in the tariffs.
- [**Telecoms**](https://www.3cx.com/): Remote working can ratchet up the communications costs, so cloud phone systems like [RingCentral](https://www.ringcentral.com/) can be very cost-effective.
- **Workplace: **Like Jason Fried says, ‘[work doesn’t happen at work](https://www.ted.com/talks/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_at_work)’. You can collaborate online, find a place to park yourself using [WeWork](https://www.wework.com/en-GB) and take advantage of the boom in cool, central office spaces cropping up in major cities.
- **Retailing**: Set up a [virtual store](https://www.shopify.com/) and a mobile operation with ease. Then use cloud-based [software](https://www.brightpearl.com/) to manage supply chain and procurement.

## Outsourcing professional services

- **[Project management](https://basecamp.com/)** from our gurus and role model at 37 Signals.
- **The FD**: Can’t afford a full-time bean counter? Try the [Wow Company](https://www.thewowcompany.com/) instead.
- **Marketing** – from [email campaigns](https://www.campaignmonitor.com/) to advertising to [virtual PRs](https://www.thepr.network/), this is an area many small businesses would expect to outsource. My business, [Articulate Marketing](https://www.articulatemarketing.com/), is an [outsourced marketing department](https://www.articulatemarketing.com/) for many ambitious technology companies.
- **PAs: **Use a ‘virtual PA’ to stay on top of things, either with telephone-based services such as [Moneypenny](https://www.moneypenny.com/uk/) in the UK (but your clients don’t have to know that), TimeSvr or [AskSunday](https://asksunday.com/index.php), to name just a few.
- **Funding: **New crowdfunding sites like [CrowdCube](https://www.crowdcube.com/) (among others) are an alternative to angel investment and are particularly popular for grassroots arts projects, social enterprises and inventors.
- **HR**. There’s a lot you can do yourself to improve [employee engagement](https://geekboss.com/blog/employee-engagement) and [team productivity](https://geekboss.com/blog/how-to-crack-the-whip-without-leaving-a-mark-ten-tips-for-instant-team-productivity-wins) but you can also get help from experts like HR Revolution.

## Outsource your life

- [**Fitness**](http://virtualfitnesstrainer.com/)**: **OK, you can’t exactly outsource it, but there are plenty of apps, like [RunKeeper](https://runkeeper.com/cms/) and [Sworkit](https://sworkit.com/) and gadgets to help you stay motivated.
- **Errands: **Check out [Taskrabbit](https://www.taskrabbit.co.uk/).
- **Your life:** Eating, shopping, travelling – who’s got time for all that? But if you can’t quite stretch to [Quintessentially](https://quintessentially.com/)’s ultra-smart service, you could try the more modest offerings of [GetFriday.](https://www.getfriday.com/)

[![How to choose an agency for your new website](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/289742/aab369e3-a371-48eb-a47f-85895833e378.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/289742/aab369e3-a371-48eb-a47f-85895833e378)

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