Outsourcing ANYTHING !

[findtim]

hi, i've been using elance dot com for the last 9 months and it has really changed my business.

just yesterday i posted a job to create 80 microsites for a client, from a base structure i have developed, this takes me 20-30 minutes a site so i thought i'd get someone else to do it.

quotes started at $30 a site and within 24 hours i now have quotes at $6 USD a site, still $12 a hour for someone in asia and the job is sooooo easy as i have done all the hard work for them with the setup.

but thats 40 hours of my life saved from doing teadious tasks and i don't work for $12 an hour !

just thought i'd post it and get some opinions

tim

 

[Chris.C]

I have a number of offshored full and part-time contractors that work for me - just remember that if someone from India, Phillipines, China, Ukraine, etc is willing to work cheaper than their Australian equivalents - the principle of "you get what you pay for" always applies.



I guess my main point is you don't want to hire someone because they are "cheap" you want to hire contractors or employees that offer "good value" it shouldn't matter if they charge $1/hour or $20/hour - return on your investment is what you are always looking for.

And make sure you are an expert in anything your are offshoring, because you will need to be able to assess their work in detail and call them on their corner cutting which I have also found to be a problem at times (not that Australians aren't guilty of corner cutting themselves), but it comes back to that principle of "you get what you pay for".

 

[findtim]

so true, i've done about 40 + jobs so far and most have been just time saving for me, i can do it but get someone else to type jobs.

short cuts, yeh, i find they do that often thats why elance is good as everythign is recorded in the job chat area.

my big hint is when you get things moving and you start skyping chat to speed a project along then cut and paste that into a doc and record it as well.

i NEVER choose the lowest price because its the lowest price, i research the people and then decide.

tim

 

[nina]

We outsource, but only specific elements of a job and we only work with those who know the technology I work with.

If it's copy and paste or very repetitive work that does not require much skill level then that's fine, but I have had experiences in the past which have not gone as well because the people doing the job are not 'thinkers'.

I also like to try and support us in AU where possible, but to be honest, at times it's hard to find someone willing to do the repetitive work since many overseas companies are well setup to do the job.

Nina

 

[findtim]

i try to "break in" a new person on a job that i know i can fix rapidly, this way i can see what they come up with without risking a big client.

thankfully A LOT of my jobs are actually my own domains i'm creating so i'm not having to answer to a client.

Communication frequency is the biggest problem i have found, they will go for days without an update email ! it drives me batty, if they just emailed me monday and said " i've allocated time on thursday...." then i'd be happy .

tim

 

[findtim]

Hi Tim,

I thought you mentioned you were going to outsource this work? Wasn't viable or do I just have my wires crossed?

quote from different thread but moved here:

you are right, i digressed as i was in a different thread. ( thus now this one)

i've got 2 sets of 80 + domains, one set is owned by me and the other is owned by a client ( completely different business sectors ), just trying to get the client to confirm my quote for their domains which will pay for my 80 domains to be completed as well.

but i also need to complete my "version 2" before moving forward.

"viable" well yes it is, i have a number of quotes ranging from USD $6 - $10 per domain, which i feel is the correct price range.... fair for both parties.

What i'm concerned about is i've been down this road before and you really need to make sure the original is SPOT ON, and your system of duplication is easy eg: i once went and did 20 domains and found a typo once it was completed which meant i had to go back and redo them all !!! ( don't talk to me about duplicate content there are ways around that)

SO my other real delay is in getting time to make sure i do it right.

once i have completed i will share the experience in a new thread good result or bad result.


THIS brings to light the concept of a private forum, yes i'll give details but i would be more likely to give MORE facts if i knew it would never get to google listings.

tim

 

[johno69]

THIS brings to light the concept of a private forum, yes i'll give details but i would be more likely to give MORE facts if i knew it would never get to google listings.

tim

Apparently there are tags you can wrap your content in to make it visible to logged in only.

 

[findtim]

i'm under the assumption that DNT are presently working on something better then that, that comment was more targeted to Admin to push them along LOL

So to expand on this its not just google its people "stumbling upon" these threads. So "private" actually meant PRIVATE.

tim

 

[johno69]

If you want stuff private, don't post it on the interwebs...

 

[findtim]

WRONG: i run a private forum for a nation wide franchise so they can chat safely from perth to cairns and hobart and everywhere in between etc.

the knowledge exchange is INCREDIBLE.

the internet is a tool, everything doesn't have to be available to everyone and you can't have the interaction if you revert back to PM or phone calls, or MAYBE we just go back to posting a letter to each other !!! that will be fun ... NOT...

tim