Free 16-Page Outsourcing Guide by Alice Seba

Alice Seba has just released a great little Outsourcing Guide that you can download free from her blog. It's a quick read at just 16 pages, but includes answers to some of the most common outsourcing questions, and some great resources as well.

I am a huge fan of outsourcing, and have implemented this smart business strategy for all of the 11 years I have been in business. I have hired on-site full-time employees, contracted work out to freelancers (both online and offline), and used the services of Virtual Assistants.

Still, a lot of questions can come up along the way, and there are plenty of potential frustrations to consider...

Believe me, I've dealt with my fair share of them!

I decided to download Alice's new guide on outsourcing and I was glad that I did. She addresses some common issues and offers very solid advice. Whether you are new to the idea of outsourcing tasks, or you've been doing it for years, I would highly recommend you grab a copy of this and check it out for yourself:

Download the Free Outsourcing Guide

I think one of the main issues that I have - and I am sure I'm not alone - is in managing it all. I love the idea of outsourcing daily tasks so that I am free to do what I do best. Unfortunately, that's not always the end result.

On-site employees, for example, require a little training upfront and then you keep an eye on their output for a certain period of time until you are confident they are performing up to your standards. At that point you should be free to make positive changes, and enjoy your newfound freedom to work in the areas you prefer.

Unfortunately, for some reason their productivity and the overall quality of their work tends to decline at that point (or this has been my experience with several employees). They get too comfortable with the position? They get lazy if they think you arent watching over their shoulder?

Or, just when you become 'dependent' on them they bail on you - stop showing up for work, leave to move on to another job, etc. This leaves you in a worse position than before, because you now have your new workload plus the tasks you were depending on them to complete for you.

The solution is to remove myself from the concern of those tasks, and to date that hasnt been the case with "employees". Other issues I have dealth with include client theft and confidentiality breach. This is the reason that I now prefer to hire a professional contractor or Virtual Assistant, or at the very least hire out small jobs to freelancers.

What I don't want is to end up with the "job" of managing a group of people (assistants, freelancers, etc). That is NOT what I do best, and not how I want to spend my working hours. I would much rather be working on projects I enjoy.

Alice did suggest some software for the Project Management aspect of outsourcing, which I'm going to take a look at. However, I am thinking that for me personally I might prefer to hire a Project Manager that can then work directly with assistants and freelancers...

Just some random thoughts on the topic. Again, download the guide, and feel free to leave your own thoughts or concerns in the comments section below.

Best,

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