Lay ‘Em On Me
As you may already know, my Outsourcing Sweetie course has been long in the making. The launch date has been set for just a tiny bit later this month…but that’s not the point of this post.
If you’ve been thinking about outsourcing, tried it without success or just want to take it to the next level – I am here to help you at no charge and with no strings attached.
Please post ANY and ALL of your outsourcing questions in the comments area below. Anonymous questions are allowed, but I encourage you to share your Sweetie self, so I know who I’m talking to.
I’ll have your answers early next week, so keep an eye on the blog and in your email inbox! :-)
If you’ve been thinking about outsourcing, tried it without success or just want to take it to the next level – I am here to help you at no charge and with no strings attached.
Please post ANY and ALL of your outsourcing questions in the comments area below. Anonymous questions are allowed, but I encourage you to share your Sweetie self, so I know who I’m talking to.
I’ll have your answers early next week, so keep an eye on the blog and in your email inbox! :-)
25 Comments:
Alice:
OK, here's my question. I am overwhelmed with things I need to do. I can see what things might make sense to have someone do for me, however I do not yet have the cash flow sufficient to justify the expense. It seems a bit like the chicken or the egg...what do I do?
Kim Dushinski
I agree with Kim totally. I wonder about learning to manage my website on my own. I am a very small home based business.
Hi Alice, I am wondering what is the best way to organize tasks and track progress on any given task.
My helpers do a variety of jobs for me so at any given time there may be a few going as well as some running tasks such as article creation.
I find sometimes it would be nice to have a way to just click something to see what the progress is without always asking.
Any recommended software. I presently use a private forum which works very well but I wonder about security?
Thanks!
I remember a while back you mentioned somewhere that outsourcing keeps you motivated and productive. Can you explain that a bit more?
This comment has been removed by the author.
As someone who is in the business of being administrative support, how would you suggest that I market to those who need my services? I try to give my clients great service for a great price.
People seem so flighty online. They're here to help one minute and gone the next. Training new people is tiresome. How do you deal with it?
After 4 years online I recently started to outsource. I LOVE IT! I am no longer doing the things that I hate. I feel good hiring other WAHMS...keeping it in the family so to speak. I would love to outsource more, but I don't know where to look for qualified help?
I think being more motivated comes from not having to do EVERYTHING yourself. It frees more time to do the 'work' you love. I feel less stressed when I accomplish more.
Kim
Hi Alice,
I need someone that can handle my fulfillment. Currently I pack and ship everything. My Problem is I sell a lot of different items. Imagine if I sold Crayons for party's. Some people want blue Crayons, some want red and yellow, some want red, purple green crayons that are wide etc. It's Ok... because I sell all of them, but they need to be picked and shipped. There are a lot of company's that can ship one red crayon if someone wants just that, but if the want additional crayons of different colors or sizes, it becomes an issue.
Any ideas as to who would do this type of fulfillment?
Thanks!
John
Hi Alice:
My quetion is I am trying to get on different websites and Advertise my business to get it out to "Networkers" could you give me some ideas on this?? I also want to reach "MOMS" who want to build their business from home-and others who would be interested in building a network business.My business is "Send Out Cards" Greeting Cards from your computer.I just need some advice on what websites to search for and some good quotes to use-I enjoy and appreciate your emails and all the helpful hints,ideas,and information you share with me.
Thank You
Penny Marsh
VAGreetingCardDiva
I changed from Mywingstosuccess to the above, I felt if I wanted to build in the area I live-I had to come up with something for state of Va.
Hello Alice,
I currently outsource several tasks to my VA, which has worked out fantastic so far. She handles a variety of tasks that I feel I really don't need to have a "hands on" part in. However, my question would be what tasks are there (if any) that you would NOT want to outsource? I've been reluctant to outsource for example one of the main newsletters I send out, where customers have become familiar with my writings. The other task I've been reluctant to outsource is actual customer support. Is there a point where you wouldn't want to outsource things that may take away the "personal touch" or "connection" with customers, such as customer support or a newsletter?
Great questions - please keep them coming. I'm going to gather them over the weekend and put something together for all of you for early next week.
I REALLY appreciate the input and am reading every response.
I have always heard to focus on what you do best and try to outsource the rest. With that in mind, I've been looking for people to outsource the more technical aspects of my business, like web design for example. But I've also read that you should be able to update your own site and handle some of the web management duties just in case you need to make changes immediately. How can I learn more about what I need to do to be self sufficient in that department, but still benefit from outsourcing?
Hi Alice
"Me" Again
I signed up for a blog with Google-now all I have to do is enter all my information-I want to take my time and do it right. When it is done I'll let you critic it for me !!!
Thank You
Penny Marsh
Williamsburg, Va
www.VAGreetingCardDiva.com
Hi Alice,
Of all the issues home business owners struggle with, finding new customers seems to rank right up there toward #1 -- at least as the business is getting underway. What kind of services do you recommend that can be outsourced to generate new prospects and customers? Which would you say are the most effective?
======
Also, John (above) asked about a fulfillment center. I'd like to recommend http://www.tommynobiscenter.org/, The Tommey Nobis Center. Tommy was a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons years ago. Since then he has run this non profit business that is especially helpful to people with disabilities. Here in Atlanta he has a complete fulfillment center staffed with great people who live with various physical challenges. They do fulfillment for customers as large as Home Depot, and as small as "Acme Ventures" down the street. I suggest you contact them, knowing they'll do an outstanding job and that you'll be contributing to a worthy organization that really helps people.
~ Allan
Alice,
I am looking at oursourcing some parts of my business, however I also have the $$ issue. How can you go about outsourcing when you cann't guarantee a steady income... but you need steady work?
The other question I have is this, is it a good idea or an absolutely terrible idea to hire a friend to do part of the work you would be outsourcing anyway?
How do I find an out "sourcer" and what does she cost?
Jean
My husband and I have six girls, and we home school them. we started a drop shipping business three years ago. We did it all ourselves till winter of last year. We have now out sourced by looking to the home school community. Some items are very heavy so we found a young man to train and to take some of the heavy lifting off us. We also have a young lady (oldest daughter)we are training to enter and pack small orders. It has been a true learning experience for them and us.
I would like to outsource some SEO work to a VA but I am reluctant to find a VA on elance because they are mainly a freelancer site and there is little or no protection for buyers when things go wrong.
Is there a web site for VAs and buyers to get together? I would prefer to work with a company that manages their staff and provides very good service consistently rather than finding random freelancers on elance-type sites.
Thanks for this opportunity, Alice.
I currently do A LOT of outsourcing, and am thrilled to free up my time!
My biggest time-drainer, which I'd like to outsource is customer service. After people buy a product from me, they sometimes write to me with issues. Perhaps they've lost their download link or never received their DVD in the mail. Or, a hundred other things that require individual time and attention. I'm at a loss as to how to outsource this, because I'd have to train someone how to handle any one of a hundred types of issues... and my customers keep coming up with new issues! The training would be intensive, and I'd have to TRUST this person totally, or my reputation would be ruined... so I'm hesitant to even look for someone else!
Thanks:)
I am a Virtual Assistant and belong to many VA forums. There are often new VAs there that are just starting out and I have from time to time used these VAs to assist with workload overflow. My biggest question is how do I get these people to understand the value in subcontracting from me. I have offered work to many VAs (of course at a subcontractor rate) and they say they would rather wait and get a "real" client. First of all I am a real client and I am ready to hand them over the work. They didn't need to market to me as I essentially walked right up to their "door" and said hi I want your services - no marketing or costs involved.
Where are the business that one can run on a shoestring budget, that is currently tied tight, into a profitable business. It seems every company is banking on the next distributor to buy the products/business tools thus making the company richer and the distributor poorer. Where/how does outsourcing work on a shoestring budget?
All right, I have this all printed out and am going to put together something intelligent (I hope!) for all of you. ;-)
Hi Alice.
I am also at the point where I want to start outsourcing. There is just too much for one human to learn, especially while taking care of 5 kids!
I'm not sure how to go about finding the right people to do a website for me and also help me brainstorm the marketing aspects.
I also need someone for my Wordpress blogs - particularly design.
My biggest issues are scheduling and goals. I'm not the best at either one, but I'm trying to do better.
How do you determine which item to do first - when it came in, who pays more?
Also, how do you step away when something's not working?
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