Don’t Make These Mistakes In Outsourcing. Part 2 of 5

Outsourcing Mistake #3

Lack Of Processes To Capture Your Knowledge

 

When you have your own business, you have so many things to accomplish and creating ‘how to’ manuals for every task that you perform is just something that many entrepreneurs don’t take the time to create.

 

As soon as you begin to outsource, you should create project manuals as you go, or even better, have your team members create their own project manuals as they learn, which you can look at and refine as needed.

 

You can also consider creating some of the following as they apply to your business:

 

Overall Mission Statement

If you don’t already have one, make sure you document it and ensure that everyone understands your overall goals and purposes. When you want to have a system in place that automates your business it’s valuable to be sure everyone knows and is pointed in the same direction.

 

Glossary

Does your business have a unique language it uses? Document the terms you commonly use and educate your team so they know what you’re talking about and ensure everyone uses the same language when interacting with clients.

 

List of Websites And Login Details

Searching for lost access details and trying to remember which username and password you used where can be a major time waster. Also resist the urge to use the same username and password everywhere as it creates a security risk

 

Project Objectives

Support team members should have a firm understanding of the ‘whys’ and ‘where’s’ for particular projects. The clearly outlined objectives should help them to think critically and make better decisions without having to excessively consult with you.

 

Project Task List and Check Lists

What specific things need to be done and who is responsible for them? Create as many checklists as possible and instruct your team to create checklists as they go, especially when doing something new.

 

Step by Step Instructions

Every task can and should be broken down into a set of specific instructions.

 

When you only have one documented copy of something you’re at serious risk of loss. Ensure that project instructions and all other documentation are backed up.

 

Outsourcing Mistake #4

Too Quick To Hire

 

The best resource to use in your effort to locate high quality, reliable service providers is to ask your circle of colleagues and business associates for recommendations and advice; especially from those you know who are already successfully outsourcing.

 

Some suggested questions to ask would be:

 

l Have they worked with a service provider that they would work with again?l Did they encounter any negative experiences if any?

l Is there anything they learned about pricing that you should know about?

 

Using their recommendations you can explore your options. If this fails to generate possibilities that will work for you, your next step could be to visit freelancing or outsourcing websites.

 

There are a wide variety of outsourcing sites on the web where service providers monitor and bid on both short term and long term projects. Whether you’re acting on a personal recommendation or responding to offers through an outsourcing website, you never blindly accept the first bid or first outsourcing company you find. It always pays to take time to compare what different service providers have to offer.

 

You should always ask for additional client references and request that they describe the project that the provider completed for their pervious clients. A great reference means nothing unless they are commenting about work similar to what you need done.

 

Also check that the provider is comfortable to communicate in your preferred operating style, for example if you like to manage your projects by phone and the provider prefers to receive instructions via email you may get frustrated.

 

When working with someone for the first time, it is advisable not to sign long term contracts or make commitments past a single project. If your experience with an individual or outsourcing company leaves you feeling apprehensive about the future you can simply move on to try someone else without much hassle.

Don’t Make These Mistakes In Outsourcing. Part 1 of 5

Outsourcing Mistake #1

This Job Cannot Be Outsourced

 

So you’ve ventured out on your own and built your internet business from the ground up and every detail is currently stored inside your head. On any given day you deal with 100 different tasks and jobs, from responding to email, managing projects and making plans for future growth. Initially it can seem impossible or complicated to imagine taking all the information inside your head and communicating it to someone else.

 

Because of this, most entrepreneurs never move past just thinking about outsourcing. But the truth is, if you can outline the process and if similar skill sets exist in someone else, anything can be outsourced.  Therefore it’s important to identify the skills being employed for any project you want to delegate.

 

Sometimes what holds us back from passing on certain sets of tasks is that we enjoy doing the work. It will take some getting used to, but the sooner you can detach yourself from the day to day running of your business, the sooner you’ll enjoy the freedom to focus on what you enjoy most in business, pursue personal interests or spend more time with your family.

 

Outsourcing Mistake # 2

Relying On Availability of Knowledge

 

If you tie up all your knowledge in a person, or if you’re doing all the work yourself you won’t be able to have your freedom. Similarly if the work is being done by only one other person and they decide to quit, you can quickly end up back at square one.

 

Here is an example: Say you’re an internet marketer with a busy web based business and on top of the everyday tasks required to keep the business running smoothly there is a large amount of customer service involved.

 

As the business grows you realize you need additional help, you decide to employ a virtual assistant possessing the required skill sets, and spend the next month teaching them everything they need to know to take over customer service and manage some ongoing projects.

 

Everything is going great and you are able to turn your attention to the good ideas you are normally too busy to pursue. And so as your business grows your income grows with it.

 

Then one morning you receive an email from your virtual assistant giving two weeks notice, only half as long as it had taken you to train them and now that your business is much bigger you know you are in big trouble.

 

So this time you decide to break the work down into two different positions and train each assistant to be able to do the others work. By taking the time to cross-train your team, you ensure that no one area of your business is vulnerable to staff availability and will feel more secure about the future.

 

When expanding your business, decide how to break work down within your team, to build robustness into your system so that in the long run your business will be safer.

Top 8 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Outsource

Many entrepreneurs start out in the business world to map out a plan and go for it. They have an intense enthusiasm for success and a longing to shape their own future with the freedom and creativity not available in the average 9-5 working world.

Yet the reality is that a little fewer than 60 percent of new businesses may not survive up to or more than four years and the entrepreneurs that do survive end up working 60+ hours and are unable to take much time off.

Successful entrepreneurs use outsourcing to grow their business and thrive. Here are 8 top reasons to outsource:

1. Perform ONLY those tasks you are experienced and proficient at and like doing.

2. Focus on making money. Don’t waste your valuable time and energy on tasks that you’d prefer not doing or that you’re not able to do. Instead employ the services of a virtual support team to give you the freedom to focus on income generating activities.

3. Save time and money. Instead of thinking of contractors as an expense, leverage them as a profit center. Firstly, you lose money when you do tasks you are inexperienced at, where as a skilled person will cost comparatively less. Secondly you gain back that time and can invest it in activities that bring in more income.

4. Reduce expenses and increase profits. Why tie up funds in payroll, benefits, recruiting and training costs, equipment and office space when you could be using that money to grow your business? Outsourced virtual professionals, work from their own home offices and charge you only for active productive time (i.e. Virtual Personal Assistants).

5. Freedom to generate and seek opportunities. When you are caught up in the particulars of running your business, your creativity gets suffocated and does not flow as easily. Outsourcing gives you the freedom and time to be innovative and work on growing your business.

6. Achieve a superior balance between work and personal life. With proper planning you will finally have the time to spend with your family or to pursue personal interests.

7. Access to new skills and trained professionals. A virtual support team will give you access to a wide variety of skills and many virtual professionals can also provide you with referrals to other service providers.

8. Peace of mind. With regular communication and feedback, you will gain priceless peace of mind knowing that the day-to-day details, customer and business lead follow-up, maintenance and marketing of your business are skillfully handled by your virtual support team.

Outsourcing will help remind you why you created your own business it in the first place. Your success and freedom as an entrepreneur may depend upon your ability to focus on what you love and do best and eliminate or outsource everything else.

Outsourcing Your Life to a Personal Assistant

Prompted by an article by A.J Jacobs called My Outsourced Life I had previously blogged about this very topic in May, but, Ok, so it’s still a strange concept to think about, but it’s actually happening more and more these days . I just found another wordpress blog that actually documents his experiences with outsourcing his life since August 2007.

MyOutsourcedLife is an easy to read an very relatable blog that will give you great ideas and help you with some of the concerns you may have. It will also answer some of the questions you yourself may have about outsourcing even some of the most ordinary of tasks. Take a read, it’s well worth it.