What Everybody Ought To Know About Outsourcing

If I can name one huge turning point in my business, I would say that it is the time I decided to start outsourcing my work (the other being developing more confidence in my business).

By Late February this year, I will be hiring a more permanent, virtual assistant / business manager to manage all aspects of my business operations.

I’ve even started outsourcing a lot of things in my business:

• Search Engine Optimization
• Article writing and submission
• Graphics and E-cover design
• E-book research and creation
• HTML Design

As an online product creator, I feel the need to diversify my businesses as you must never put all your eggs in one basket. Trying to do many things at once isn’t easy and we only have 24 hours in a day. Therefore, in order to get as many things done as possible, you must outsource wisely and manage your cash flow with prudence.

Here are a couple of tips you can learn about outsourcing:

• You can learn about the tips on outsourcing when you start off as a service provider yourself. Focus on your best skill (e.g. writing, graphic design, administration work, etc) and take jobs from other people. Do it not just because of the money but because you need to understand and appreciate the flow - everything from acquiring the project, negotiating the prices, completing the work and accountability… these are all critical aspects you must learn by yourself first. After all, how can you teach someone to ride a bike if you can’t ride one yourself?

• You must have a very clear direction regarding your business. Don’t outsource blindly. When you are new to outsourcing, the best thing you can do is to learn how to manage your cash flow and understand how much your time is worth. In essence, if you can save 4 hours of your time while you can spend that 4 hours wisely by doing something else that makes you MORE money than the work you are outsourcing, then by all means, go ahead.

• On the same token, you must be able to estimate your expertise. I always outsource work to people who can perform as good as or better than me. For example, I know I really suck at graphics design, so outsourcing would be a good choice because I would spend twice as long on a lousy piece of e-cover while my service provider would whip up something much better in a flash. As they say, don’t try and focus on your weakness or you will only have a strong weakness - spend your time more on your strengths instead.

• Give bonuses to your service providers. If they do a good job, by all means - reward them with more money and more jobs. I’ve learned that trying to cut costs will only hurt your long term business so make sure you take care of your people… they are your assets.

• Building relationships with your service providers is also one of the keys towards having a solid and stable business foundation. You need people you can trust as well as people who will get the job done.