Outsourcing is something I do quite abit. I have been an advocate for well over 3 years now and have enjoyed it for the most part. It’s cheap, easy and time efficient. My favorite thing about Outsourcing is the fact that I could have a heap of work to get done before work time the next morning and if I don’t get through it all, I know I can have an assistant somewhere in a different timezone finish it up for me. Take for example the one time we were handling web development, design and branding for a new website and client. I had just started out with Gen Y startup and the section of it that handled website dev/design, so I felt the need to “show the S on my chest”. I didn’t care whatever it took back then and so I hired a team from countries around the world.

The new client had a bad experience with a previous supplier and was out of time, basically needed a turnover in less than 40hrs. I blindly took up the challenge and set out on a journey that I was 100% sure I wouldn’t finish, but the pride and need to make a point made me take it on anyway. I worked endlessly on the project but after a while it was evident I was running low on manpower and strength, that’s when I sent an email to my ever ready asst. in Lahore, Pakistan. It was 2a.m. in Baltimore USA but for him, it was the middle of workday. Suffice to say, somehow the project was done and delivered and the client is still with me till today.

Outsourcing also has it’s bad, actually very bad moments as well. It’s never going to be all rosy if you are into outsourcing some work. For people who are new to Outsourcing and don’t know people/teams you can pick as your partner or outsource team, it could be ridiculously daunting. Many take the decision process lightly and that shouldn’t be the case. It’s actually more important than hiring an in-house team because these are people you don’t know, never seen and have no clue whether their background and experience is only true on paper. You don’t know their style of work and have no control over how they do the work either. A close friend learned the hard way a couple of weeks ago when she picked out a team in India and handed them the reigns on a small project she was working on. She had 3weeks to get it done and so while she worked on the design section, she outsourced some of the dev. It’s been 6 weeks and the development is only 50% done. She lost that client and isn’t sure when the work will be done. Not all outsourced projects end up this way, neither are most of the developers looking for outsourced project, so don’t misconstrue the lesson of this post. You just need to make sure you learn to do the right things when you outsource.

To do List.

1.) Go through a trusted source. Merely doing a Google search of the word “outsource” will give you several articles on where to find great employees in other countries around the world. Elance is especially a huge meeting ground for tech work suppliers and people looking to outsource.

2.) Verify the information they give you. A lot of the people looking to take your work on fake their qualifications and experience. You must verify the information they give you and make sure all that work they claim to have done are actually their hand work. E-mail previous clients, call old employers…anything just to make sure you are not dealing with liars. If they lie about their previous work to win yours, you definitely don’t want them any where near yours.

P.S. A lot of suppliers do this, because most employers fail to verify any past experience.

3.) Keep good contact. Always stay in contact with whomever you do hire. Have skype meetings atleast once a week and build a closer relationship. Exchanging emails alone is never enough. Let them know that you mean business! Set up calls about twice a week or more depending the stage of the project or the amount of work required.

4.) Demand to see updates. This one explains itself. Don’t be led to believe you are closer to the finish line than you actually are. Most people fall victim of this.

In summary, Outsourcing can save you a lot of money and time IF done the right way. So do the right things to enjoy the experience.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Difference Between Outsourcing & Offshore It Services (slideshare.net)
• To Outsource or Not to Outsource Software (startupprofessionals.com)

I have been doing quite a lot of Marketing and PR work lately both for myself and other brands/startups I am involved with. The more time I spend doing it, the more I discover unusual but very cost effective ways people are starting to get the word out. Many startups that are being run by gen-y’s don’t have the financial muscle to compete with the bigger, established companies and as a result we are always looking for ways to reach out to thousands without breaking bank.

1.) Chatroulette: As strange as it sounds, people are actually starting to use chatroulette as a way of pitching their ideas. Personally, I don’t see how effective this can be considering most people don’t spend more than 3 seconds on air before hitting “Next” if they are not keen on talking to you. On my first visit to the popular website, I left and promised myself never to return…no thanks to the 4 male genitals I saw in the space of 20 seconds. However, it does look like chatroulette is much cleaner and friendly these days. Last week when I went back on, I actually got pitched by this one really hot blonde about a vacation planning website and I must say I did go on the site during the chat. I don’t know how many people “nexted” her or how many stayed on to listen to her pitch, but it does look like something 5 out of 10 will stay to listen on.

2.) CNN iReport: Again, this is something I haven’t tried. If you own a startup whose product/service is something that will excite people or something you reckon people might like hearing about, then creating an iReport page could be a good idea. By having a profile here, you have a chance to leverage a good percentage of the millions of daily visitors on the CNN website. I have actually noticed a lot of companies doing this and gaining traction without having to spend a dime.

4.) Facebook Fan Page: With the amazing growth of Facebook over the past year or two, it’s no longer surprising to see some pages rack up as many as one 1 million fans in only a few weeks. In the past, it’s the popular brands like Dell, Coca-cola who had pages with such massive following. Lately though, random funny pages are even starting to overtake such brands in terms of number of fans. Take this page for example, and this. I have heard of companies starting to work with some of the owners of pages with such large following in a bid to leverage those fans, some are even purchasing the fan pages outright.

In the next few days, I will post a couple more ways I have discovered, but in the mean time, if you have any other ideas or ways to market a startup in cost effective fashion, do share!