Vishal BhatiaYou CANNOT do it all.
You know that.
Yet, if you’re like 90%+ of the people that come to us tired, stressed and fed up doing the things you know you shouldn’t be doing in your business, then you also know how hard it is to let go…
It is hard – especially if you’ve built your business from the ground up.
To begin with, it may have been just your blood, sweat, tears and enthusiasm that got your business going. You drove everything from marketing to sales, delivery, customer satisfaction and finance. Everything. You know how everything works, you know how to make sure your business keeps going. In the back of your mind, you’re a bit scared. You’re scared that IF you let go of some of your responsibilities and let other people help you then, well, you lose control. You’ll lose control, and worst of all, your business might go backwards. Frankly, you’d rather stay as you are than risk earning less than you do now.
You have to do something!
You’re working every hour under the sun, you’re stressed, your personal life is suffering and even worse, you can’t find a way to bust out of the trap you’re in and accelerate your business growth.
You know you need help, you know you need to delegate tasks, to outsource tasks, to free your time so you can once again rise above the noise and steer your business back to the rapid growth it deserves.
Your ‘picture’ may be just like this right now. It’s a challenge we see more often than anything else. And, it’s a challenge we’ve helped business owners just like you solve successfully time and time again.
So, how do you do it?
How to Hire an Outsourcer
You really have two choices:
1. You can hire people online. Websites such as Elance.com, ODesk.com, Guru.com and other similar websites can be used to find web developers, content writers, SEO experts, link builders, paralegals and many other professionals. The good thing about these portals is that they usually have feedback and reviews about a particular professional. You can then go over them to find out if the candidates do indeed have the qualifications and personalities that fit your needs.
2. You can acquire services from an outsourcing company such as us, Dedicated Developers. In this set-up, you’ll be hiring a company like us and we’ll provide the contractors. That means we take care of all the training, employee benefits, taxation etc. and you simply get the ‘man power’ and skills you need.
Plus, by hiring an outsourcing company (and not a freelance professional) – you can avoid the lengthy and time-consuming process of having to interview or find suitable candidates yourself. Instead, the company will find the candidates, they will be the ones conducting the screening and interviews (although you can conduct them as well if you want) – making things easier on your end.
But, the choice is up to you.
5 Key Secrets to Getting the Right Outsourcer Resource for You
Here are some insights to help you figure out if your prospective contractor or employee is actually the best fit for you:
1. Spend Time and Effort Up Front to Find the Most Suitable Candidate
Yes, this is the same rule whether you are looking for a full time employee or for an outsourcer.
Think of “hiring” or “outsourcing” like a marriage. You need to test the waters first, and see if that person is really the one you should be spending your life with. It’s much better to spend more time up front than ‘walk down the aisle’ too early and regret it.
2. Make Your Job Posting as Detailed and Specific as Possible
Here are some ideas to help you out:
- Make the ad as specific and as detailed as possible. Discuss the things that you’ll need (if and when they’re accepted), the duration of the job, when to start – and all other details to ensure that candidates actually understand what you’re really looking for.
- Mention the qualities and traits you’re looking for in a worker. You can also mention some of your qualities as well, just so that the candidate will have an idea of the type of person he or she will be working for.
Remember: you need to make your job postings interesting and detailed, if you want to actually find those people who can actually help you out. After all, chances are, there are also others, who, like you, are looking for their own “superstar contractors” to help them out. And just like in marketing – you’ll need to convey your message clearly and effectively – in order to stand out from the crowd.
3. Go Beyond the Interview Stage
Take note: it doesn’t mean that since a particular candidate has “aced” the interview, that he or she is automatically the one for you. With the advent of the Internet, there are hoards of materials that people can use to become the best interviewees in the world. In some instances, some would have good writers do their resumes for them. So, to be safe – you need to actually make your choice based on other requirements (aside from the interviews you’ve conducted).
4. Look for People With Drive and Resourcefulness
The last thing you need is an outsourcer who sits back and take’s it easy on your time! Rather, you need a resourceful, go-getter who goes all in, and makes the best use of time and comes to you when they need to.
5. Don’t Hire a Candidate for the Long-Term Without at Least 30 Days ‘On-the-Job’ Experience
Regardless of how efficient a candidate may seem to be in the early days you need to have an “engagement period” for your ‘marriage,’ aka: long-term commitment.
It’s very common for an outsourcer to tick all the boxes and then once on the job do well at first and quickly ‘nose dive’ into a ‘disaster’… By entering into your outsourcing deal knowing you’ll have a ‘trial’ period you’ll get the chance to see how they really perform… By outsourcing tasks first during this 30-day period – you’ll get a glimpse of how effective a particular candidate really is.
Final note:
And finally, make sure you take care of your outsourcers!
“Superstar contractors” are in high-demand and once you find them you’ll need to keep them happy to motivate them to stay with you.
Just remember: with the right business strategies, the right mindset and the right people working with you – there’s no reason you won’t be able to free your time, end frustration, get out from under the tasks you ‘hate’ doing and release the chains of your business, so it can grow, and your profits and income with it.
