Outsourcing for Profit

With outsourcing it doesn’t really matter if you’re just starting out or you’re already an established online business. Outsourcing can become a massive leverage point for you and your online business, but only if you go about setting it up in the right way.

Laying the right foundations is critical…

Here’s why..

If you just jump into this thinking, I need a few videos creating then uploading to YouTube. Great! I’ll hop on over to oDesk.com and find someone there to do it for me.

Then the next day you think, now I need the video submitting to all the major video hosting sites, so back to oDesk again.

The day after that you think it’s time to do some market research, back to oDesk again.

In doing all of this you’ve hired at least 3 different people, they’re all billing you in different ways, some are charging by the hour, others are by the job. You’ve also sent over detailed instructions on what you want them to do and how you want it doing, plus spent hours answering questions.

Now you ask yourself is outsourcing really worth it? You’re probably even thinking it would have been quicker to do it all by yourself.

You’re probably right!

The foundations to using outsourcing for profit are very simple, but if you fail to get them in place you’re heading for a fall.

Outsourcing for profit step 1:

Start out by looking at what you need doing strategically.

In my previous post “” we went through my 4 point system for deciding what to outsource. Have you done it yet?

Having a clear picture of what kind of tasks and projects you want to outsource is a critical part of the foundation we’re laying down here. Because when you need something doing (like creating videos) you’ll know right away if it should be outsourced or if it’s something you should be doing yourself. Remember the idea behind outsourcing is to improve your lifestyle, which can mean only working on things you’re both good at and enjoy. Then automate and outsource everything else.

Outsourcing for profit step 2:

When you know exactly what you need to outsource you need a system in place to help you manage everything. Only a system will free your time.

There are a couple of ways of doing this, most people use email and spreadsheets to manage their projects and their outsourced workers which is fine.

However it will quickly become a rod for your back because of all the moving parts you’ll need to manage. You’ll need to track exactly which outsourced worker is doing what, how much time they’re spending, how much they’re charging you and what kind of progress they’re making with your project.

It can be a real minefield with so much to micro-manage.

The solution is to use the software application I developed called “OutVeo”. You install it on your website (so all your data is secure on your website), you add the instructions for all your outsourced projects, you bring in your workers and decide who does what. OutVeo records and manages every aspect of your outsourced projects from how much your worker is charging you, to them giving you feedback and monitoring their progress. .

Outsourcing for profit step 3:

Now we take a good look at your online business, either the one you’ve already started or the one you’d like to start.

Now it’s time to take full advantage of what outsourcing can do to not only take your business to the next level but get you off to a flying start.

We do this through market analysis… in other words we look at who your customers are and who your closest competition is. This is a very important exercise for any business to go through no matter if they’re new or already well established.

There’s always room for improvement. And outsourcing can help you.

You’ve probably heard of the term “niche” before, it’s talked a lot about just about everywhere you turn online. There have been 1,000′s of training courses on how to find profitable niches, and millions more blog posts written on the subject I’m sure.

However, looking for niches is a big mistake.

Instead identify target audiences or markets…

Another mistake that expands on this is thinking you need to find small niches, then target them and take them over with your product or service.

This is such a limited approach, first of all your audience size is likely to be very limited. Let’s say you take over that tiny niche, you’ve just hit your glass ceiling and your business won’t be able to grow any further. Now you have to go and find another niche.

This approach puts you in a weaker position especially if people’s interests in that niche change, worm farms are no longer all the rage :)

What I’d like you to do is think of your market in the broadest terms possible (otherwise known as vertical markets). For example; “weight loss”, those people looking to lose weight and improve their shape.

When you go broad the size of your market becomes HUGE, now you only need one good market to find the life changing profit you’re looking for.

With a bigger market you’re now in a stronger position, a bigger market can mean customers who will make repeat purchases from you.

There are 3 simple rules for choosing a market:

1. The market must have money to spend online

You want to target people who are used to spending money online, get this wrong and it’ll be an uphill struggle. Get it right and you’ll find making money just got a whole lot easier.

2. The market can be one you’re personally interested in (optional)

Personal interest in a market is a huge motivator when you have to work until midnight to get a project completed. I say this is optional but I recommend you only get into something you’re interested in.

3. The marker must have a wide variety of products sold by other people

If you find a broad market with few products being sold that should raise a red flag. If no-one else can sell to that audience what makes you so different? The idea is you want to be able to offer many different products to that same audience. They could be products you’ve created or other people’s products you sell as an affiliate.

If you’ve not yet picked a market it’s time to make a decision about where you’d like to go.

If you’re already in business, is your market as broad as it could be? Does it meet the above 3 criteria?

Finding markets is easy when you know how.

Just go to Amazon.com and look at the different departments that have there. ClickBank.com is another excellent place to go to find these  broad “vertical” markets. Both sites sell products so, it’s just a matter of looking for the biggest verticals to investigate some more.

Outsourcing for profit step 4:

Once you know your broad market pick a specialisation within that market. What you need to do is focus on something that’s going to separate you from everyone else and turn you in the expert.

This step is going to involve some basic internet research for your outsourced worker.

Here are 2 tasks you can have them research for you:

1. Who are the major competitors in this market and how are they monetizing their websites?
2. Compile a list of products and service already offered to people in this broad vertical marketplace.

Remember that competition is a good thing! It means there is money to made and their are other people you can joint venture with to help you secure a foothold in the market and eventually become a significant player (if this is what you want).

This final step is something everyone should be doing.

Before you get started outsourcing you’ll need a way of managing and organising your outsourced workers.

Outsourcing

Related terms: Pros and Cons of Outsourcing, Advantages of Outsourcing, Benefits of Outsourcing, Negative Effects of Outsourcing, Outsourcing Economic Impact, Outsourcing American Jobs, Outsourcing Statistics, Outsourcing Jobs to Foreign Countries