Outsourcing Advantages and Disadvantages
How do you crawl out of the chaotic world of being an entrepreneur and into the calm world of efficiency? Where do you start?
Well, you do what every successful entrepreneur has done in the history of business.
You build a team! Teamwork in business is the only way to create long lasting success!
Wait!
You don’t have the time to train a team?
You can’t afford to hire anyone?
Well, let me tell you this. If you can’t afford to hire someone…
then that means you definitely need to hire someone.
But lucky for you, team building in business has never been easier or more affordable! And training someone is much easier than you think. Often people think they need a real structured training process in place before they can hire their first outsourcer. But nothing could be further from the truth. With a few simple ninja hacks, you can be well on your way!
Let’s first look at the cost of delaying.
Without a team…
1. Your new revenue projects take longer to get out.
2. Missing even one opportunity can be costly, considering the lifetime value of your clients.
3. Missed opportunities tend to lead to other missed opportunities.
4. Without a team, something minor like the common cold derails your business. Your workflow slows way down or even stops.
5. As your work demands grow, so do your hours, making you increasingly less effective.
6. You tend to multi-task to keep up which decreases your productivity by 40%.
7. You’re limited by your own knowledge. You don’t have a team that you can lean on for expertise.
8. You have no one to check or proof basic work.
9. You bottleneck ALL your own projects.
10. You’re constantly stressed and you repeat the cycle of the entrepreneur burnout
11. You become a sufferpreneur
12. You’ll never have the freedom lifestyle you were promised when you started your business.
Think about where you are in your business. Without a team, you will likely be in the exact same spot next year but way more tired. Chances are though, you’ll be further behind. Want to build a business, then you need to know how to build a team! Honestly, this is why entrepreneurs fail.
So where do you start?
Outsourcing Advantages and Disadvantages
Imagine you’re building a basketball team. Would you want to recruit athletes from your local area or pull the best talents from around the globe? Well, that’s one of the many benefits of outsourcing.
But is it all good?
Let’s take a look at what the outsourcing advantages and disadvantages are:
The World Is Your Oyster
In the past businesses were limited by geography.
Depending on:
– how many hours you offered
– and how much you paid
– determined how far someone was willing to drive to work with you
Now you can hire from anywhere on the planet.
In fact, outsourcing to the Philippines has been very successful for many entrepreneurs.
This means your talent pool is unlimited.
Flexible Options
When outsourcing you have a lot of freedom when it comes to hours.
Let’s say you needed someone to edit your videos for social media.
You may only need them for 5 hours a week.
(That’s a hard slot to fill even for part-time employment.)
So then you have to add other tasks to increase their hours.
(This adds extra cost to the entrepreneur and often dilutes the talent of the person you hired).
Whereas with outsourcing, it’s really easy to hire people for small projects, occasional work, and part-time hours. Many virtual assistant part-time jobs are only a few hours a week.
You Can Save A Lot Of Money
Did your grandmother ever tell you stories about when she was a kid…
And how a candy bar only costs 25 cents…?
and for a wild moment you thought how great it would be to go back in time!
Well, this is a bit like that!
With outsourcing services now being global, it gives you a variety of hiring costs. Entrepreneurs are dealing with different economic regions and the pay expectations vary. This means you can get very affordable and high skilled labour that would fit well into the needs of your small business.
You Save Big On Overhead Costs
In previous years when an entrepreneur wanted to hire someone, they had to have a desk, a computer, and possibly bigger office space. These are all additional expenses and often a roadblock for entrepreneurs to hire.
Another great outsourcing benefit is that outsourcers come with the tools they need to complete the job. This is really great when you’re dealing with a specific skill-set like video editing and you don’t have to buy high-end expensive software.
It’s A 24 Hour Day!
When outsourcing to the Philippines you could have a 12 hour time difference. This means you can wake up in the morning and your work is done. This is a wonderful benefit as it gets work done around the clock.
Job Satisfaction
Another really great asset to outsourcing is it increases everyone’s job satisfaction. When you can outsource, it allows you to have your team focus on specific talents and skill sets that they possess. You don’t have to assign work just because someone has to do it.
Pay Raises
Many entrepreneurs have local and in-house employees as well as outsourcers. One of the reasons for outsourcing is it allows your company to grow, bring in more revenue and reward your existing team with pay raises.
Take On Any Project
Outsourcing also allows you to take on projects at a moment’s notice. You can hire almost instantly to meet the needs of any new ambition.
Cons:
The Options Are Overwhelming
Some entrepreneurs find the idea of global resources overwhelming. They feel like it’s a huge undertaking and they just don’t know where to start. (Click here if you feel that way)
Cultural Differences
Some cultures come from a more passive position where they feel they are supposed to show the utmost respect for their employers. Entrepreneurs outsourcing to the Philippines can find their outsources don’t speak up as much or introduce new ideas. Without the right leadership you may not be getting the best out of your team.
Access
At the end of the day all you have is your outsourcers email address or a Skype Contact. If for some reason they don’t show up it just feels like you have less options. This is a common complaint when dealing with outsourcers.
When somebody works for you locally and they don’t show up for work it just seems like you have more resources. (However, I don’t think you do. It’s very easy to ignore a phone call).
They Don’t Have To Quit
Probably the biggest complaint about outsourcers is they can simply stop working. They don’t have to formally quit. If they’re not happy working with you or there’s been other issues, it’s easy for them to just stop emailing you. (Note: If this is happening, you have issues in other areas like you’re hiring and onboarding practices.)
Time Difference:
For some entrepreneurs the time difference is an issue. They want everyone working together and on the same schedule. However, there are many outsourcers that will work the midnight shift in order to accommodate your hours. (Personally I don’t think you get the best out of anyone at five in the morning.)
So How Do You Find The Right Person
We use the WIN P.A.S.S. Formula. This is about focusing on Personality, Action, Success and Strengths. Let me explain.
Personality: Always Hire Personality Over Skill Set
You can teach someone a new skill but you can’t train their personality or attitude. When I’m looking to add to my team, I always focus on personality first.
Keep these things in mind:
-are they passionate about what they do?
-if you were stuck, do they seem like they would step up and help?
-are they eager to learn?
-do they seem excited to work with you?
After 10 years, I’m still amazed by my team’s enthusiasm. They seem to be just as passionate about my dreams as I am. This kind of enthusiasm definitely makes everything easier and really gets stuff done!
Action: Get them doing something! Always Test
Regardless of the position that I’m hiring for, I always do a mini-test.
I definitely do this for outsourcers but I’ve done this for in-house positions as well.
Let’s say you’re hiring a new virtual assistant. Give them a little task of something simple. It can be a quick research project. And see how they manage.
I’m not looking for free work…
-I’m looking to see how quickly they turn it around,
-when they ask questions,
-and the type of work that they produce.
Testing is especially helpful when you are narrowing it down among a number of candidates. But honestly, I would never hire anyone for anything without giving them a mini test
Strengths
During the interview process, ask them to list their strengths. Any successful candidate should be able to articulate their strengths. It’s a simple question that we’ve all been asked. How well do they answer?
Success
I always ask a candidate what’s their biggest or most recent success. You can tell a lot about a person with this one question. I’ve had answers from:
“I finished a 5km run. I used to be very out of shape and this really renewed my passion for life”
To:
“I have a bad habit of quitting things when it gets tough. Recently, I finished a course I was struggling with”
The Results Are…
Any successful entrepreneur will tell you their success was not possible without their team. It doesn’t have to be a big team. It can be you and one other person. It’s never about the number of people but how it’s set up.
Most entrepreneurs start with a Virtual Assistant and start throwing work at them. To create a W.I.N Team, a “what is next team” so you can always get to “what is next” -you need a strategy. This gives you all sorts of momentum with your business and ambitions.
Want to know how to create your W.I.N (what is next) Team so you can get to what is next? Want to know how to get your ideas to execution? Or just want to have the freedom that you always dreamed about when you started your business? – click the link!
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