In this episode hear about the three questions I am most commonly asked by people who are considering getting into outsourcing. 

So the questions are these:

Alrighty so this is the question that gets me fired up.  I’ll step you through the conversation:

Person: James, will outsourcing save me time and money:

Me: Is saving money the most important thing when you’re considering outsourcing?

Person: Yes

Me: Well then, yes, you can use outsourcing to save you money.

Person: Oh, so what, you export jobs off to a third world country and steal jobs from worthy Australians (or wherever).

And that’s where I stop the conversation, because the person doesn’t understand outsourcing and they can’t be bothered learning about it.

I’ll make it very clear:

One of my best freelancers is an engineer.  She earns more per hour working as an assistant for me than she does as an engineer in the Philippines.  If I was to employ an engineer in Australia above their standard hourly rate could I afford it? No way!

This is exactly the reason why outsourcing is allowing people to get their projects up and running.  Previously people would have tried to do things themselves or they would have shelved the project totally.  Why?  Because they couldn’t justify paying local prices to have their project completed.

It’s horses for courses.  Different people want different things and that’s how outsourcing work can help.

Right, now that that is out of my system I’ll move onto the second question:

How do I find one freelancer to do everything for me?

Well, to be honest, you don’t.  That is an unreasonable expectation.  However, if I break it down a bit, I get to the root cause of the question: often people don’t want to have to go to the trouble of managing multiple people and THAT is a perfectly reasonable objection. 

My solution would be to find your version of my Joan.  I can make Joan my one point of contact and delegate everything to her.  We stay in touch by skype every day so she knows exactly what is going on.  These days Joan is able to manage my other freelance team members and ensure that everything comes together.  You CAN find freelancers with these skills and let me tell you – it’s amazing.  It allows you to spend more time on other productive pursuits or sip coconut water on the beach.

There are two downsides to this though:

Saying that though, the final benefits outweigh the downsides, so you CAN have one freelancer do it all for you.

The final most commonly asked question is: “is it worth my time and effort”?

In my opinion and my experiences, yes.  Of course, if you’re trying to get a freelancer to cure cancer or design a nuclear bomb, then outsourcing might not be for you.  And if you’re designing a nuclear bomb I’m really disappointed.

I have had so many positive experiences with outsourced workers that I just wish I started earlier.  I have made some great friends who started off as my freelancers.  I visited my team in the Philippines and got to know them.  I have helped unemployed and under-employed people all over the world – including plenty in my own city. 

Yes, outsourcing is worth the time and effort.  If you do it properly and take advice when it’s offered, you can have a very effective and efficient workforce of people committed to helping you realize your dreams, as long as it’s not a nuclear bomb.

Outsourcing can allow you to save time and money.  It can allow you to buy time so you can spend extra hours developing a project, with the grand kids or travelling the world.  Having freelance workers can assist you in shaping the lifestyle of your dreams.

Thanks again for listing to the Outsourcing 101 Podcast.  I hope this information has been interesting and revealing.  Next episode we’re talking about how to manage freelance workers so be sure to subscribe for that one.