How would you like an army of assistants working for you for as little as four dollars an hour? How much more productive would you be if all your little admin tasks were handled so that you could focus solely on the big money jobs?
These are just a few of the questions people are starting to ask if their eyes are opened to the world of outsourcing. It seems like it’s all the rage now with all the big-name gurus, specifically John Reese, coming out and revealing this as their secret weapon.
Having been outsourcing for years I can personally confirm this as an opportunity not to be missed. In fact, in my most recent Melbourne SEO Services seminar, we covered in great detail how I have built my virtual team. What surprised me most was the feedback I received from this session: It seems everyone wants to know how to outsource effectively.
John Jonas (www.jonasblog.com) also identified this opportunity early on. In fact, he was one of the first people to create a membership site teaching others how to effectively hire, manage and systematise the outsourcing process. John has gone to great lengths to uncover the extraordinary hiring opportunities in the Philippines.
Having had great success at building our own team in the Philippines, I decided to hunt John down to find out exactly what he’s learned over the years. In a recent interview, here are just a few of the questions I asked:
What specific components of your business do you outsource?
What’s the process you follow when hiring assistants?
Where do you see people going wrong when working with assistants in the Philippines?
What are the key lessons you’ve learned over the years in your online career?
Suffice to say it was a great call and as always I recorded it for you. Click here to download the MP3.
Your SEO coach,
David Jenyns
Ps. Like what you heard? Follow me on twitter and I’ll keep you up to date will more free interviews.
PPs. Want to see how John Reese outsources? Click here to Outsource Force to find out more.
I’m a freelance writer from the Philippines and for the past couple of years, I have had a number of foreign clients. Some hired me for a one-time job, others for a continuing project, usually writing articles for their sites or for their article marketing.
What I just would like to mention is that most of them do not have a detailed hiring process. Oftentimes they would come across my blog, send me an email, and within just a couple of emails they hire me. Not that I’m complaining, but after listening to John Jonas and the way he hires people, his method is more effective. Why? Because you get a guy who can work continuously on your project, giving it the continuity of the quality that you are looking for from a freelancer (or employee). In an Internet marketing point of view, I think that kind of relationship between the outsourcer and the freelancer is important for the growth of the business.
Great insight… thanks MJ.
You might also like to keep an eye on http://www.melbourneSEOservices.com we’re about to release a course that details how we outsource. It’s coming out in 2011 and might be just what you need.
Your SEO Coach,
Dave
Hi Dave,
Knowing that there is a course on how to properly outsource means that getting people to do online tasks is going to be the next big thing in terms of getting employed here in our country (after call center jobs).
That’s why I believe that this is a great opportunity to pass the knowledge to other ‘online’ employers who really need ‘outsourcing systems’ in place to get their projects up and running right away.
On a more personal note, I really hope that other online employers (in general) will really put a premium on the appropriate knowledge and skills of the candidates in ‘awarding’ the job and not just to hire their services because they can pay the rates way too low (ex. article writing of 500 words for 1 usd is way too low).
Also, that they will be more ‘results oriented’ in evaluating tasks after delegating these to their ‘online freelancers’ to ensure healthy competition in the online job market:)
For the longest time, internet marketers have focused on the idea of out tasking rather than real outsourcing. It’s about time that many more come to realize that in the long run, outsourcing long term jobs to qualified workers is more ideal.
I echo your sentiments though Nhil that, as employers come to realize the need to outsource, they also need to add more value to their offers to people who can perform well. There’s a need to demolish the notion that you can get high quality work for pennies.
I agree with the details that Jonas shared about hiring. It seems that he knows pretty much of the Filipino culture already. I can say we Filipinos are always hungry to learn new things, it’s just that our resources are at times limited. If you pour your trust on us and if you value us as employees, you will get our loyalty in return (“,)
I just hope that online employers will be fair in rewarding the toils of their VAs. (Because there are a lot who don’t, you can see unreasonable deals/offers in oDesk) They are spending time and efforts on every project given them so I believe they deserve to be paid well.