My first time outsourcing- my questions and your tips?

24 replies
Hey there

A few years ago I watched a webinar where the speaker talked about the options for outsourcing. He explained that in his experience, the Phillipines was the best option because the people there are experts and are very loyal, hard workers.

I see others working with Chinese and Indian companies as well. I'm leaning towards the Phillipines, if what this fellow said was true.


Here's what I'm going to need:

- Data entry (metatags) on Magento cms
- Market research
- WordPress sites built
- Logo design
- Some graphic design

Questions:
-Is it common to find one outsourced employee who can do all of this?
-What are the differences between outsourcing the say the Phillipines or India, vs Freelance or Odesk?

Any tips or recommendations are appreciated. I am fairly good at managing others and explaining what I need as I am already a manager. I would love to make this a great experience for myself and the person I hire.

Thanks,
Natalie
#freelancers #india or phillipines #outsourcing #questions #time #tips
  • Profile picture of the author michaeloslier
    Originally Posted by Natalie B View Post

    Hey there

    A few years ago I watched a webinar where the speaker talked about the options for outsourcing. He explained that in his experience, the Phillipines was the best option because the people there are experts and are very loyal, hard workers.

    I see others working with Chinese and Indian companies as well. I'm leaning towards the Phillipines, if what this fellow said was true.


    Here's what I'm going to need:

    - Data entry (metatags) on Magento cms
    - Market research
    - WordPress sites built
    - Logo design
    - Some graphic design

    Questions:
    -Is it common to find one outsourced employee who can do all of this?
    -What are the differences between outsourcing the say the Phillipines or India, vs Freelance or Odesk?

    Any tips or recommendations are appreciated. I am fairly good at managing others and explaining what I need as I am already a manager. I would love to make this a great experience for myself and the person I hire.

    Thanks,
    Natalie
    Sites like freelancer.com allow you to outsource to any country you wish. You basically create a job with what you want done, people bid on it and you choose who you think is suitable. They could be from anywhere.

    I think the best thing to do is break down your work into clear tasks that you can go through and get people to complete for you. You'll probably get better results if you do this as opposed to having it open-ended.
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  • Profile picture of the author humbledmarket
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Natalie B View Post

    Hey there

    A few years ago I watched a webinar where the speaker talked about the options for outsourcing. He explained that in his experience, the Phillipines was the best option because the people there are experts and are very loyal, hard workers.

    I see others working with Chinese and Indian companies as well. I'm leaning towards the Phillipines, if what this fellow said was true.


    Here's what I'm going to need:

    - Data entry (metatags) on Magento cms
    - Market research
    - WordPress sites built
    - Logo design
    - Some graphic design

    Questions:
    -Is it common to find one outsourced employee who can do all of this?
    -What are the differences between outsourcing the say the Phillipines or India, vs Freelance or Odesk?

    Any tips or recommendations are appreciated. I am fairly good at managing others and explaining what I need as I am already a manager. I would love to make this a great experience for myself and the person I hire.

    Thanks,
    Natalie
    (1) Yes - there are a lot of freelancers who can do writing, VA, and graphic design task without any further training. Though many times you need to let them get accustom to your preference and project.
    (2) Having worked with quite a few freelancers in the previously with our website network development. I find there are a lot of good writers in Philippines. India I find typically has more tech stuff, both countries have a good mix of graphic designers.

    Freelancer and oDesk are now the same company if I'm not mistaken (or was that eLance and oDesk?) Either way, both are excellent platform (Freelancer owns Warrior Forum) and the process of finding a freelancer differ slightly differently.

    I think Freelancer.com works better for contract basis where as i prefer to use oDesk for hourly rates because they have a good system in place for that. You may also come across different freelancers on each site so why not post to both and sort through what you want. (be careful not to waste too much time with an overload of applicants though)

    Hope you do well with your outsourcing. Feel free to pm any questions
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  • Profile picture of the author QueenMelanie
    Philippines is def a good option because they all speak english, are friendly, educated and indeed loyal as someone else mentioned, you don't even need to give them that much to make them "rich" by their countries means, win win for both parties really! ..
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  • Profile picture of the author tristatemedia
    you are right odesk is best for hourly workers. i use them all the time. i just started using bangeldash which is very cheap work force. india has gotten very expensive for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bob Reynolds
    I have had good results with help from India, and the Philippines. Had a not so good of an outsource from a mailer on through fivver... it was for testing and I did not know what to expect, and apparently not the right thing.

    It will be worth the effort to break tasks down in the long run you will save. Data, Graphics/Web design, and other tasks you decided to outsource... I would outsource as much as strategically possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author MoneyDan
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Natalie B View Post

    Hey there

    A few years ago I watched a webinar where the speaker talked about the options for outsourcing. He explained that in his experience, the Phillipines was the best option because the people there are experts and are very loyal, hard workers.

    I see others working with Chinese and Indian companies as well. I'm leaning towards the Phillipines, if what this fellow said was true.


    Here's what I'm going to need:

    - Data entry (metatags) on Magento cms
    - Market research
    - WordPress sites built
    - Logo design
    - Some graphic design

    Questions:
    -Is it common to find one outsourced employee who can do all of this?
    -What are the differences between outsourcing the say the Phillipines or India, vs Freelance or Odesk?

    Any tips or recommendations are appreciated. I am fairly good at managing others and explaining what I need as I am already a manager. I would love to make this a great experience for myself and the person I hire.

    Thanks,
    Natalie
    Finding outsourcing really isn't too complicated. The main things to focus on are are the interview and "check ups".

    Have a good interview with your prospect. Make sure they make a good first impression, seem trustworthy, and have a good portfolio of work. Concerning how many to hire, you will probably have to hire more than one (which is 100% fine). Perhaps you could get the same worker to do all designs and another for all copywriting...but don't throw it all on one person. Specialization goes a long way. Let me know how it goes.
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  • Profile picture of the author JensSteyaert
    Yes from my experience India and the Philippines are the best places to outsource.

    However, you shouldn't base your decision on the country, there are good employees available all over the world. f you want more security then places like Odesk or Freelancer are great. Another great site is easyoutsource, but if you use this site make sure to give several workers a trial period and then pick the one that does the job best.
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  • Profile picture of the author turborunner
    I use guys at SEOclerks. Very cheap and I have found some really great people to work with.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Natalie B View Post

    I'm leaning towards the Phillipines, if what this fellow said was true.
    It has some advantages, certainly.

    I now employ two people there, and two in India. I have no "preference in principle" between the two countries (though my impression is certainly that the weather's better and more temperate in India?).

    Originally Posted by Natalie B View Post

    - Data entry (metatags) on Magento cms
    - Market research
    - WordPress sites built
    - Logo design
    - Some graphic design

    Questions:
    -Is it common to find one outsourced employee who can do all of this?
    You might just manage to find four of those five skills in one person (the last two of them are basically the same thing, I think?), but it's hoping for rather a lot for that person also to be an experienced and skilled market researcher, surely?!

    Originally Posted by Natalie B View Post

    I am fairly good at managing others and explaining what I need as I am already a manager. I would love to make this a great experience for myself and the person I hire.
    That all speaks very highly of your chances!

    I think you just need to separate the "market research" from the other functions you're looking for?

    Further tips/thoughts here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post9861631


    .
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      I read on quora that dexxxxep.com is coming with a revolution which will ease all the possible difficulties of an outsourcing company that too for no cost. Currently this website is saying its in Beta version. Don't know much but they say its not another freelancing website.

      "They say"....you mean "YOU say"....the domain for this "revolution" was registered 6 days ago....
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  • Profile picture of the author echelon
    I have outsourced projects to the Philipines, to Elance as well as to Odesk. While I do not think that I have an extensive experience on the subject it seemed to me that in the Philippines the cost for the writting jobs and web design was cheap. I used craigslist to find the people I worked with. Furthermore, I have learned recently that the Philipines surpassed India as call center capital.

    Concerning Elance, I outsourced the creation of a software there. It was beneficial to have many people who seemed to be qualified for this type of job apply relatively fast (after I invited many people). However, I learned that the more technical the job is, the more important it is to have a relatively precise knowledge of what needs to be done. If you go this route, I recommend to use several milestones as far as the releasing of the funds and be relatively firm on the standards you want from the start.

    On Odesk I have worked with a person for a voice over project. Because I did not spend as much there I somewhat reticent to say something positive or negative.
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  • Profile picture of the author Slade556
    You should definitely check out all of these freelance websites. Whether you find someone from those 2 countries, or someone in Europe... it really doesn't matter as long as they are able to do a good job for you.
    I'm assuming that before you find your perfect guy (or girl!), you will test their abilities and communication skills (I think communication between you two is also important!), so just post small, easy jobs and see who you find and who you like and only then give them the motherload of work
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  • Profile picture of the author KingServers01
    Outsourcing is definitely a good option and you will definitely find reliable and hard working people in Philippines and India. If you get in touch with any of the outsourcing company directly, you will get better pricing as compared to Freelancer or Odesk. But always commit payment after work is completed, never go for pre-payment or else you will end up getting scammed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Natalie B
    Everyone has been very helpful. If I could get paid for thanking you all, I would take the time. I'll add that to the list of things I need to outsource

    ~ natalie
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  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    Originally Posted by Natalie B View Post

    Hey there


    Here's what I'm going to need:

    - Data entry (metatags) on Magento cms
    - Market research
    - WordPress sites built
    - Logo design
    - Some graphic design

    Questions:
    -Is it common to find one outsourced employee who can do all of this?
    -What are the differences between outsourcing the say the Phillipines or India, vs Freelance or Odesk?

    Any tips or recommendations are appreciated. I am fairly good at managing others and explaining what I need as I am already a manager. I would love to make this a great experience for myself and the person I hire.

    Thanks,
    Natalie

    Hey Natalie. I have some experience when it comes to outsourcing. I use it mainly for content for myself and other ventures.

    For the wordpress, graphic design and logo's you may not have to go offshore to do those things to be honest. Sites like Fiveer come in handy big time for jobs like that. You would be surprised as to what type of talent you can find over there.

    When it comes to the Philippines and India there are 2 things I've noticed when it comes to them:
    1. The people in the Philippines speak much more fluent English. If you are going to target a specific place in the Philippines, make sure you look up MANILA.
    2. The people in the Philippines seem to be much more reliable.

    Realize though when you start working with people offshore, they will disappear. lol. It sucks sometimes honestly, you give them a tasks and a deadline or w.e, then you never hear from them again! That's why when I first started I made sure I paid them AFTER work was completed and I was satisfied.

    As you build trust throughout the years (I've had certain writers for several years), You can then pay them before they start a project to show them you trust them and more likely than not, they will meet your expectations.

    If you have any questions with this feel free to let me know. I also wrote a blog post about this on my blog, send me a PM and I can link you to it.

    -Omar
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    • Profile picture of the author niles
      Make sure you split the job into smaller jobs. If you need 10 Fiverr Gigs, always start with 1. This is the same with any job.


      Always have your outsourcers send you daily updates. I just have them send the work they completed each day.


      If you have them doing a specific task, have them send the work to you after the first page or section is done. This way you are making sure that you are on the same page.


      Never assume that they know what you mean. Give them very specific instructions and summarize them at the end.


      These simple steps will save you a lot of aggravation. I used to just give them the work and think it would be done on time and correctly. I will never assume this again. Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author IMrokie
    I think for a small jobs, you can find in peopleperhour or fiverr..
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  • Profile picture of the author Sokute
    It's not that easy to find someone reliable be it Philippines, India, Malaysia or elsewhere. I don't want to sound discriminating here, but I'd rather opt for someone closer to western world - just based on my personal experience. I mean I love India and SE- Asia and people there (was travelling around for 2 years) but they just love to cheat, it's part of their culture... So be wise with your screening.
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  • Profile picture of the author marshallcain
    To answer your question, yes it is common to outsource your business. All you need is offered by one of the outsourcing companies in the Philippines.They provide highly trained specialist who can do all the work you need. You will be able to save big time. Check them out: Outsource Philippines
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  • Personally I think ODesk, and Freelance is a much..

    Better option for small businesses, because there isn't that much to outsource

    However, for big businesses it's better to have specific employees in the Philippines etc

    People like outsourcing to the Philippines, because of the culture of hard work, respect, efficiency and integrity
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  • Profile picture of the author andorod77
    People in the Philippines are great when it comes to working hard in outsourcing.

    You can try the website Easyoutsource where you sign up for free and connect with Filipino online job seekers for your outsourcing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Stephens
    When it comes to writing I go with guys from India.
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  • Profile picture of the author omdata
    Hello Natalie,
    Outsourcing is good option for many organizations, SMEs as well individuals. Outsourcing data entry provides you good benefits by saving your Time, Money and Energy.

    Yes, to find a offshore outsourcing company for your above mentioned services are quite common.
    And the difference between outsource your project to outsourcing companies and hiring a free lancer over several website is having a team of assistance, assured quality, strong customer support team, advanced technology and equipments, a professional setup, and many more.

    You need to research over the company before choosing one for you and assigning your data entry project to them,
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