In business, as in life, people make decisions. Some studies suggest that a person may need to do over 30,000 of these a day. Nearly 230 of these decisions pertain to food alone.
In reality, no one really knows how often an individual like a business owner finds themselves in the middle of A and B (and sometimes C and a few more letters). One thing is clear: some can be tough that it might take a while to choose.
But because they say that time is gold or every minute of indecision is a waste of money, this article aims to help you with a number of these decision-making options.
1. Rent an Office or Use the Cloud?
Many Americans work remotely, but the number grew during the pandemic. Now, Gartner reports that around 80 percent of these employees expect to work at least some days of the week at home. Almost half who participated in the survey said they hope to work from home full-time.
However, a lot of jobs are unsuitable for a remote setup. Think about salespeople who need to work at retail stores, healthcare providers, people engaged in production or manufacturing, delivery services, restaurants and food, and hospitality or tourism.
Renting an office may be a better choice if security is more important than the cost of leasing a space. After all, a data breach is expensive. According to an IBM study, it could cost an average of over $3.5 million per breach—enough to shut down many small businesses within six months.
Although cloud platforms these days have robust security measures, they are not immune to a breach because of the number of users and entry points for cybercriminals. All it takes is one opportunity to penetrate the system to access almost everything the company owns.
What’s the final verdict? Rent a space, but look for one that fits a hybrid model. This way, the business can still accommodate the possibly growing requests for remote work.
2. Outsource Jobs or Permanently Hire People?
Definitely, when the job is not seasonal, it is best to hire a permanent worker. The average hiring process can take over 20 days, according to Glassdoor research. For certain industries or positions, it can be even longer.
For example, looking for individuals to fill in government positions may last for almost two months. Meanwhile, restaurants may already have to find an employee in less than two weeks.
Usually, the higher the position, the more time it may need to fill in. HR may take an average of four weeks to get a C-level executive due to several factors, one of which is a shortage. The demand is high, but the supply is low.
Note, though, that some C-level professionals can be outsourced, depending on the company’s size, culture, and budget. One of these is the fractional chief marketing officer (CMO). This individual still oversees all the stages of any marketing campaign or strategy, providing sales and marketing coaching.
The biggest difference is they’re not part of the full-time payroll of the business. Getting this individual is ideal if the marketing department is still small (probably with fewer than 10 employees), and it’s likely not to change anytime soon. Fractional CMOs can also help when the company is ready to expand and be aggressive with its marketing strategies.
Fractional CMOs are not cheap, but they are likely to be more affordable than a full-time in-house CMO who earns a fixed salary and receives benefits. Moreover, since a company may pay only a retainer’s fee, it can be more flexible when it comes to its budget.
3. Bootstrap or Look for a Business Loan?
Can a business start its operations with debt? The answer is yes, but unless the owner is smart with money and has excellent entrepreneurial skills, it may be a better idea to begin with bootstrapping.
Bootstrapping or using the financial resources available without incurring interest or loan can surely limit cash flow. But it also allows a company owner to use sales to invest back into the company.
This is also an ideal time to learn more about how the business and industry work. They can also fail without worrying so much about how to pay off investors and loans.
At some point, though, when the business is about to take off, the entrepreneur needs to have access to bigger cash. This is where external financing becomes vital.
The good news is when done right, bootstrapping can already help the person build good credit. This way, they can apply for loans with more favorable interest rates and payment terms.
The final choice depends on the company’s circumstances. Hopefully, though, these ideas will speed up the decision-making process of thousands of entrepreneurs.
