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outsourcing

Mar 29
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5 Ways on How to Effectively Manage Your Offshore Team

By Blogpost, challenges, Entrepreneurship, Human resources, Leadership, management, opportunities, outsourcing, Success

So you finally took the outsourcing path. You were able to identify which tasks took up most of your time, and which tasks need specific skill sets. You did your research and you were able to find a team of professionals ready to assist you in reaching your business goals. And finally, you have the time and freedom to work on things that matter most. But having an offshore team does not mean you can just leave them to their own devices. You are still the business owner and the team needs to know how you want to run your business and which way to take it. You still need to be able to effectively manage your offshore team.

Get To Know Your Team

A good leader must always value his company’s employees. They are after all, assets to the company. Find out a little bit of themselves personally, their hobbies, their interests. Make that connection. This will help you build a good relationship and build that trust between you and your team. Who knows, you might find someone with the potential to become a great asset to your business.

Get A Manager To Assist You

As you grow your business, you need someone who can assist you with the managerial duties. This manager can help in finding, training and developing your team. Basically, you need another set of eyes to oversee the business. As you grow, a manager is necessary so you do not get bogged down by all the details of running the business.

Have Regular Team Meetings

Good teamwork and communication are some of the keys to a successful business. Regularly schedule team meetings to get valuable input from your team. This is great for the communication flow and really outlines expectations.

Visit In Person

Make time to actually go over to where your team is. Spend some time there. Get to know them personally and their surroundings. Who knows, you might learn something new or come up with fresh ideas that you can apply to your business plans.

Have A People Plan In Place On Who You Need Down The Track

Having a people plan is essential if you want to grow. You need individuals who are ready to go if the need arises. This is really important when it comes to growth of your business. This will also be useful when further recruiting.

Those are just five (5) ways on how to effectively manage your offshore team. Keep in mind that every team, and every situation is unique, and you should be able to adjust your management style. No doubt you would be able to add more to the list as you continue your journey as an offshore employer.

Mar 22
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Five Reasons Why Outsourcing Fails

By Blogpost, challenges, Entrepreneurship, Food for thought, Goals, Human resources, Leadership, management, outsourcing, stress, Success

Why Business Owners Fail When Outsourcing Tasks

Your goals are set. You are now ready to grow your business. You have decided to take the outsourcing path to help you reach your business goals. Once you have outsourced those specific tasks, it should be smooth sailing from there, right? But outsourcing is not a miracle solution. Some businesses still fail, despite outsourcing. Here are 5 common reasons why outsourcing fails.

Hi, I’m James Short. As you already know by now, I always encourage entrepreneurs to outsource if they want to have that edge over their competitors. But over the years, I found out that some businesses still do not experience significant growth even after outsourcing. What went wrong and what could have been done? With that said, I’m going to share with you five (5) reasons why business owners fail when it comes to outsourcing those tasks.

They Don’t Have a Clear and Effective Plan

Just like anything in business, we need to have a plan that outlines what your needs and requirements are. This is no different when it comes to outsourcing. Plan out which tasks need to be prioritized. Be specific and detailed in what exactly do you want to accomplish with the given task.

Choosing the Right Outsourcing Partner

Just like with any partnerships, we need to do the due diligence to ensure you’re partnering with the right type of outsourcing partner. Do your research before partnering up with an outsourcing firm or a freelancer. Ask other business owners for feedback on what their business relationship is like with the firm or individual. That way, you can get a good idea if the firm or individual is the right one for your plans and goals.

Too Much Too Soon

Giving your outsourcing team too much too soon and thinking that it’s just going to magically all get done. Outsourcing tasks is a learning process for both you and the outsourcing team. The team needs a bit of time to figure out the most efficient way to do their appointed tasks. Give them that time and you will reap the benefits.

Set and Forget

So many times, I hear business owners just set their outsourcing team on their way but without any follow-up and without any directions, no difference to a team onshore. You’ve got to manage them similarly. Set up regular meetings with the team to check up on progress as well as to get feedback.

Lack of Communication

This is where business owners fall down when it comes to outsourcing. Ensure that you are constantly in touch with your team. There is absolutely no reason not to do this since today’s communication is so much easier and accessible.

So those are the five (5) main reasons why outsourcing fails when it comes to those business owners wanting to outsource.

I’m James Short, looking forward to speaking to you soon.

Mar 15
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Scaling Up Your Business Through Outsourcing

By Blogpost, challenges, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, management, outsourcing, stress, Success

In the course of business, our constant goal is to grow and expand. If the business is doing well, then we can consider scaling up our business. But how do we do it in a way that still leaves us enough time for other things that are important in our lives – like family? This is where outsourcing comes in. And how do you start the process?

Business Evaluation

Entrepreneurs initially take on most of the roles in a company or business, and some businesses even start out with a team of one person.

The demands of running a business are massive. Scaling up means more opportunities, but it also means more work and more responsibilities. If you’re planning on scaling up your business, it means you need to start delegating.

List down all the tasks that you don’t have time to do or do not want to do. You can include tasks that you do not have the skill set to do. Rate those tasks based on how much time you are spending on them and how much it would cost for someone else to do them. These can be data entry jobs, graphic design, social media management or inventory management.

Tasks to Outsource

While it is very tempting to just outsource all the tasks that you do not enjoy doing, some need to remain in house. Take a look at your list and pick out which tasks are valued less but take up a lot of time to accomplish. Pick out which ones you do not have expertise on or those that you do not have the right skill set to perform.

Once you have decided which tasks or roles you want to outsource, come up with a detailed job description on what needs to be done. Specify what type of business you are in, what tools you are using and what needs to be accomplished.

Vague job descriptions may become an issue. You have to specify the duties and responsibilities of each person, and each position. More importantly you need to show how the task fits in the general order of running the business.

Research Before Hiring

It has become easier to find freelancers and independent contractors online. This is a positive point in favor of outsourcing. It allows you to hire workers from almost anywhere in the world. But the industry has a low barrier of entry, there are unqualified contractors who are able slip through the cracks.

You need to hire contractors that have the right skill and the right attitude for the job. Do your research and ask other business owners for recommendations or referrals. Check with reputable agencies or online platforms – these already have a system in place to screen contractors.

Do you want to learn more? Let me take you through the seven (7) steps to outsourcing. Simply comment below “I’M IN,” and I will send you through the details.

Mar 12
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Advantages of Outsourcing Your Business

By outsourcing, Entrepreneurship, Food for thought, Human resources, management, opportunities

In my previous posts I often stress the importance of finding your genius. Finding what it is, that lights the fire in you and makes you want to go through your day. We all have that. We all have a task that we look forward to doing.

You may like talking to your clients, and building a relationship but you may not like preparing the paperwork, or working on email follow ups. Whatever it is that enables you to maintain your flow, keep doing it. Stick to your genius – and outsource the rest.

 

Benefits of Outsourcing

I have been outsourcing for several years and let me tell you, the benefits of outsourcing are massive. I discussed some of these in the Power of Outsourcing. Let me add a few more details:

  1. You can delegate tasks and focus on what lights you up. There are tasks that I do not enjoy doing, but are necessary for the business to run smoothly. Outsourcing allows me to delegate these tasks and concentrate on doing what I do best. It gives me time to connect with clients, to talk, and listen. It gives me time to be present.
  2. You save on costs. In any business, the goal is to bring down operating costs and increase revenue. When you outsource, you do not need to pay for utilities. You do not have to rent an office. You are able to save on costs when these are taken off the expense list.
  3. You have less concerns to attend to. You do not have to worry about equipment breaking down. If there’s a problem with the computers, the power or the internet, they’ll be the one to sort it out. All of these get taken off your plate when you outsource. Have you ever used a self-cleaning oven? It cleans itself and all you have to worry about is what you’re cooking. It’s the same way when you outsource. You concentrate on the actual tasks, all the rest are taken care of.
  4. You have more time for other things. Our lives are so much more than work, work, and work. Spend time with your family. Pursue that hobby. Have fun with friends. Go out on vacation. You have to have time for other things, and outsourcing allows you to do that.
  5. You have a wider pool of candidates to choose from. Outsourcing allows you to hire globally. Because of the difference in our currency rate, you can hire candidates with the same skills for a lot less than if you are hiring in-house locally. I’m not saying that you go and hire the cheapest one you can find. It is important to make sure that the team you hire have the necessary skills in order to do the job well. Find a team that you know will have your back, and take care of the business like it’s their own.

So what do you think? Is it time to outsource? If you want to learn how to outsource your business, comment outsource below or get in touch and I will give you the link to our webinar. Let us help you really grow your business.

Jan 15
Love0

Outsourcing: Stories and Lessons Learned

By outsourcing, management, opportunities, Success, Time Management, Work Life Balance

You’ve probably heard your colleagues and friends talk about outsourcing. So what is it? And what is the power of outsourcing.

Challenges in Outsourcing

I’ve been outsourcing now for close to 10 years now, and it’s pretty powerful. I personally have a team of 10 and our other business, Support Zebra Australia, has a staff of close to 300. Outsourcing has also really helped out our own personal clients leverage their time.

I want to share with you some of the stories.

It never used to be that way, never used to be with all these team members behind us. We’ve got the scars, we’ve had the opportunity where we’ve taken on staff before – overseas – and then just the overseas staff just went missing in action.

We’ve gone through the journey of, you know, of trying to recruit, trying to train, trying to maintain and the wheels have fallen off.

But, why do we outsource? What’s the power of outsource?

How do you Outsource?

Basically if you want to increase your productivity, if you want to increase your own time – personal time off – if you want to save money or you want to make more money, outsourcing is an amazing way to do it.

Now, what happens is that, if you’re wondering where do I start? Where do I go?

Well, you know the good thing is that I’ve put together these amazing webinars to help you answer these questions. You can check out my website or chat with me directly – and yeah, let’s talk and discover how to solve these challenges together.

You can also register to my 7 STEPS TO OUTSOURCING and learn how to scale, profit and leverage your team through outsourcing.

The benefit of outsourcing is really – if you’ve got things that are ongoing, mundane recurring tasks that you go – you know what? Someone else should really be doing this.

If you’ve got tasks that, if you’re looking at your hourly rate, and you know – you know what, someone else should be doing this. Or if you need to be focusing elsewhere in your business, and you know that this part of the business needs to get done by someone else – this is a perfect opportunity to learn how to outsource.

How to really get the most out of your team? How to really drive that productivity so you can really be focusing on what you do best?

Benefits of Outsourcing

I’ve got a number of clients that go through this process and what they’ve realized is that they’ve got back to client-facing activity, rather than getting stuck into the mundane of emails, admin and that kind of stuff.

These clients actually gone back to meeting with their clients. They’ve gone back with meeting new prospects and opportunities. They now have gone back into face-to-face, telephone work, so they can build those relationships and have someone do behind the scenes.

So if you want to come along, check out this upcoming webinar. Just type in outsource below and I will give you the details. Love for you to come along.

Learn something, learn what we’re up to, learn on how we can assist you to outsource so we can help you really grow your business.