Archive for the 'offshoring' Category

Jul242008

Which side of the curve will you be on?

Ah, one of the things that entrepreneurs like the most - academic research.

…Well, probably not - but I an interesting study came out last year about a subject that I like to talk about a lot - outsourcing.

Last year, Princeton economist Alan S. Blinder published a research paper which concluded that up to 38 million jobs, or 29 percent, of U.S. jobs are potentially offshorable within the next couple of decades. Yes, you read that right: 38 million.

Does this mean that no job is sacred any more?

Perhaps.

Does this mean that you can expect your neighbor to be competing as much against Steve from St. Petersburg, Florida as he will against Sergei from St. Petersburg, Russia?

Maybe.

Is this the real death knell for the American middle class?

Depends.

Nothing is a birthright; not a $100,000 a year job, not two houses, not three cars, not retirement - nothing. You aren’t entitled to anything here on planet earth. You have to earn it (sometimes this gets lost on a lot of people). We have a choice as to which side of the curve we are going to be on: you can be outsourced or you can be the outsourcer.

As much lip service as there is paid to “innovation,” “continuous improvement” and “global competitiveness,” how much are you putting into practice?

For as many things as there are to be outsourced, these are the many things that you can use to your advantage as an entrepreneur or working professional. If you keep taking a step up, if you make a conscious choice each day to leverage your strengths - you will be able to not only survive but thrive in the increasingly competitive global business environment.

So, which side of the curve will you be on?

bell curve

Published
by
Adam Davis
on July 24, 2008
in globalization, offshoring and outsourcing
. 2 Comments
Jul12008

Tuesday Top 5: 5 More Reasons to Start Outsourcing - NOW

If you are still on the fence about outsourcing and making yourself more virtual, the time to get off the fence is now. Outsourcing has become more and more a part of my business and personal life in the last six months - I wonder how I ever got things done before.

I’m pulling out my crystal ball and predicting that there is going to be a growing disparity in the productivity of entrepreneurs and professionals that utilize outsourcing and those that do not. The most obvious spot that this disparity is going to show up is on the bottom line. Businesses that outsource, separate and delegate non-core functions are going to become more significantly more profitable than those that do not in the very near future.

Just for fun, I am kicking out 5 more reasons why you need to start outsourcing right now…

1. Make ‘work from anywhere’ a reality

The Four Hour Work Week need not be just the title of a book. Outsourcing should be one of the main components in your strategy to achieve flexibility and geographical freedom in your business or profession.

If you are tied to employees or an office, it’s pretty hard to manage from a distance for extended period of time. Using outsourcing service providers, on the other hand, will allow you to build your business with an inherent flexibility - you can ‘plug & play’ on certain type of projects, tasks and ongoing operations (just like when the A-Team was getting ready to get things done).

ateam

Increased peace of mind and confidence will befall you when you know you can pick up your computer and work for a few days (or weeks) from the poolside in Las Vegas.

2. Get 10 times as much done

Surprise! Surprise! Unloading tasks from your plate and freeing up your time to put your focus where it needs to be = making money. The more you focus on what you are good at, what you like to do and what makes you money the more higher your personal satisfaction will be and the better your business will perform.

Perhaps this sounds like garbled business cliche to you. Rest assured, it has rung true time and time again in my business. As my businesses have grown, there have been times where I wondered ‘where did this day go?’ It’s often hard to measure your productivity as a business owner - you are forced to wear so many hats. I feel that any advantage I can get from clearing tasks and processes out of my way (or out of the way of my company’s daily internal functions) is going to be beneficial - financially and mentally.

3. Get a global perspective

3d

Just about every entrepreneur I know is either:

a. not focused on taking advantage of the global economy or,

b. blissfully unaware of the effects of globalization on their business.

No matter what business you are in you are affected by the global economy. I think this is a good thing. Entrepreneurs that ignore or fail to take stock of this fact are in for a rude awakening; either in terms of lost opportunities or vanishing customers.

The more you think of your business as a global business, the better off you are going to be. The more you outsource, the more you will come into contact and work with service providers from across the world. When you start working with companies and individuals from countries like: India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Romania and others you will get a glimpse of what is going on around the world of global business and this will make you a better business leader.

4. Cocktail party conversation

You’ll have something more interesting to talk about at your next chamber of commerce or networking event when you start outsourcing. Gone will be the days of witty banter about the new property tax credit legislation or the donuts they served at the last event. While you might not want to gush the details of your business operations to others, you will definitely be more in tune with the market and your customers because you will have had more time to focus on it (since you are spending less time on the junk, non-value added work).

5. Intellectual growth capital

Outsourcing will force you to learn more about: communication, technology, business processes, management and will make you a better leader of your business. Combine all of these things on an accelerating path and you will have a force to be reckoned with.

Too often, entrepreneurs get caught up in ‘the now’, the actions we have to do today and lose sight of the future and what we will need to do to equip ourselves for success. Although being too busy to read and study is not an excuse, at least by living and breathing new and faster moving changes in the business world you will be able to keep yourself abreast of what is going on and stay ahead of the curve.

***

I hope you now feel compelled to start outsourcing some tasks and business processes right away. Remember: “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single breath.”

Go!

jump

Published
by
Adam Davis
on July 1, 2008
in Productivity, offshoring and outsourcing
. 2 Comments
Mar132008

30 Second Thursdays - Volume 9 - Take a Step Back if You Can’t See the Forest Through the Trees

This week brought back to striking reality for me why it’s so important for us to focus on the big picture all the time. It’s important to keep things in perspective and have your goals in clear focus. If you don’t, you simply won’t get anything done of long term consequence.

Recently, I have been preparing for a workshop we are hosting this coming Saturday. When you are singularly focused on a goal, it’s easy to let all of the small, ultimately inconsequential things bounce right off you. To have the success you desire, your prescription of focus must come with a set of blinders.

For this week’s 30 Second Thursday (shot during a break in the action at command central) I go into this a little bit more.

Published
by
Adam Davis
on March 13, 2008
in Entrepreneurship, offshoring and outsourcing
. 0 Comments
Mar62008

30 Second Thursdays - Volume 8 - Check Your Cultural and Country Biases at the Door

Most people that I talk to about outsourcing have stereotypes (maybe unconsciously) about service providers and locales. For example: “India is only good for IT and data entry work.” False. I have found fantastic outsourcing partners in the creative fields from countries like India, China.

This week’s 30 Second Thursday Addresses this critical point:

Published
by
Adam Davis
on March 6, 2008
in Productivity, offshoring and outsourcing
. 0 Comments
Mar52008

Tuesday Top 5: 5 Reasons People Don’t Delegate (and why it hurts them)

Sorry for the belated Top 5.  I was in the middle of drafting this post yesterday when something important pulled me away from my computer and, lo and behold, Wednesday was upon me!

Most of you know that I preach “do what you do best and outsource the rest.” A lot of people understand this and believe it. However, putting this into action, that is, focusing on what drives the true results (e.g. profits) in your business and delegating everything else to 3rd party service providers seems to cause a big disconnect with most small business owners and entrepreneurs.

If you cannot delegate, your business growth will be limited.  Maybe not now, but at some point in the future you will find yourself spinning your wheels.

In this spirit, the Tuesday Top 5 for this week highlights the reasons I have found for why people can’t/won’t delegate. My hope is that you might notice a few of these traits in yourself and take necessary remedial actions.

1. Control Freak-ism

You know this when you see it. This occurs when people absolutely have to be the proverbial chief cook and bottle washer in their business.  This has been expounded upon by countless gurus (think E-myth by Michael Gerber) but it is still a defining characteristic for the American small business owner.

If you always think that you can “do it better yourself,” “nobody can do it better” or “good help is hard to find” you may fall into the category of control freakism.
2. Communication Deficiency

Effective communication (I discussed this in last week’s 30 second Thursday) is a huge reason that people don’t delegate.  For someone to do something for you, they have to know what needs to be done.  If you can’t tell them what needs to be done, or what you want to be done, then it won’t get done.  Herein lies the problem:  Being able to clearly communicate priorities, tasks, processes, what decisions need to be made independently and how problems should be troubleshooted.

If you cannot pour out of your head what you want and how you want it done, you may be hitting communication roadblocks that will prevent you from getting to the next level.

3. Process Breakdown

Not having well documented processes and/or methods for performing tasks in your business will prevent you from being able to delegate and/or outsource these functions.  This is one of the biggest stumbling blocks that I see entrepreneurs trip over.  Many people get caught up in thinking that they need to develop complex flow charts and manuals in order to have effective processes.   However, I think that having a document with bullet points or numbered steps and checklists can be just as effective.

4. People/Vendor Selection

If you have been burned at all by a bad hiring of vendor selection decision, you can quickly develop an aversion to letting other people handle business tasks that are important.  Trust is important in any business relationship, whether you are delegating inside or outside your business.

I encourage everyone to carefully evaluate outsourcing providers before engaging in long term relationships.  The same should be true with employees (think 90 day probationary period).  The ultimate solution to this is to make your processes system dependent, so that you can plug in vendors or employees.  This will help mitigate (but not eliminate) your people risk.  The bottom line is that there are going to be people and vendor problems in your business, the only question is how well you can deal with it and not let it divert your focus.

5. Laziness

This one shouldn’t surprise you. How many people do you know that say things like: “nah…I’ll just take care of it myself.”  This boils down to mental laziness, and reverts back to “control freakism” in a way.  If you are mentally lazy, you won’t take the time to document what you do, what you want done, how you want it done and how you will measure success or failure.  It’s much easier, at first, to say “I’ll just do it” instead of creating a system that allows you to delegate the task to someone else so that you can focus on your core business and enjoying life.

Well, there we have it.  I hope that you can take these things to heart and evaluate them against your own practices.  Incremental improvements can add up quickly.  Make sure you stay a step ahead of your competitors and add more value to you customers by focusing on what you do best and outsourcing the rest!

Published
by
Adam Davis
on March 5, 2008
in Management, offshoring and outsourcing
. 0 Comments
Feb142008

30 Second Thursdays - Volume 6 - Look at Your Own Backyard for Providers - You May Be Surprised

There is a world full of great outsourcing service providers to help you take your business to the next level. That world includes freelancers right here in the USA. When most people think of outsourcing, they think of rooms full of brand new graduates from colleges in India or a machine shop in China.

The truth is that there is a TON of outsourcing activity going on with freelance service providers in your own backyard as well. There can be advantages to working with someone domestic, particularly on creative projects (graphic, movie, industrial design).

As long as you focus on finding the BEST provider for your needs, you will be clear on your way to more vacations (or mini-retirements) in no time.

Here is this week’s 30 Second Thursday spot to help me illustrate this point a little bit better:

Published
by
Adam Davis
on February 14, 2008
in Productivity, offshoring and outsourcing
. 0 Comments
Feb72008

30 Second Thursdays - Volume 5 - Don’t Always Focus on Cost

Outsourcing your non-core functions, tasks and processes will take your business to new heights. However, far too many people are focused on price alone when choosing a provider. I think this stems from unrealistic (read: unsustainable) price quotes from hungry providers and an overall lack of knowledge of what you REALLY need in an outsourcing partner.

When choosing an outsourcing service provider, take this week’s 30 Second Thursday message into consideration.

Published
by
Adam Davis
on February 7, 2008
in Productivity, offshoring and outsourcing
. 0 Comments
Dec292007

Am I Un-American? - You Decide 2008

American Flag

Is outsourcing un-American?

 

I can’t tell you how often I have been told that I am being “un-American” for advocating outsourcing as a means of dramatically increasing productivity and profitability.  I advocate this, in particular, for American entrepreneurs and small business owners.  So, going into 2008, I would like to set the record straight (look for my rap album to hit stores near you soon).

 

I have been charged with several counts of being “un-American”:

 

Count 1: Helping American business owners become more competitive on a national and global scale

 

Count 2: Bridging the information and cultural gap between the U.S. and rising global economic powers

 

Count 3: Encouraging American small businesses to outsource to American freelance service providers as well as to foreign companies

 

Count 4: Showing Amercian small businesses how to hire moreAmerican workers by utilizing outsourcing

 

Count 5: Helping American small business owners and entrepreneurs to spend more time with their families and enjoy life more

Gavel

 

To all of the above counts on the charge of being “Un-American” - I plead GUILTY AS CHARGED.

 

There it is.  I had admitted my guilt in helping American businesses and doing my part to ensure that America continues to be a global economic power to that future generations of Americans can live progressively higher standards of living (I do want my kids to be better off than me - guilty again).

 

Now, let’s start 2008 off on the right foot…by being thankful that America is one of the best places to do business and, that 2008 is the best year in the history of mankind to be in business.

 

To all of my readers: I pledge to bring you more thought provoking and hard-hitting information than ever before in 2008.  So, strap yourselves in…it’s going to be a wild ride!

 

  

Roller Coaster

Published
by
Adam Davis
on December 29, 2007
in offshoring and outsourcing
. 1 Comment
Dec182007

Tuesday Top 5: 5 Reasons to Get a Virtual Assistant

If anybody is not yet familiar with ‘virtual assistants’, I’ll brief you, but the term is pretty much self-explanatory. A virtual assistant is simply someone that does administrative (and higher level) tasks for you from a remote location. Since technology has lowered the costs of computers, broadband Internet and other communication mediums, having somebody in a remote location doing all the little stuff that you don’t want to do can be a huge relief . In his book The Four Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss talks about how he and other “New Rich” use virtual assistants and similar means of outsourcing mundane tasks to enable them to live the lifestyles of their choosing.

This post is specifically for those of you that are not yet utilizing virtual assistants. If you are a flying solo as an entrepreneur or service professional, you will be intrigued – I promise. Without further adieu, I am going to dig a little deeper and share with you the Top 5 Reasons You Need To Get a Virtual Assistant – and NOW.

1. You will be forced to analyze which things you do that are really important

Getting a virtual assistant will force you to break down some of the tasks you do on a regular basis and chop them down into bite sized chunks. You see, virtual assistants are not magic assistants. Therefore, you need to pour out all of the things that are just in your head out onto paper. The process of doing this will help you learn how much time you spend on things you could be having someone else do. They key to having some sanity as a business owner is, at some point, being able to take a break and watch the fruits of your labor grow.

You may be in trouble (or paradise, depending upon which was you look at it) if you discover that you can have virtual assistants take over your entire business day. If this is the case, fear not. You just have that much more upside potential to keep adding value to your customers.

2. You will have a fresh perspective on how you organize yourself and your workload

Once you begin working with your virtual assistant, and you realize which activities you do that are core to your business, you will be much more organized and focused. Trust me, almost every business owner feels bogged down in the minutiae at given times throughout the day. When you can clear some of the crap out of your day, your mind feels liberated and your productive juices get flowing. You will be free to concentrate your energy on the most important things

Achtung! (that means ‘Warning’ for those of you non-German speakers and non U2 fans). Don’t use a virtual assistant as a means of letting yourself wander into the entrepreneurial abyss. Make sure you get crystal clear about your goals and objectives before delegating like crazy.

3. You can work from anywhere – and so can they

If you hire an assistant and they have to come into your office, chances are you are going to have to show up a great deal of the time to manage that person. This further chains you to your office and doesn’t allow you to spend as much discretionary time as you want (read: out getting more business or having fun – or both). When you set up for a virtual assistant, you are focused on ‘deliverables’, the end product. Does it really matter to you that the person works in their underwear with a Bloody Mary in their hand at 5:30 a.m.? Well, it might, but let’s just assume you aren’t going to know either way. You just want the work done, and done well, on time and on budget.

It helps if your virtual assistant is friendly, I’ll give you that.

To put it as simply as I can, virtual assistants give you more flexibility to get the things you want done. Flexibility is one of the most necessary attributes of being successful in business – and in life.

4. Your communication skills will increase exponentially

Most people are bad communicators. Gasp! Yes, I said it. We all need to work on our communication skills. Most problems in the world are problems of information and communication, or some combination of the two. How many people do you know cannot put clear and concise thoughts into an email? How many people do you know that cannot leave enough of a voice mail to get what they want? (think: leaving a call back number, reason for calling, etc).

When you work with a virtual assistant, your communication skills will rocket to the next level in a heart-beat. You will be amazed at how quickly and easily you will be able to put your thoughts and words into actions that get results. Working with a virtual assistant will help you utilize email, voice mail, telephone, instant messenger and collaboration software (Go To My PC, WebEx, etc). more effectively.

5. You will realize how fast you can leverage your virtual assistant to help you GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Surprise, surprise! Yep, growing your business is perhaps the best benefit of having a virtual assistant. You see, once you learn how to break down tasks and processes to have someone do remotely, typically for lower cost than “in-house” (think avoiding payroll taxes and extra office space and equipment versus offshore – though offshore works very well also), you will see unlimited growth opportunities for your business. You can leverage a virtual army, if you want, to vault you into the top tax bracket.

So, what are you waiting for? To get started finding a virtual assistant check out the following sites:

www.elance.com – A great site that connects you with freelance professionals and outsourcing companies globally

www.guru.com – Another great site that that connects you with freelance professionals and outsourcing companies across the world

www.craigslist.org – The biggest and most popular online classified site

I have found great virtual assistants, outsourcing service providers and free lance professionals on all of these sites. Dig in and get going.

Cheers!

Published
by
Adam Davis
on December 18, 2007
in offshoring and outsourcing
. 0 Comments
Dec132007

How Flat is Your World?

Disclaimer:
Many of you know that I am a big advocate of outsourcing. Having co-founded an accounting and tax return outsourcing company, I have been known to expound on the virtues of outsourcing for small and medium sized businesses from time to time. If you are a Lou Dobb’s fan, you may want to take a sedative before you read this post.

With 2008 rapidly approaching, I think it is time for every business owner and entrepreneur to take stock of how flat their world is. By ‘flat world’ I am referring to the analogy of Thomas Freidman’s 2004 book, The World is Flat, where he likened the growing inertia of globalization to the world being “flattened”, or shrunk to the point that country borders are less and less relevant through technology and business and commerce freely flow between businesses and individuals across the world.

If you are a business owner, taking stock of how flat your world is could involve asking yourself the following questions:
-What tasks, processes and/or systems am I currently outsourcing?
-If I am not currently, am I moving in this direction quickly?
-How am I leveraging global resources to maximize my profits and boost my productivity?
-Are my competitors beating me because they are better allocating their internal resources?

Answering these questions will help you determine if you are staying in front of the globalization curve or not. If you are behind the curve, the news is good: the time is ripe to jump in.

You might be asking: “What if I am just a single entrepreneur and I don’t have anything to outsource?” My answer to this is simple: everybody has mundane and routine tasks that add little or no value that could be outsourced to free up time and make for a clearer focused business model. Look at things like: scheduling, bill payment, book keeping, order fulfillment, website maintenance, and promotional materials and so on. Just look for a few minutes and you will find an aspect of your business that will benefit from globalization.

Does flattening your world always mean that you are going to outsource to India? In a word; no. In fact, I outsource quite a few of my business processes to freelancers here in the U.S. The flattened world also means making you closer to those across the U.S.
The flatter your world is, the more adaptable you are to change and the more scalable your business is.

Published
by
Adam Davis
on December 13, 2007
in Business, Entrepreneurship, offshoring and outsourcing
. 0 Comments