Outsourcing is a pain in the backside

I would be happy to work with you for a slice of the profits, if you need things done quickly.

I've found tons of high-quality people on oDesk and eLance, and for me, the best way to do things is to hire several people for the same job, and give them either identical or similar small projects. It's usually very easy to weed out those who don't work hard or who don't know what they are doing.

I'll try to find people who specialize in a certain skill, but also people who can do many things. For example, I have several designers, and several developers, but many of them can do both, so if I need someone in a pinch, and my usuals are busy, I have backups.

The most important thing is to try and anticipate needs ahead of time, so you can be ready with someone good when you really need work done quickly. My only bad experiences on freelance sites have come when I had a project that needed to be done right away, and I had to hire someone for it without an opportunity to test them first.

If I am trying to close a deal on a project that I know will require a payment gateway, for example, I'll post the job and start interviewing people immediately. When the time comes, I'll hopefully be ready with someone good, and - if necessary - a backup or two.

Raise your price point. I've never found a reliable programmer on the sites ready to take last minute work at under $15 an hour. I'm not saying they don't exist. They are just as rare as hens teeth, in high demand and booked 3-6 months in advance.

I abandoned freelance site a while ago. When I need something I e-mail the heads of the computer science departments at all my local colleges asking if they had any seniors in their program who had the skills I need, straight As and would like a really good reference and $10 an hour. If they work out their name goes in my contractor address book and I pay $12 and hour for subsequent jobs.

When my contractors get to the point they no longer want to work for $12 an hour I send them a thank you card for all the hard work they did for me. Then back to the department heads.

I have done this to get programs done in the past and 2 out of 3 times it went well. I hired a FT person in the Philippines this year and he does pretty much whatever I need as needed. I have grown to trust him and have a good idea as to what he can do. I would suggest a similar arrangement if possible.

Enterpryzman