Outsourcing is a great way to save time and money in your budget, especially when you are a small business owner. There are plenty of jobs that can be easily outsourced to free you up to do the more difficult work- or at least the work that requires your skills.
Freelance writers can help you keep up with your content needs. You can hire a writer to write articles, web copy and other miscellaneous paperwork. Check out one of the many bidding websites such as Elance or Odesk. You post an assignment and freelancers will bid on it. Then you can review their profiles and choose the person who best meets your needs.
Virtual assistants also frequent bidding sites to take on assignments. You can hire an assistant by the hour or per project. You set the criteria. If you have a very simple project then you may be able to pay a low fee to someone who is just getting started.
Tech support is another area where it can pay to outsource. There are numerous well-qualified techies who are willing to take on assignments in their spare time. They also hang out on Elance and Odesk. You can also find them at Internet marketing sites such as WarriorForum.
If you decide to outsource a project there are some things you should never do:
Don’t Trust Blindly :
If you choose someone you have never worked with before then you have to expect it will take some time to build trust. Start with small assignments and gradually work up to more responsibility. If you are paying hourly then you need a system to keep track of hours.
When you hire from bidding websites then there is probably already a system in place. Otherwise you can try one of the time tracking apps available for download.
Don’t Assume a Schedule Will Be Set :
It is up to you to develop a schedule for your staff to adhere to. Be clear from the beginning about deadlines. It usually works best to set small milestones along the way that lead up to the finished project. That way you know everything won’t be left until the last minute which is a recipe for disaster.
There are apps that were developed to help with scheduling. GoAssign and ShiftBuilding both assist with scheduling tasks. Google Drive is another option and it’s free. You can set the project up and share it with the team. Basecamp is a service that organizes projects and staff to keep everything under control.
Don’t Become Unavailable :
Your staff may have questions that need to be answered immediately. You also want to have a way to contact them right away. It is up to you to find the communication method that will be most successful. Sometimes it will be email while other times you might need to reach your team by phone. Establish a system from the start.
Consider video conferencing if you need to meet with everyone at one time. Google Hangouts is an easy way to get everyone involved. However there are many great conferencing programs. There was a recent Mega Meeting review that examined the pros of their system. You can research other systems too. Time differences can make these conferences tricky. If you hire someone in another time zone you will have to work around it.
Don’t Forget to Put it in Writing :
When you hire freelancers to work on projects you may need to ask them to sign a nondisclosure agreement, especially if they will have access to private information. Some business owners also prefer to have their freelancer sign a contract before beginning an assignment.
Often it is a business owner with a bad experience under his belt who requires contracts. Once you have been burned you don’t want it to happen again. You might not need to deal with contracts. However, if you do want to use them you can find general samples online that you can print out.
Outsourcing can help you manage your budget while ensuring your work gets completed in a timely manner. Just be careful not to make one of these simple errors as you may end up having to start from scratch.
