Written by Guest Contributor Abby Cross
The City of Detroit houses many long-term, innovative businesses that have called Motown home for years.
From mom and pop stores to the iconic Avenue of Fashion and some of its hottest homegrown brands (hello,Lip Bar), Detroit is rich with entrepreneurs that contribute to the city’s cultural richness on a daily basis.
But there’s more.
Detroit also has become a growing hub for new forms of entrepreneurship. Rich in tech talent and affordable living costs, startups are thriving in a city that has long been known for its automotive and manufacturing history. The term “Detroitpreneur” has even been coined to prove this. Detroit’s competitive edge comes from how it is honing STEM talent, which has helped cultivate a growing tech scene.
Detroit’s talent even spans other industries like culinary and fashion among younger generations. The city’s diversity gives the city life and more women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community are taking over VC roles that have long lacked inclusion.
It’s both a time of great excitement and challenge for young entrepreneurs wanting to stand out. So in order to get a competitive edge, experts have advised outsourcing talent in order to save money and accomplish more goals strategically, especially when first launching a business. Detroit Young Professionals has listed the top qualities of some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the city. Now, we want to show you why outsourcing should be a consideration for ‘Detroitpreneurs.’
Here are five tips:
Lay out the terms
First and foremost, business leaders must have a clear and specific plan laid out with everything they wish to accomplish—before they can get anyone else on board. The project’s deliverables and all its details must be presented to willing applicants to ensure smooth communication, pragmatic proposals, and realistic time frames for the services they are being hired to provide.
Define ownership
All stakeholders and participants of a project or business must know the internal structures and processes. It’s important that service providers are aware of where their work and talent will go and how the business plans on utilizing it.
Match roles with experience
It is imperative to fill positions with people who are both competent and experienced in the role. In some cases it has become very crucial to outsource complex technical projects to people who have specific skills. When it comes to SEO, digital agency Ayima details the importance of hiring experts to solve solutions to ensure a competitive edge. Choosing an experienced service provider with the right tools for a specific type of project will yield the best results and also provide significant knowledge transfer.
Find the right balance
Choosing a service provider based on fees is a challenging task. While many entrepreneurs and business owners look to find some middle ground––forgoing the highest and lowest-priced service providers, costs should not be the defining consideration. Successful projects come as a result of a well-balanced value for money and quality service from outsourced talent. Good determinants for finding the right service provider are references from previous employers. SeatGeek co-founder Jack Groetzinger always hires freelancers based on feedback from their prior work with other companies.
Pair payment with progress
Many entrepreneurs who engage in outsourcing may wonder how much to pay their service providers. Leaders should be able to indicate certain milestones along the course of the project and use these as checkpoints for progress. This fosters a sense of transparency between the company and its service providers. Payment schemes for the latter may be in line with meeting these goals so that their work is also incentivized fairly.