When is it right to outsource my prep? Be careful what you wish for!

Susan Hogan
Jun 10, 2022
3 min read

Continuing our series of posts that presents the most common considerations about why outsourcing prep to an Amazon fulfilment centre is the right thing to do. Our aim is to help you make the important decision about when it is right for you!

HOW MUCH OF A LINCHPIN ARE YOU?

The Oxford English Dictionary definition of the word linchpin is at follows (we looked it up on Google):

Does that sound like you in your business? But how much of a linchpin are you? Are you actually, on reflection, the pin, the wheel, the carriage and the horses?

ONCE UPON A TIME….

We (most of us) have a dream when we start out in our own business. Yes, it’s that vision about having oodles of money and being in charge of your own destiny, but more often it’s about a higher motivation that has an emotional attachment - freedom to….spend time with the kids, travel, work less hours, go to the gym etc.

We know you know! We’ve seen those aspirations shared on many occasions in the community comments - the overarching ‘why’ of it all. We make that wish inside ‘I’m going to make this happen!’.

So we start down that path to make that wish come true. It’s so liberating, it’s exciting, it’s a really good reason to leap out of bed in the morning. We find simple pleasures in the novelty of it all (still love putting tape on a box with that tape gun even after all these years!).

FAST FORWARD…..

Leaping out of bed first thing in the morning - oh yes, that still applies but normally it’s because you’ve too much to do and need a head start. Novelty hmmmm - it’s fair to say that some elements do wear off (well apart from playing with the tape gun!). If you have your own warehouse and are now employing staff there are a myriad of decisions or tasks that still fall at your door. It’s fair to say that ‘fire-fighting’ has become the new norm. At least for a while. While the business develops and scales …. at least (fingers tightly crossed)!

It’s also fair to say that business growth takes a lot of time to manage. We don’t recall making a wish that involved working longer hours than EVER, never switching off, really earning the title of ‘Linchpin’ and all it entails. We still wish for the ‘wish’ to happen.

CONSIDER THIS

Are you actually enjoying ALL of it? We have to ask!

For some people it’s so right and it comes naturally - building a business, managing a warehouse, the staff etc. It may have been part of the original wish and we recognise that for the right person it’s what makes them really happy. BUT is that you?

If you wished for freedom to……then perhaps running a warehouse, the staff, putting in the extra hours etc. is not the right decision. Especially if there is a slow dawning in your understanding that you have to follow the horses and pick up whatever is left behind!

The good news is that it’s NEVER too late to change your mind and get back to achieving your wish.

Making a decision to outsource your Amazon FBA prep services is a significant saver of not just time but of all the responsibility and day-to-day stress involved in keeping the wheels, the carriage and the horses pointing in the right direction.

When it boils right down to it you can often justify real cost savings too and it does allow you to scale your ‘bottom line’ accordingly (being aligned to stock volume) rather than having to find x amount to cover rent/salaries etc. EVERY month.

You will ALWAYS be the linchpin of your own business, however we would happily take on the role of managing the Amazon FBA wheels, carriage and horses to help you make your wish come true!

Just to also note we can help with most elements, including what’s left after - we love to cultivate roses!