This is a guest post from Connor Gillivan and our friends FreeeUp.com
Starting your own business needs investment. You need to take out money to get more money. Amazon sellers, for example, understand the meaning of investing in new products, more inventory, and even in freeing up your time to expand your operations. This is why outsourcing Amazon tasks is necessary if you want to take your ecommerce trade to the next level.
Since the growth of Amazon as the biggest online retail giant, all kinds of traders have wanted to join the platform and establish their brands. From aspiring entrepreneurs to veteran retailers, business tycoons, and manufacturers, everyone wants to grab the opportunity of earning more profits through third-party selling. The online shopping culture that Amazon has created has proved to be quite competitive and challenging for merchants.
Capitalizing on a remote workforce to free up time, however, is an investment that most entrepreneurs are afraid to make.
How do you know if you’re ready to outsource? What Amazon tasks need to be delegated first? Where do you find reliable freelancers?
Here we answer these questions about how to outsource your Amazon business.
Why Outsource?
Your objective as an Amazon seller is to maintain an inventory of high margin, top-selling products through marketing efforts and organic results. Knowing how intense the game is, you need to consider outsourcing to help you reach your goals.
No businessman can run his company alone — that’s a fact. It’s difficult to grow an Amazon store if the owner is the same person who sources products, manages inventory and fulfillment, engages with shoppers through social media, and deals with customer issues. You need to be able to see the bigger picture and find out how you can bring your business to success.
Here are 5 reasons to convince you why you should outsource your Amazon operations.
- Cost-savvy
- Increased efficiency
- Increased productivity
- Value of time
- Increased profits
When To Outsource
Now that you’re convinced that outsourcing your Amazon business is a good idea, the next thing to find out is the right time to outsource.
From a professional’s point of view, you can plan your outsourcing moves in preparation for the launch of your Amazon store. It’s never too early to get someone help you set up your account and organize your first batch of inventory. Eventually, as you grow your store, you will need more hands to accomplish both on-time projects and everyday tasks.
On the other hand, if you are already selling on Amazon and you feel like your business is at a standstill, you may want to revisit your processes and analyze what’s currently happening in your store.
Here are a few points to ponder, which indicate that it is time for you to outsource:
- More tasks are being added than work being done.
- You try and learn new things without actually becoming an expert.
- You fail to provide fresh ideas for your business.
- You keep spending on wrong investments and end up having a narrower budget.
- You don’t enjoy your business anymore.
Top 10 Amazon Tasks To Outsource
Now that you’re decided about outsourcing Amazon tasks to competent freelancers, the next step is to figure out which part of your operations you need help with.
Owners know everything about their businesses from the inside out. Hence, it is you who knows best which areas are doing well and which ones need to be focused on. You need a moment to analyze your current processes and uncover the things that are hindering the success of your company.
To make it easier, especially for sellers who are completely new to outsourcing, we have prepared a list that will come in handy at this point in your new venture. This will give you an idea of the tasks that most Amazon sellers delegate to freelancers. Depending on the type and size of your business, you can adjust the list as appropriate.
- Amazon Setup
- Product Sourcing
- Order Management
- Product Listing
- SEO
- Content Writing
- Graphic Design
- PPC
- Social Media
- Customer Service
Hiring Freelancers and Where to Find Them
There are many freelance websites across the internet and it has never been easier to find remote professionals than it is today. The question is, how do you make sure they can help you find good hires?
Horror stories about hiring freelancers are pretty common among business owners. We have a few of our own hiring as Amazon sellers, before FreeeUp. They’re great warnings, but they should never stop you from exploring outsourcing as the best option for your Amazon store.
You need to stay focused on the bigger picture, and use these warnings to shape how you go about outsourcing.
There are a number of popular online freelance websites that cater to a particular niche. FreeeUp, for example, started as a community of freelancers who specialized in ecommerce services. My partner Nathan Hirsch and I were inspired to build built the marketplace out of our bad hiring experiences. And we built it to provide a real hiring solution for fellow ecommerce entrepreneurs who’ve had way too many negative experiences working with remote contractors.
Apart from having an area of expertise, a good freelance website will have a pre-vetting process. At FreeeUp, we accept only the top 1% onto the marketplace. Freelancers are examined based on their skills, attitude and experience.
In addition, look into websites that don’t require you to bring out cash just to sign up or insist that you make a minimum number of hires to use their services. The best marketplaces don’t need to lock you in to make a profit because their success comes from how good they are at what they do — getting clients in touch with the right freelancers for their needs.
Make sure you find the right hiring partner when you start outsourcing your Amazon business. This first step will go a long way to helping you get your project in front of the right candidates so you can quickly find the freelancer who fits your requirements.
Managing a Remote Workforce
How good hires are depends on how good you are at managing freelancers who work remotely.
You hired the help of experts, and they can absolutely help you to grow your business. But it’s not going to work out well if you don’t know how to manage them.
It may not be second nature for you to manage a group that you can’t see or talk to face-to-face, but it isn’t actually difficult to do.
Outsourcing your Amazon business relies on several factors, including determining the areas in your business where you need help, finding freelancers, hiring the right ones, and maintaining a good working relationship with them. This last one is key to making sure that the actual work goes smoothly.
Depending on your company’s culture and how you do business, you will have a different approach to making a virtual environment work. Here are some pointers to take into account before you start working with remote freelancers:
- Set clear expectations, especially with regard to the quality of output and deadlines.
- Encourage transparency as a part of your culture.
- Set the bar high for communication.
- Make sure you provide hires with the right tools to do their work effectively.
- Hold meetings regularly to check up on performance, help them with any issues they’re facing, and give and get feedback.
- Recognize everyone’s efforts.
Free Up Your Time Today
Outsourcing tasks to experts is a great way to run your store efficiently. When you feel that you have more things on your plate than you can handle, you must also recognize that this will soon cause to to fail in several aspects of your business. This can cost you more than the investment you will make hiring remote freelancers for help.
The worst mistake an Amazon seller can make is failing to act. A lot of us keep looking for great opportunities. However, when one is already there knocking on your front door, are you prepared to grab it? Don’t allow yourself to be caught off guard. There are plenty of resources that will help you succeed in outsourcing Amazon tasks. Checkout MuseMinded’s guide on how to become and succeed as an Amazon FBA seller in 2019. And check out FreeeUp’s business tips for more on how to hire and manage remote freelancers who can help you scale up your Amazon business, starting today.
Connor Gillivan is the CMO and co-owner of FreeeUp.com, a rapidly growing freelance marketplace making hiring online simpler. He has sold over $30 million online, has hired hundreds of freelancers to build his companies, is a published author, and is the owner of ConnorGillivan.com. He currently lives in Denver, CO.
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