Small Business Outsourcing in the Age of Flexible Work

San Francisco, California Mar 6, 2022 (Issuewire.com) – Magic is a flexible, on-demand workforce solution that’s changing the way businesses outsource tasks. Magic’s remote workforce is made up of vetted college-educated staff experienced in admin, sales, marketing, and recruitment best practices. Founded in 2015 in San Francisco, California, Magic is now a fully remote Y Combinator and Sequoia Capital-backed startup. For more information, visit www.getmagic.com today.

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Much has been said and written about the world entering an age of flexible work. The focus has largely been on shifts in full-time employment: remote work, hybrid offices, flexible schedules, and even shortened work-weeks. Somewhat less widely discussed are the trends in small businesses.

According to U.S. Census data, the number of small businesses applications doubled early in 2020. These businesses have struggled against pandemic restrictions and related difficulties — but they also stand poised to take advantage of trends in flexible work.

On-Demand Work and Flexible Outsourcing

The past few years have seen significant growth in the market for on-demand work. In addition to more people pursuing gig work  –and more doing so full-time — there have also been changes in what people do, and how they’re organized. These days, even highly educated specialists to do gig work, supported by increasingly robust platforms that put them in touch with worthwhile clients.

Businesses, meanwhile, have somewhat changed how they approached outsourcing. According to a 2020 study by Deloitte, the onset of the pandemic pushed businesses to focus on reducing costs and risks. At the same time, outsourcing was valued as a means to adapt quickly to changing situations. In other words, businesses too valued flexibility.

As the situation stabilizes, it’s likely that businesses will shift somewhat toward earlier priorities: speed, innovation, and adaptability. Qualities that helped businesses stay afloat during the biggest shift in the pandemic will also help them thrive in the so-called ‘new normal.’

Flexible Outsourcing for Small Businesses

Fortunately for small businesses, these trends have led to an increase in on-demand work that’s accessible to them. The emphasis on flexible work means that it’s become easier to hire individual specialists or small teams, who can work either part- or full-time, on flexible or short-term arrangements.

Magic is one company that tapped into this trend by offering a new service, called Dedicated Assistants. The service sources and screens remote workers, whom it matches with clients seeking particular services. By tapping into the increased popularity of on-demand work, Magic Dedicated Assistants provides small businesses with a flexible means of finding skills, expanding their teams, and pivoting their businesses.

Outsourcing Success Stories

The best way to demonstrate the benefits of outsourcing is to see how actual small businesses have used it and thrived. Magic’s clients present some good examples.

Memberstack, a startup developing easy-to-use website membership plugins, offers a basic case. They needed administrative duties, mainly inbox management, taken care of so that they could properly seize business opportunities. Hiring a virtual assistant lets them do that quickly and with minimal costs. Working directly with a dedicated VA, they were also able to hand off ad hoc tasks as needed.

Yachtlife streamlines yacht rentals and brokering in Miami. They got a small team of remote workers to support sales efforts so that their in-house sales team could focus on building relationships and, well, making sales. This hybrid approach of remote support and conventional sales kept costs low while allowing for quick scaling. It also landed them a landmark sale worth  $13.5 million.

Truffle Shuffle, meanwhile, had been set to debut as a restaurant when the pandemic started. While culinary businesses were hit especially hard, Truffle Shuffle had the bold idea of pivoting to a novel setup: fresh, premium ingredients delivered to participants’ homes just in time for virtual cooking classes. They hired a small team of virtual assistants to help manage these classes, leading to remarkable success against the odds.