Should You DIY or Outsource It? The Best Resources for 3 Common Business Startup Tasks

Startup costs vary greatly and depend on several factors, including the type of business you're establishing and your location. Estimates of these costs differ as well, but most experts (including the Small Business Administration) cite the 2009 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation figure, which puts the average cost of starting a business at a little more than $30,000. Then there's this Wall Street Journal article, which chronicled several successful companies that got started for less than $150.

Entrepreneurs willing to analyze the pros and cons of completing common startup tasks themselves versus outsourcing them stand to maximize profits and sustainability. Assuming you've already drafted a thorough business plan, think about how the following tasks should be completed:

Establishing a Web Presence

A website and social media accounts are necessities. Furthermore, companies with recognizable logos and slogans stand a far better chance of long-term survival.

The fees freelance website designers charge vary based on their experience. Hiring a full-time blogger and social media expert will run you around $51,000 per year, according to Indeed.com. Building a basic, mobile-compatible website is a relatively simple task with the right tools.

Register your domain with the same company that will host your website. Make sure the company allows control panel (cPanel) access for your hosting account. HostGator and Namecheap offer it, while Godaddy typically does not unless you also purchase a virtual private server (VPS) package from them. Install Wordpress to your company domain and create a static frontpage website. This at least establishes a basic Web presence which can be improved later on. There are several video tutorials on Youtube that can help with the Wordpress install. Registering a domain and hosting for a few years will cost less than $200.

Once your website is active, create Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts for your company. This will help optimize your brand and get you found in Google much faster. Each account should use the same logo for its profile image and use the same slogan. Again, you could pay a graphic designer to create a logo for you—or, you could use a free logo design service like LogoGarden. It's easy to use and produces professional-looking designs in a matter of minutes.

Filing Paperwork

The first thing you need to determine is whether you'll be operating as a sole proprietorship or a corporation (LLC, S corporation, etc.). Then you'll need to register your business name, get a tax ID number and obtain all necessary business licenses.

Business laws and regulations can be tricky for a legal novice, and hiring a paralegal may be money well-spent. The median hourly wage for paralegals was $24.60 as of May 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The SBA offers advice to complete these tasks, while a for-profit service like LegalZoom will help you prepare and file everything.

Market Research

The most successful businesses satisfy an unmet need in the marketplace. Market research can start with analyzing government data like employment and income statistics along with various economic indicators. Universities, nonprofits and trade groups also compile and release market data. A paid market research professional is basically going to locate reports from the aforementioned sources and give you advice based on the results.

Its less expensive and more practical to do the research yourself. You can even collect primary research by creating your own questionnaires. Services like SurveyMonkey can provide demographic-specific participants for your surveys and give you first-hand results. Make sure to ask questions about buying habits, patterns and the appropriate price for particular products.