Outsourcing... Any experiences?

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

I've outsourced tons of stuff from web research to web design and cold calling to small businesses... and the results are almost always directly proportional to the amount of instruction you give and the guidelines that come with the project.

Hi Michael,

This is something I'm only starting to learn... Giving good instructions and guidelines!

I've hired several writers in the past. My policy was to hire a number of them, then keep hiring the ones who did a good job to my liking...

However, I think hiring writers is relatively easy. I've been thinking for a while of hiring some kind of "virtual assistant" type of person... However, to do it right, I think I should take into account the kind of training I might have to give this person, so they will be able to do all the things I'd like them to do. (In my case, it might involve some customer relations work, sending out email broadcasts, some calendar organization, some research work, possibly liaising with other freelancers to ensure other things get done...)

The old hiring/firing line use to be "Hire slow/fire fast" but in the outsourcing world is "Hire fast/fire faster". You simply can't research candidates to death.

Yes, the strategy I use at the moment, where it's feasible, is to hire multiple people to do a similar job (e.g. write an article, create a graphic, etc.). Then, I keep using the best ones for future work, and don't re-hire the ones who weren't quite as good...

Thanks for sharing that great advice!

Best wishes!

Dien