Schools have had fairly simple choices when it comes to financial management, but innovative school leaders are finding ways to improve their cash flow while also reducing operational costs.
Smart Sourcing
Smart sourcing is a strategy where innovators contract with other organizations to provide services that enable the school to increase quality at a lower cost than could be accomplished within the school. It isn't just outsourcing to save money--the goal is furthering the school's mission by focusing on the core competencies of the organization and recognizing that you may not be great at everything that is required to manage and grow a school. Because of efficiencies that are gained through size, specialized talent, and systems, your school can improve through economies-of-scale by partnering with other firms.
Smart Tuition Management is one such company, helping schools collect tuition and/or fees that parents pay over time. Managing accounts receivable is a labor-intensive duty that Smart has specialized in for many years, and they have the people, processes, and systems to do it at a much lower cost than most schools could do it internally.
Matt Knapp is the new President of Smart. I've known Matt for several years as a friend and colleague, and I'm excited to see how he will guide this company through even greater growth and innovation for schools. Below is a recent interview I conducted with him.
Other websites that I recommend to access outside talent are fiverr.com, elance.com, and eahelp.com. One of our coaching clients just signed up a virtual assistant through EAHelp and is learning how to work more efficiently with this added resource. Innovative school leaders are finding savvy ways to smart source services to maximize opportunities for growth.
