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A lot of business owners start their companies after spending time in a larger company. For some, like Mark Cuban, that work is at the corporate level. For others, like Jeff Bezos, it might be at the franchise level, flipping burgers and selling French fries. Regardless of where the entrepreneur sits on the company ladder, these experiences serve as an education; aspiring business owners get to see how tasks are distributed, what is prioritized, and how revenue is handled.

As a result of time spent at a large company, some small business owners may begin their own journeys with certain assumptions. For example, they might have been an employee who was paid bi-weekly, and they assume that’s the best option. But small and large businesses have differing needs, and translating certain resources from a large corporation to a burgeoning independent business isn’t always straightforward.

Enter: software tools. Business owners with experiences in larger companies can grow used to certain platforms. From HR software and time-keeping tools to employee benefits and retirement programs, a lot of small business owners start their ventures with a list of platforms with which they are comfortable. Unfortunately, this is one of the details that doesn’t translate well from a large business to a smaller environment. This detail is extremely important, considering recent trends in small business entrepreneurship.

Let’s first dissect large business software needs. These businesses can often afford to spend a lot of money on a premium software tool. The more employees you have, the more sense it makes to spend extra for efficiency. This is especially true for payroll support. These software tools also often integrate other aspects of a business to provide the users with an “all-in-one” experience. For example, a company might rely on a program like Gusto because it can combine Human Resources tasks with payroll management. These companies spend more, and, as a result, they can rely on more comprehensive programs.

However, just because these software tools work well for large businesses does not mean that they translate to small business needs. Smaller businesses need to be selective in what they let software platforms handle. There are software tools available with specific small business needs in mind. They consider everything from smaller budgets to necessary features. Some companies even have a modular approach to reduce costs for the user. For example, Advanced Micro Solutions, which provides payroll software for accountants, among others, starts users with a central platform, then allows them to choose software modules to fit their needs. This means the small business won’t end up paying for more features than what they’ll actually use.

The bottom line: Don’t try to replicate your experience at a large company with your small business, especially when it comes to software. Doing this can set you, and your company, up for failure. Instead, look for tools and resources more tailored to your specific business. It’s okay to maintain a large company mindset – just don’t compromise your potential by purchasing big business tools before you need them.

With startups and small companies, the norm is to hire good people, ask a lot of them, and hope for the best result. The upshot is that if they figure something out, they do so cheaply–often a must in the high-intensity world of startups–and thus the return on investment soars. The downside is that you often pay for what you get. Even if you bring on good talent, often talent is limited by these employees being used to operating in a big company, turning small dials for big gains and leveraging expensive tools to do things quickly. In an environment with not only no easy dials, but having to create the dials and having to manually work pieces that were automated at a previous company, startups often find these self-proclaimed mavens were supported by lots of institutional knowledge, foundational tailwind, and many other tools and insights that are often invisible. Such is the battles that startups face.

Hiring Agencies

Large companies hire and install agencies, even when they have a big enough full-time workforce for lots of reasons.

#1. Insuring/Ensuring Success.

Even if they have a crack team of analysts or marketing folks or developers, why not double down by having a second set of external eyes to make sure nothing gets missed?

#2. Agencies Are Very Specialized These Days.

While you might be a company that makes cars, but you still need international sales compliance, global advertising and PR strategies, and customer marketing. None of these are core competencies for car manufacturers, but they are absolultely critical to their success. And there are tons of agencies, big and small, throughout the world who specialize in each of these fields, such as Bond Brand Loyalty, who ONLY does customer marketing–meaning they only help you market to the customers you already have. They don’t find new customers. Now that’s special!

In this way, big companies leverage the knowledge and tactics of people who have been doing this at the highest level for years and have them teach their internal teams how to make this work.

#3. Agencies Inspire Confidence

First, they tend to know the field/industry better than internal employees because their judgment isn’t clouded by hating the competition. Second, having a big agency involved is essentially bringing on a partner that is charged with linking arms to help you be successful. When clients and partners know that a big firm like Accenture or Deloitte is attached, they know you are in very good company and can afford the best.

When you get into big name design and advertising companies, they tend to BE the cutting edge, so you have the opportunity to wow customers in a way that internal employees often fail to achieve, as good of people as they might be.

#4. Don’t Forget There Are Agencies of All Sizes

You might not be able to afford a McKinsey or a Deloitte, but there are tons of agencies that specialize in your needs, that aren’t as big, have fewer clients, and don’t charge as much. If you are a local hospital or small business, you likely don’t need all that firepower and can instead opt for a local boutique marketing and design agency or development shop, that are incredible and also affordable. When you aren’t competing against every company in the world or in multiple languages and countries, local excellence is good enough.

There Are, Of Course, Downsides

If you habe been an internal employee or an executive, you have no doubt come across many over-priced and under-working agencies. It is and can still be very common. You must put in safeguards to both insure that you are getting what you are paying for and also that you are not paying forever. Create a good contract. Give yourself plenty of outs if they don’t hold up their end. Scrutinize details and create accountability. If you can do that, then agencies know then that they have to perform. While that should just come standard, it isn’t, unfortunately.