Why do something yourself when you can get somebody else to do it for you? That’s the philosophy behind outsourcing: the practice of getting a third party to do all the stuff you won’t or can’t do.

While most companies have heard of IT and finance outsourcing, there are a whole host of other tasks that somebody else will be more than happy to do for you. Check out these crazy things you never knew you could outsource.

Negotiating Bills

They say that if you want to succeed in business, you need excellent negotiating skills. But now there are a bunch of companies offering entrepreneurs precisely that: negotiating services. These services claim that they can cut corporate costs, get suppliers to accept less money, and create more favourable terms with vendors. Many of these services don’t charge any money up front either, taking a percentage of any savings they do make you instead. That’s good.

Fire Alarm Monitoring

The idea of a fire alarm monitoring service might seem a little futuristic, but thanks to wireless technology, it’s here. You can pay a specialist firm to monitor your fire alarms for you, freeing you up to worry about other things. Fire alarm monitoring is for companies that operate across vast premises or in dangerous, fire-prone industries. These services immediately alert you of fires or fire risks and connect to the relevant fire department.

Selling Stuff You Don’t Need

Offices tend to generate a lot of waste. Every couple of years, they change their furniture or computers, and all of a sudden they have a bunch of perfectly useful stuff that’s destined for the scrap heap. The problem is that selling it all on is a massive hassle, and most firms can make better use of their time.

This is where outsourcing selling comes in. Some services will inspect your items, pay you up front, and then sell them privately to other buyers. Others will arrange sales on your behalf, but you have to keep things in your inventory for now. Don’t expect to get much for the stuff you sell, but at least it’s more than you’d get if chucked it all in a giant skip.

Writing a Letter Firing Someone

Writing a letter to an employee telling them that their time with you is up is never a pleasant experience. But if you want to avoid a costly tribunal, it’s also something that you have to get right. Instead of writing it themselves, many savvy business owners are getting legal professionals and consultants to do it for them, transferring the liability to a third party.

Wrapping Gifts

If the holidays are approaching and you want to give a bunch of gifts to your employees, then wrapping them all can be a significant drain on your time. Rather than saddling your secretary with a job you didn’t pay her for, get a third-party present wrapping company to do it for you. You can usually find wrapping services in large cities and get a discount the more items you ask them to wrap. What are you waiting for?