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Perspectives on outsourcing

For a layman – or any individual who understands the concept of outsourcing in a sea-level manner – outsourcing is a complete waste of time and financial resources, and can end up with unwanted complications for a business that relies on it. The question asked by many of those individuals is, why assign work to other people if I know what is good for my own business? Or… Why delegate work to an outsourcing professional abroad if I can do as good or better right here in my own home town or country?

Do you, as a business person, feel the same way about outsourcing?

Do you believe that you know what is best for your business and therefore don’t need other individuals to deal with things that you can handle yourself, or with the help of in-house personnel?

Well, if your business is politically-based then your “yes” answer would certainly be understandable since a politician will likely view outsourcing as just a political subject that can be debated within the walls of Congress and newspapers. In this case the issue will serve as a “fortified objection” to take jobs away from your own countrymen, making your business “unpatriotic.” It is an argument which may garner a few votes for the politician in an upcoming election, but will do little to improve your business’ profits and growth.

The business of outsourcing

However, if you are not a politician, it is you the business person who will be using the outsourcing process; not the layman, and definitely not the politician. In this respect, outsourcing for business persons would be viewed as a “modern-day bonanza.” Many business men and women are aware that outsourcing provides them the freedom to dump all of their non-core – yet important – aspects of their operation by delegating that work to an individual or group of individuals who are skilled in the completion of such processes in the most efficient and effective manner.

Thus it will relieve business persons from the additional mundane responsibilities so they can focus instead on the core operations of their respective businesses. On the other hand, the outsourcing firm will focus solely on specific work delegated to them, thereby making the entire outsourcing effort a cost-efficient business effort. This aspect alone is one of the primary advantages of outsourcing.

Cost-effectiveness

Another enticing advantage of outsourcing is one of cost-effectiveness, a uniquely competitive edge that you can avail for your business. Business men and women are aware that information technology (IT) and human resource services in the United States and Europe are expensive and can affect the way they hire additional manpower in support of business expansion. Outsourcing provides an option for getting highly-productive manpower at a cheaper rate.

For instance, offshore outsourcing (or delegating such work to destinations such as India and Philippines) is a popular option for American-based businesses because of the cheaper rates paid for working in those countries. And while an American-based company would consider an average of $300 to $500 per month an unacceptable sum for this kind of work, its counterpart in India or Philippines would be quite happy with this salary range when viewed through the lens of currency conversion rates. So based on this aspect of the overall outsourcing dynamic, it is a “win-win” solution for the company you are outsourcing to, as well as for your business.

Outsourcing technology services

One convincing advantage of outsourcing which has not yet been mentioned is the saving of substantial amounts of money when thought of in terms of the development of certain aspects of your business (such as IT development). Since outsourcing involves reduced expenditures on your part, you will likely be able to maximize the value of your dollars by having your IT services developed into the latest and most powerful modern information tool.

In addition, you will also be able to avoid recruiting new personnel to handle the development as well as training them. This manner of outsourcing most certainly reduces the cost of recruitment and training for your business since the purchase of necessary technology will now be handled by the outsourcing company, thus saving money in the long run which can be used for other important business initiatives.

Your business, your decision!

It is true that there are other advantages of outsourcing, but the aforementioned are the most obvious and in-demand aspects. Avoid being misled by rumors and gossips about outsourcing, because you as the business owner would always be most knowledgeable about your business, and therefore know what is best for it. No doubt that your business will thrive or stagnate based on the decisions you make. Good luck!

Think like an entrepreneur

It’s almost impossible to be an entrepreneur if you haven’t developed an entrepreneurial mindset. Yes, you have to be able to think like an entrepreneur if your entrepreneurship is to be a success. Sometimes though, it is easier said than done, because if you have been an employee in a structured corporate environment and want to break out of it to start your own business, some retraining of the mind may be necessary.

Following is a brief narrative that relates directly to the retraining of your mind with the desired result of completely reeducating yourself in entrepreneurial thinking and ultimate self-employment in a field of your choosing, if not of your dreams.

The obstacles within

A very valuable lesson learned by many entrepreneurs is realizing that one of the biggest problems in becoming self-employed came in the form of obstacles created by themselves. In order to be a self-employed person it is necessary to start thinking like one. I was one of those entrepreneurs before I changed my way of thinking. I found myself reverting back to that nine-to-five mentality in the sense that If I wasn’t accomplishing a task every hour, then I must not really be working.

Sometimes a self-employed person has to make decisions about his/her business. Sometimes s/he is just thinking about a solution to a problem. Sometimes s/he just has to quiet his/her mind so new ideas can formulate. Just because you’re not pounding away at the keyboard or some other office gadget every minute doesn’t mean you’re not working.

Learn to ignore distractions

I’ve also learned that it’s okay to NOT answer the phone every time it rings. That’s what voicemail is for, and the same goes for email. At my nine-to-five job I would leave the email program open all day and answer each one as it arrived.

It took me a while to realize it’s okay to only check email several times a day instead of constantly being interrupted. Periodically checking your email is so much more productive than having to stop your thought process every time “you have mail.” At my other job, I was able to let a phone call roll over into voice mail, but it took me a while to be able to shut down the email too.

You’re going to have days where you feel you didn’t accomplish much. Then again, you’ll have days where you’ll feel you can conquer the world and you’ll be amazed at how much you got done. Some days you may not finish many tasks, but you’ll make a decision on a problem that needed to be addressed. Or, you will have learned a valuable lesson about yourself.

Think big picture

And, I had to learn to stop breaking down all my tasks into dollars and cents. I tended to worry about how much I was or was not earning every day. The truth is, some days you’re going to make more money than other days. If I spent my day on marketing issues, even though I didn’t earn any money from it that day, I would benefit from it some time in the future.

Rather than worry about what benefits I do or don’t have, I realized the benefit I have in my business is that I answer only to me. Everything I do will benefit me sooner or later. Instead of my income being dependent on somebody else’s budget, I can go as far as I dream.

And because I’m now doing what I truly love and not what someone else tells me to, I’m much happier and more content. I learned if you start thinking like an entrepreneur, then you’ll actually be one; And a reasonably successful one, thank you very much.

Completing the transformation

The above narrative could have been written by any one of thousands of present-day entrepreneurs who had previously been employed in a nine-to-five position and was forced to reformulate his/her entire outlook during the conversion from employed to self-employed. Some instances were voluntary while others were forced due to economical circumstances, but in all instances the mindset had to be changed.