Outsourcing: The Small Business Owner's Friend in a Tough Economy
Posted by Laddie Blaskowski on Jun 04, 2009
The term “outsourcing” evokes various images in people’s minds. Some envision large companies sending manufacturing jobs overseas. Others think of payroll services, which are commonly used by both large and small companies. But with advances in technology, outsourcing has become a widespread reality that will impact virtually all business owners in some way in coming years. Competent, reasonably priced talent is now available locally, nationally and internationally.
As business consultants, we strive to keep informed about any business trends that may impact our clients. We have done a great deal of research on outsourcing and have outsourced a number of jobs ourselves. We now feel so strongly about the impact outsourcing will have on businesses that we teach every client about how it works. We feel every business owner needs to know about the possibilities and opportunities that exist to get more accomplished for less expense through outsourcing.
We also believe that whether or not you choose to outsource work yourself, you need to at least be informed about what your competition may be doing and plan your strategies accordingly. After all, if it costs you $10 to make a widget and your competitor can do it through outsourcing for $2, you’d better have a strategy in mind as to how to market your product or service in such a way that your customers understand the value you’re offering.
Examples of our own company’s experience using outsourcers include having two posters and graphics for a notebook cover designed by a gentleman in Eastern Europe – all for under $350. A woman in Maryland has done three complex research projects for us, complete with detailed reports, one of which included more than 400 pages of documentation. She charged $150 for each project. A gentleman in Houston charges us $12/hour to perform complicated Excel work. Could we do the same work in-house for the same costs? Absolutely not!
So how does outsourcing work? We use a website called Elance in our company and it has worked well for us. Similar websites include oDesk and Guru. These sites operate as brokers for individuals wishing to outsource their services. Once you decide on the project you wish to have performed, you post it on the broker’s website and outsourcers bid on it. You can see their qualifications and, in the case of graphic designers, you may be able to see their portfolios to judge whether you like their work.
You can communicate with your outsourcer through a message board and telephone. As we have done with our eastern European gentleman, you can even upload voice instructions digitally, which may help with language barriers. We would, however, urge caution by limiting the personal information you provide. We recommend using no more than your first name and last initial when you communicate.
Payment can be handled in different ways, including by credit card and/or PayPal, and you don’t pay until the job is completed to your satisfaction. Resolving disputes can be cumbersome, but we only know of one instance where someone has disputed paying for the work performed.
Other brokerage sites offer personal assistants at very reasonable prices, such as ProAdvantage, Intelligent Office, and Tasks Every Day. We even found a site that offers MBA’s for high-level work at $15/hour. Our son has a personal assistant in Ireland who is planning every detail of his 10th high school reunion. He’s a marketing executive so is it worth it to him to pay her $10/hour to do this work? Absolutely!
Outsourcing isn’t for everyone but if you are just starting out in business, have a limited budget, or simply want to get more accomplished while controlling costs, outsourcing can provide a wealth of services. And in these tough economic times, it can have a huge impact on your bottom line.