Recommended services — kept deliberately short
Most directories are long because they are paid listings. This one is short because it is curated: four service roles small businesses most often buy in, with what to check before hiring each one.
Four questions that save the most money
1. Who does the actual work?
Agencies win pitches with senior people and often deliver with juniors. Ask directly who will be doing the work and whether you will meet them before signing.
2. What is the exit term?
Notice periods of 60 or 90 days are common and reasonable. Lock-ins longer than the contract value are not. Get the notice period in writing, not in a verbal assurance.
3. What do I own at the end?
Creative files, account access, brand assets and data. If you cannot take it with you, you are renting your own marketing. Access should be in your name from day one.
4. What is the reporting cadence, in writing?
One page, monthly, with the numbers you agreed. Providers who resist a defined report are usually protecting something.
Who small businesses most often buy in
For each: what the role is genuinely for, the engagement model that tends to work, and the check that catches the most common problem.
Advertising & creative agencies
For: campaign concept, creative production and media buying when you have no in-house design or buying capability. Model that works: a defined project fee for one campaign rather than a retainer, until you have run two together.
The check: ask for the last campaign's actual cost per enquiry or cost per acquisition, with the client reference. Agencies that cannot or will not discuss outcomes are selling output, not results.
Marketing consultants (independent)
For: a plan, a structure or a diagnosis — not execution. Model that works: a fixed-scope engagement with a written deliverable and an end date. Two to four weeks is usually enough.
The check: ask what you will physically receive. "A strategy" is not a deliverable; a one-page plan, a channel budget and a measurement sheet are. If the scope cannot be described in deliverables, it will expand.
Virtual assistants & admin support
For: inbox processing, scheduling, invoice chasing, data entry and the recurring administration in this site's checklists. Model that works: start at ten hours a week with a written task list, not an open-ended availability arrangement.
The check: give a small paid test task with a deadline before committing. What you are testing is not capability but reliability — and reliability is the entire product.
Bookkeeping & compliance support
For: recurring bookkeeping, filings and the preparation work behind them. In India this is usually a chartered accountant or a bookkeeping firm working alongside one.
The check: confirm in writing what is included — which filings, which frequency, and who supplies the underlying documents. Most disputes here are about scope, not competence.
Why this list is not longer
A long directory is a business model, not a service. Paid listings reward whoever pays most, which is rarely whoever is best for a small client. We would rather publish four roles with useful hiring checks than four hundred names with no judgement attached.
- No paid listings, ever.
- No commission or referral fee on any introduction.
- Named firms appear only as examples of a category.
- We expand this section only when we have something genuinely useful to add.
Want a recommendation for your situation?
Describe the role you need and the budget range. We will tell you which of the four models fits, and what to check first — or that you do not need to hire yet.