One month ago, we asked business owners to take our survey, “What inspired you to start your business?” This was a challenge to you to go back to basics and validate business assumptions, in order to move forward with confidence in planning 2021 goals.

Survey responses were a representative sampling of owners with annual business revenue from <$1 million to the $10-25 million range. Some assumptions I had about the biggest barrier to achieving goals – and biggest difficulties on the path to success – were supported by your answers.

The Biggest Barrier to Achieving Goals

Overall, nearly 70% of survey respondents said they had achieved most of their business goals.

In the responses of business owners who said they had achieved most of their goals, there was a clear majority response to the question, “What was the most difficult part?” Out of five possible multiple-choice answers (plus the ability to add an “other” response), more than 33% of respondents selected “Finding the right employees/leadership team.”

Outsource Subject Matter Experts to Overcome Barriers to Success

So, if your business struggles with finding the right team members, how do you remove that barrier to achieving your goals? In my experience, outsourcing subject matter experts (SMEs) is one of the best ways to achieve momentum. You can get a lot of high-level support without spending too much and avoid the risk of hiring the wrong people.

The Practicality of Outsourcing Subject Matter Experts

Using outsourced subject matter experts as temporary leaders is a great investment.

Take a VP of Sales, for example. That full-time person would cost a mid-sized business at least $150k – $200k a year plus benefits and recruitment costs. You can spend a fraction of that to bring in someone with the required skills and experience for a few months. They will build the right sales infrastructure, establish and implement effective sales processes, and help you get the sales team moving in the right direction at the right speed.

A CFO is another great example. There are exceptionally skilled people who work in consulting roles. Many have B2B specialties that you typically won’t have in your organization and that you may need for a particular goal, such as positioning you for a merger or acquisition.

Leveraging Outsourced SMEs

One of the highest-leveraged investments you can make when you’re growing a business is to outsource SMEs to strengthen key slots. You get:

  • An experienced outside viewpoint
  • Seasoned operational skills
  • Strategic build-and-grow organization skills

Even if you’ll need that same position in-house eventually, you save the expense of a full-time hire at the onset of a new venture. You also save yourself time – a year lost reaching your goals if you hire too soon and it’s the wrong person.

An outsourced expert lets you achieve your goals of a new department or team and see what that looks like. Then you can hire the right leadership fit later, full time.

Highly Skilled Leaders Complement Business Owners

I often end up working with clients where the founder is still hands-on in all aspects of the business. The forward momentum has gotten bogged down because one person can’t be everywhere at once.

Hiring highly skilled, confident, and experienced specialists for a limited amount of time helps you achieve goals quicker and gain a broader business perspective. It’s a complementary relationship that can help you grow as a business owner and leader, too.

The Right Leadership Team Removes Barriers to Achieving Goals

You likely are familiar with the expression, “get the right people on the bus in the right seats.” While building your business, know that the people on the bus don’t all have to be taking a multi-year trip with you. Find the very best leadership resources that you need in the moment to overcome barriers to achieving your goals.

Are you having trouble finding the right highly skilled sales leadership/team? If so, give me a call and I can help.