to Hire, To Buy, or To Bot? How Smart Businesses Get Things Done.

May 30

Written By zachary sawtelle

Every business runs into the same challenge:

A role that needs filling. A project that needs finishing. A process that’s dragging everyone down.

And with that comes the question:

Do we hire someone? Bring in outside help? Or see if technology can take it off our plate?

There’s no universal right answer. But the smart answer depends on what you’re trying to accomplish, how fast you need it done, and how much you're willing to invest. Let’s break down how modern businesses are choosing between hiring, buying, or botting—and why blending all three might be your best move.

When to Hire: Build In-House Capability

Hiring means ownership. It means you're investing in long-term value by bringing someone into the fold who can grow with your business, carry institutional knowledge, and contribute consistently over time.

Best when:

The work is ongoing, recurring, and central to your business
You want someone embedded in your team and culture
You’re thinking about long-term ROI

Benefits:

Greater alignment with company values and goals
Institutional memory and deep context
Consistency and availability

Tradeoffs:

Higher cost and time to recruit, train, and manage
Less flexibility if needs shift
Salary and benefits add long-term overhead

Examples:

Hiring a marketing manager to lead brand efforts, bringing on a client success specialist to improve retention, or adding a finance lead to guide strategic decisions.

When to Buy: Bring in Outside Expertise

Buying—aka outsourcing—is about results, speed, and specialization. You’re bringing in outside help that already knows what to do, how to do it, and how to do it efficiently.

Best when:

The work is specialized, temporary, or project-based
You want access to a level of expertise you don’t have internally
You need fast execution without a hiring process

Benefits:

Speed to value
Access to proven experts and processes
Flexible commitment

Tradeoffs:

Less day-to-day visibility and control
May require more upfront communication
External providers might not “get” your business at first

Examples:

Hiring a freelance designer to create a rebrand, bringing in a recruiting agency to fill several roles fast, or working with a fractional COO to refine internal operations.

When to Bot: Let Technology Do the Work

AI and automation tools are now capable of handling a wide range of business tasks, especially those that are repeatable, data-heavy, or rules-based. Used right, bots can save your team hours of manual effort.

Best when:

The task is repetitive, low-risk, and time-consuming
A first draft or baseline output is acceptable
You want to extend your team’s bandwidth without hiring

Benefits:

Extremely fast turnaround
Available 24/7, without adding headcount
Scales easily with your workload

Tradeoffs:

Bots lack context, creativity, and judgment
Still requires human oversight and editing
Can be risky if accuracy or nuance is critical

Examples:

Using AI to draft a blog outline, automate invoice reminders, pull summaries from meeting transcripts, or generate internal reports based on raw data.