Outsourcing - Finding Labor (2 of 4)
Securing a reliable source of labor is the first obstacle to outsourcing. There are many different potential sources of labor, although they are usually dependent upon the work you are trying to outsource. You must also realize that there will be some time investment on your part to find good labor. This post will aim at helping to minimize that time investment by giving you some resources to start your search.Advantages of Virtual Labor
There are some significant advantages to outsourcing your work to virtual assistants. These advantages translate to lower costs and a wide selection of skills than what may be available locally. Virtual assistants have a varied spectrum of skill sets and abilities, along with a comparable spectrum of associated costs. Low cost labor is a great option to delegate menial, repetitive tasks that are easy to communicate. Complex projects that require advanced skills will cost more, but may still be cheaper than what can be in your local labor pool. Here are some major advantages to using virtual labor:
- Low cost. You will be able to utilize labor in third-world counties that have low costs of living.
- Minimize facility space. Virtual assistants work in their own offices, so you do not need to invest in space to grow your business.
- Wider available skills. The global labor pool is MUCH larger than what is available locally.
- Streamlined hiring process. Many virtual assistants work through staffing companies, which makes bring on new employees easy.
- Task based options. Some virtual assistants charge by task, which can be cheaper if you use them infrequently.
With all these advantages, it is definitely worth looking into outsourcing labor via virtual assistants. The concept of employing VA’s was a major mindset for me when developing my business plan. Normally I can only dedicate 10-15 hours per weeks on activities related to my business. This severely limits the type of projects I can work on. However, with VA’s I can confidently take on additional workloads, and use my time to manage their labor. My 10 hours of managing can turn into 40 hours of applied work.
Interested in finding a virtual assistant?
Finding a reliable and trustworthy virtual assistant can be a challenge. Keep in mind that you may have to work with several people before you find a winner that is worthy of develop a long-term relationship. The process of recruiting a VA may become frustrating, but it will pay dividends in the long-run if you are persistent. Here are some resources for finding VA’s:
- Craigslist. Look globally for companies and individuals looking for work.
- Elance.com
- RentACoder.com
- AgentsOfValue.com
- iFreelance.com
- GetAFreelancer.com
- GetFriday.com
Stay tuned, the next post in this series will address the challenge of how to manage and communicate effectively with outsourced help.
Outsourcing: Series Overview (1 of 4)
Income Generation Series: PPC Campaigns
Income Generation Series: Informational Products
Outsourcing - Execution (4 of 4)
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Comments
Stan,
You raise a very good question. I will address this questions, and any others, at the end of the series in a Q&A post.
Short Answer:
I would recommend using staffing companies if you are concerned about what the IRS would say. That way you can avoid the whole PayPal route, which is a bit fishy to being with. Also, check out my post in this series about managing the labor. Using a groupware platform, you should be able to accumulate a detailed history of the work completed. This should help if the IRS comes knocking. I am going to do some digging to find some more detailed information. Stay tuned!
[…] you’re the executive. So why don’t you have an assistant? Why aren’t you working with an assistant who can take some of the daily work off your desk and out of your computer so that you can be freed […]
Virtual Assistant Networks are excellent sources for finding reputable, reliable and professional Virtual Assistants. A VA should be considered as a partner for your business, somewhere who is there to help and assist and further your business, not just ‘take orders’ to get the work done. Searching on Google should bring up many of the VA networks for you - my own is at http://www.vadirectory.net - it’s exactly that, a directory of VAs.
True VAs are business owners in their own right and usually specialists in their particular niche, such as wordprocessing, transcriptions, translations, desktop publishing and heaps of other things. It is very rare that one VA can do it all.
There are times when VAs may need to be in your own region, especially if you’re someone who runs workshops, seminars and need help setting these up.
I would be happy to answer questions on the industry, having been with it since its birth in the mid 1990s.
Hey,
I’ve been hesitant to outsource work to foreign places mainly due to proving my expenses come tax time. Will you be explaining how to go about this?
My concern is I think it will look very fishy to the IRS if you are sending large paypal payments every week to some guy in India. In our case the person is actually doing work but from the IRS perspective it might look like we are trying to dump money to avoid US taxes. For all they know, we got some friend out there we are just sending cash to, to lower our expeneses.
What steps/methods are there to prove your expenses on outsourced work? I don’t think a simple Paypal transaction print out will suffice.
Also, I’m really liking how you are approaching internet marketing from a true biz perspective. I’ll keep checking back.