But one thing that may not immediately come to mind when you think about Amazon is health care. However, the company’s leadership is seeking to change that. They recently announced they were acquiring One Medical, a healthcare company that operates a network of boutique primary-care practices, for $3.9 billion. And this isn’t their first foray into the healthcare industry, either. They purchased online pharmacy PillPack in 2018, have been beefing up their telehealth offerings through Amazon Care and are currently working on at-home diagnostic tools.

With their acquisitions, Amazon execs hope to improve access to healthcare by simplifying the appointment-making process and making doctor’s visits more meaningful for patients.

“We think health care is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention. Booking an appointment, waiting weeks or even months to be seen, taking time off work, driving to a clinic, finding a parking spot, waiting in the waiting room then the exam room for what is too often a rushed few minutes with a doctor, then making another trip to a pharmacy – we see lots of opportunity to both improve the quality of the experience and give people back valuable time in their days,” said Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, in a recent statement. “We love inventing to make what should be easy easier and we want to be one of the companies that helps dramatically improve the healthcare experience over the next several years,”

As a small business owner, you might be reading this and thinking how much you’d love to expand into another industry. Or maybe it’s something you’ve considered in the past but weren’t able to make it work due to a lack of funds and resources. Either way, it can be pretty frustrating when you want to do something but feel like you’re powerless in making it happen.

“I talk to entrepreneurs all the time and a lot of them have big plans for their companies,” said Patrick Moraites, a partner and vice president at Tampa-based Axis Group. “It’s my goal to help them figure out how to move forward so they can turn their dreams into realities.”

For business owners who are looking at expansion but lack the resources of, say, Amazon, there is a solution out there, and it’s called a PEO. A PEO is a single-source provider of integrated services that allows entrepreneurs to affordably and responsibly outsource their HR, payroll and other employment-related tasks.

How can hiring a PEO help with expansion? Well, for one, without the additional support and oversight of a PEO, it can be very risky to invest in a new area and any wrong move can cause significant damage to your bottom line. However, because one of the key benefits of working with a PEO is a more stabilized cash flow, companies that do so are able to take more calculated risks and feel safe knowing they’ll have enough money to cover their expenses.

“A PEO is a risk reduction in and of itself,” Moraites said.

In addition to mitigating risks and creating a more predictable cash flow, a PEO can provide something equally as valuable for expansion-minded business owners: time. By shifting the administrative tasks we mentioned above to a PEO, entrepreneurs are then freed up to focus on exploring new opportunities.

“It can be really difficult to know what you’re getting into if you don’t have the time to do your due diligence,” Moraites said. “A PEO can definitely put a few hours back into your schedule so you can gain a better understanding of what expansion might mean for your business.”

We could write another 10 pages about why a PEO is a great fit for companies that are in growth mode, but for the sake of time, we’ll just touch on one more benefit – insurance.

Imagine your expansion plan takes you into other states. That means that in addition to finding office space and hiring new team members, you’ll also need to secure insurance coverage and that can be extremely time-consuming. However, if you work with a PEO that is already licensed and has coverage in other states, the process can go much more quickly and you can launch your new endeavor feeling confident that you’re in compliance with insurance regulations.

So what’s the key takeaway here? You don’t have to be a massive company like Amazon to make a move into other industries – you simply need to have a trusted ally on your side.

“If you’re looking to expand, a PEO is the perfect support system,” Moraites said. “You’ll be surprised to learn how much they can do to help you take your business to the next level.”

Ready to find out how a PEO can help with your expansion plans? Let the team at Axis break it all down for you. To schedule a no-obligation consultation, contact us today by clicking here.