Outsourcing can be an extremely effective way to increase your team and grow your business, without the stress and overheads of having employees. But outsourcing isn’t always as straightforward as you think it’s going to be. I hope that these outsourcing tips will help you to decide if outsourcing is right for you, and if so, to be more effective.
What is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing for profit is making use of workers abroad in other countries where they are either more highly skilled or cheaper to hire. For example, a Search Engine Optimisation specialist could cost $50.00 per hour in the US, but only $5 an hour in India.
Building a business in a recession can be a challenge. However, it can also be a great time to build a business. Outsourcing for profit means that you can ask a freelancer in another country to do a job better and cheaper, maximising your own earning potential.
If you are considering outsourcing, there are several things that you will want to consider before you start. Which country should you outsource to? Who should you choose? Should you outsource on a fixed rate contract or an hourly contract? This site explains how to start outsourcing and how to get things right, so that you can outsource for profit.
Things to Consider when Outsourcing for Profit
Firstly, you need to decide where to outsource to. This will depend a lot on your budget and the task in hand. It is sometimes good to utilise specific skills of specific countries. For example, if you are looking for an SEO specialist, Bangalore has some of the best in the world, so you may want to outsource to India. If you are looking for someone as a Virtual Assistant or would like to use a call centre, you may consider the Phillipines.
Make sure that you interview your freelancer via skype and set out a clear contract by email that has been signed by both parties. Think about every aspect of the tasks that you want completed. Do you need to speak to your freelancer daily? Do they need to report back three hours into every task? Will they get paid by the hour, or per job? If it is per job, what are the desired results?
Communication is key, and you can’t blame a freelancer for time wasting or innaccurate results when you have not been direct enough in the brief. A good idea is to do a trial period of say 2 weeks or 1 month, to see how you work together.
Also, consider every eventuality. What if your freelancer is off sick in the middle of a crucial project? In this case, you would be better to have a contract with a team of freelancers in a company.
Outsourcing Tips
- Trial a few different people for the same work until you find the best and most reliable. It doesn’t hurt to have two people for the same job temporarily.
- You can outsource things like web development and technical stuff to people in developing countries where the wage is cheaper. However, if you are looking for marketing content writing or social media management, that is best done by a native speaker and is something that I would recommend paying more money for.
- Pre-plan the jobs that need doing in advance on a spreadsheet and check in frequently that you know where your freelancers are up to and if they need any help.
- You can consider using digital tools such as Asana, Monday.com and Teamwork to manage your international team and see where people are up to with their tasks.
- Use conference calls at least once a week. Zoom and Skype are great.
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