SUBJECT: Outsourcing Lesson #3 - Ways To Outsource

{!firstname_fix}

In today's lesson we will be talking about finding ways to
outsource for your business.

I am assuming that since you signed up for this short course
that you have been considering outsourcing but chances are that
you don't know what parts of your business you should outsource
and have little or no idea where to start?

Well you will be glad to know that in almost every business
there is the opportunity to outsource at least a few of the
general tasks performed. In some businesses there may be the
possibility of outsourcing the majority of the common tasks
while in other businesses there may only be the opportunity to
outsource one or two of the common tasks. In either case
outsourcing can result in a lightened workload as well as an
increase in profit.

The first step in finding ways to outsource is to take a really
close look at the daily activities you perform when tending to
your business. Make a list of each of these activities and note
any related activities that are typically performed in
conjunction with each other. Making this note is important
because activities which are typically performed together should
either be outsourced together or remain as in-house activities
together to maintain the highest level of efficiency.

Once you have compiled this list of activities, carefully
consider which activities can easily be performed by another
person and which activities require your personal attention.
This will give you a good idea of which activities you could
outsource and which activities would not be good opportunities
for outsourcing.

Finally, review your list of activities and note how long it
takes you to perform each of the activities you could outsource.
This information will be helpful later if you decide to search
for a candidate to complete these tasks.

After you have carefully examined your daily activities, it is
time to prioritize these activities. Create a comprehensive list
of all of your daily activities in their order of importance.
For this list include both the activities requiring your
personal attention and the activities which can be outsourced.

When you make your decision to start outsourcing some of your
daily tasks, start with the highest priority on the list which
you believe can be outsourced. Attempt to outsource this task as
a test to determine whether or not outsourcing will work for
you. If you decide you are comfortable with outsourcing and that
it is working for your business, you can continue down the
prioritized list attempting to find those capable of handling
your daily activities.

We have already discussed the importance of evaluating your own
daily tasks in the process of finding ways to outsource but it
is also important to consider tasks completed by your staff
members. Administrative tasks are often tasks which can be
outsourced so examining these tasks will give you a good idea if
you can increase the efficiency of your administrative
assistance by outsourcing some of their responsibilities.

Activities such as data entry, transcription and other
activities often handled by personal assistance are all example
of activities which can easily be outsourced. Additionally,
there is a great deal of qualified candidates available to
fulfill these tasks. The industry of virtual personal assistants
has become a booming industry with many savvy entrepreneurs
offering their skills in these areas as a consultant.

Before starting to outsource daily activities, you should
develop a plan for managing all of your outsourced activities.
This plan should include the following:

- Method for selecting candidates to handle outsourced work

- Method for overseeing work performed by independent contractors

- Method for evaluating the work performed by independent
contractors

Once you have your plan in place you will want to start looking
for professionals that you can hire to outsource your work to.
The best place to get outsourcing professionals is on online job
sites. Here are a few places that you can begin your search in
no particular order.

oDesk - http://www.odesk.com
eLance - http://www.elance.com
GetAFreelancer - http://www.getafreelancer.com
EUFreelance - http://www.eufreelance.com
Guru - http://www.guru.com
PeoplePerHour - http://www.peopleperhour.com
LimeExchange - http://www.limeexchange.com
RentACoder - http://www.rentacoder.com
GetACoder - http://www.getacoder.com
ScriptLance - http://www.scriptlance.com

On each of these sites you will find various job categories.
When you have a particular work requirement, all you do is post
your project in the relevant job category and people who are
interested in accomplishing the task for you will apply and make
their bids for the job. While each site is different the concept
is simple, and because the people who apply are genuinely
looking for work you can be sure that you will receive plenty of
capable applicants to choose from.

That's it for today's lesson. In your next lesson we will be
talking about how to outsource business tasks without
being taken advantage of in the process. 

To Your Success,
YOUR NAME
YOUR LINK