The secret weapon you already know about, but haven't used often enough

11 years ago

I ousource web design, but Im a control freak about text content, wish I could let go of some. Maybe now is the time. I just dont trust others enough to do my writing. Im sure its a weakness.

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Sue McDonald

11 years ago

I have outsourced getting a whole product created and it will be complete in 2 weeks (if nothing goes wrong.) I could never have created this myself so I outsourced it. Just waiting to see the finished product.

Outsourcing makes sense when you know there are some aspects you cannot do or don't have time for.

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John Durham

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Sue McDonald

I have outsourced getting a whole product created and it will be complete in 2 weeks (if nothing goes wrong.) I could never have created this myself so I outsourced it. Just waiting to see the finished product.

Outsourcing makes sense when you know there are some aspects you cannot do or don't have time for.

What kind of product, if you dont mind?

I would be interested in knowing what kind of product creation people outsource.

I once outsourced the creation of some lead generation software for my forum, and I have to say that was a cool experience. Prior to that I didnt realize how easily one could have their ideas turned into software.

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DaniMc

11 years ago

It doesn't matter whether you outsource, contract, or hire someone as an employee.

We all must remember, we can't succeed alone. We all need other people. That includes leveraging the time and talents of others.

Fighting this is futile and very limiting. You must sell your services with labor figured in as part of your COGS (Cost Of Goods Sold). Your whole business should be driven by sales and management. Not fulfillment.

The best way to go about this is to find the right person with the right talent first. Then go about selling their work for an amount that makes you money.

This means, finding someone who is up to or exceeds your personal standards, THEN making the sales based on what it costs you to hire them. This will make your life much, much easier than if you sell the service first, and then go about finding someone to fulfill at that price point. Doing it that way will drive you crazy.

Set your standards - Find the right person - sell their talent for a profit - manage the project

This works for design, marketing, content, administrative duties, advertising, and anything else you may think of including manual labor and technical work.

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shane_k

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Dan McCoy

The best way to go about this is to find the right person with the right talent first. Then go about selling their work for an amount that makes you money.

This means, finding someone who is up to or exceeds your personal standards, THEN making the sales based on what it costs you to hire them. This will make your life much, much easier than if you sell the service first, and then go about finding someone to fulfill at that price point. Doing it that way will drive you crazy.

Set your standards - Find the right person - sell their talent for a profit - manage the project

This is such great advice.

I also think that for anyone who is outsourcing or is about to outsource for the first time, to remember or realize that it is a skill.

It is the skill of training, and managing employees (whether they are hourly or contract)

It's not something that most poeple are going to be extremely good at right away and it will be another learning process that you will have to eventually go through especially if you truly want your business to grow beyond what you alone can produce.

And yes outsourcing has it's own learning curve and you will make mistakes, and your staff will make mistakes, but if you keep moving forward improving that skill getting better and better the rewards can be exponential compared to any other business skill you learn.

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DaniMc 11 years ago

So true. It IS a real skill to be learned.

I feel you can minimize the pain by only hiring the highest quality people who can operate as autonomously as possible. If you hire cheap, you multiply your headaches.
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Arzak

11 years ago

I do my own web design because I'm afraid of how it will turn out if done by outsourcers. Everyone claims to be good or "professional", but when you go see their samples or portfolio, it's mediocre at best. There are just too many web design "wannabes". I know there are some good people out there. Just gotta ease into it.

There was another thread here about putting up a Craigslist ad to see responses. I did that as well. As expected, many claimed this and that. One of the responders had the most terrible portfolio I've ever seen. This person apparently has 30 years of experience! The name of the "company", the domain name, everything was just bad, I almost feel sorry.

With outsourcing you'll usually have to go through a few people to find someone reliable.

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CreekChub

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Arzak

This person apparently has 30 years of experience!

I think you should cut him some slack. I mean, he's been making websites since 1983. This guy is definitely ahead of the curve. Look out Al Gore - we may have the true inventor of the interwebs.

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Arzak

11 years ago

Originally Posted by CreekChub

I think you should cut him some slack. I mean, he's been making websites since 1983. This guy is definitely ahead of the curve. Look out Al Gore - we may have the true inventor of the interwebs.

You're right. Maybe I'm the one without any design sense

.

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CreekChub 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Arzak

You're right. Maybe I'm the one without any design sense .

I think you missed the sarcasm. I'm no historian, but were there a lot of websites in 1983?
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- Arzak 11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by CreekChub
  
  I think you missed the sarcasm. I'm no historian, but were there a lot of websites in 1983?
  
  No, but I think you missed it . Maybe it was the smiley.
  
  Thanks
  
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kelvintoro

11 years ago

When your business is getting bigger and you have so many things to take care of, it's really a must to outsource. Yeah, at first you might be uneasy about it because you're letting other people into your business. But you just have to be careful in selecting them. Also, it's better to not give all the work to one person/group/company. Less chance of getting your niche/method stolen.

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af7850

11 years ago

I just learned a cool new way to become very popular on this forum...

As soon as I posted this thread, it must have occurred to some people that I am actually doing business, and have money to spend...

And like a bunch of g-d damned piranhas, they all decide to pm me about all of the wonderful things they will do to "help me" in exchange for money. Freaking unbelievable. Some people should learn not to sh-t where they eat.

Get a sponsored ad in the "for hire" section please. I do not wish for you to spam my pm box any more.

P.S. This is not in any way directed at you, Sue. Thank you for the thoughtful message.

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bwh1

11 years ago

I think you have to let it go and see it from your clients point of view.

The result is within your guideline and the client is happy - task accomplished.

You can do always something different (not necessarily better) but that's not needed.

Delegate and manage, not centralize and do it yourself.

I have looked for a while after a guy which is an outsource pro, his site is called onlinejobs.ph and can get you great VA's for around $500 a month.

Wish you goo luck

G.

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mert

11 years ago

Well let's get down to the basics:

What are your goals? Your long-term goals?

What do you wanna do the most? or love doing?

What help do you need?

What other areas of your business that needs you the most to get better results?

If you have a sound answer to this, then it all boils down to finding the right people to work with. I mean, you can't design and develop sites while you do all the copy writing, if you see your business growing in the next years or so. You need to have helping hands to make it happen.

Besides, In anything we do there is always the "risk". But what's important is that you realize that "hey, this is all part of the learning process!" and move on. If the first time goes well, then good for you!

Learn to trust people and learn to appreciate!

Good luck,
Mert

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John Jonas Phil VA

11 years ago

Originally Posted by af7850

Still, I've got a nervous twitch about the whole thing, and I'm wondering if any of you can relate. Are you an outsourcing superstar? A control freak? Do you believe in the "hire it done" method, our is it better to brew another pot of coffee and get back to work?

Posted from Warriorforum.com App for Android

It's perfectly normal to feel that way. Outsourcing is a leap of faith. This is a business that you built on your good name and reputation. It's heartbreaking to think what would happen if another person's bad work would destroy what you built.

But if you want your business to grow, you need to outsource.

Dan McCoy's advice is right on the money. Find the right person first. Hire someone who meets or exceeds your expectations.

But I want to add to that in case you can't find that "right" person.

Look for people that you see has the potential to meet your expectations, people who have the right skill set or similar aesthetics, and TRAIN them to meet your standards.

Outsourcing is an investment of time and money. But once you find the right people, it will definitely be worth it.

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ginnysclub1 11 years ago

It always amazes me that so many people hate selling or cold calling but never think about outsourcing that aspect of their business.

In other words, build a SALE FORCE.

BUT if the sales force starts to sell big-time, they're going to be back to square one, pretty quickly, but this time they'll have no alternative - they'll have to outsource, because they can't do it all.
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kellyyarnsbro

11 years ago

Nice share you guys have here, but this one is I like the most "Outsourcing is an investment of time and money. But once you find the right people, it will definitely be worth it."

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jgant

11 years ago

For my local affiliate marketing, I do a hybrid of outsourcing with a fair amount of me tweaking both content and web development.

I use an SEO service currently which is user-directed. It works fairly well - I save time, yet retain some control.

I like the saying by the SEO Braintrust guys (can't remember whether Dan Thies or Leslie Rhodes said it) and that is delegate but don't abdicate.

I think in order to be able to 100% outsource everything, you'd need to build an in-house team and train them extensively. This would be costly because they'd have to be talented people ... and still at the end of the day you'd want to go over all the work.

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TeamBringIt

11 years ago

Originally Posted by af7850

It's been pushed, prodded, sold, promoted, rationalized, testimonialized, and - by many of us - underutilized...

Outsourcing.

I don't know about you, but I have a serious control problem here. Sure, I've outsourced lots of things, but never the really important stuff like design and copywriting. No matter how much sense it makes on paper, I can't seem to shrug the feeling that if I want it done right I need to do it myself.

I can't tell you how many hours I've spent making the donuts, obliterating my profit margin and turning my initial project revenue into a loss leader that has to be made up on the back end. Regardless of the consequences, doing business this way has allowed me to totally control the creative process and deliver exactly what I've envisioned for a client... but does it really matter? Am I really delivering extra perfect superior results, or just feeding my obsessive compulsive nit picking freakish need to control the most insignificant micro details?

Well I guess we're about to find out. I've reached the point where I'm simply too damn busy to keep it up, and I just placed my first order for outsourced content. My first design order is going out tomorrow.

While I anxiously await the results, it occurs to me that:

1. It's nice to have a minute to myself
2. I don't miss slaving at the computer until 3am in the least
3. I knew all along that it would be smarter to work this way... but only if it works well.

Still, I've got a nervous twitch about the whole thing, and I'm wondering if any of you can relate. Are you an outsourcing superstar? A control freak? Do you believe in the "hire it done" method, our is it better to brew another pot of coffee and get back to work?

Posted from Warriorforum.com App for Android

You are risking opportunity cost here. you are not skilled in everything, if you can afford you need to delegate and outsource to other people, that can do the work for you, while you handle the business side.

Many businesses fail, simply due to wanting all control and not delegating!

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RedShifted

11 years ago

I am a control freak as well. But I like to control my freedom just as much as I like to control other things. And sometimes the only way to do that is to outsource. =]

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Adrian John

11 years ago

People are starting to catch slowly on how useful(for their life) and profitable(for their business) it's the outsourcing process.
Over time I've tried to explain to countless people that approached me how much more profitable is doing what they know best and leave fulfilling the services they sell to somebody else, a trustable partner, but often people just want to keep everything in house instead of freeing some of their time and make more money while doing it and start offering more services to their clients.

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The secret weapon you already know about, but haven't used often enough

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