The freelancer’s guide to outsourcing

When you quit your job to go freelance most people will think "I am finally free", but soon you come to realize you actually don't have nearly as much freedom as you thought you would. It typically dawns on most after their first year of freelancing, "I’m not making money when I’m not at my computer, billing for my time." Even raising your rates for your services you'll find it's difficult to level up your business when you're the only one doing all of the work. This is usually where folks begin thinking "Maybe it’s time to start growing my team and scaling up." So they begin trying to outsource some work. And that’s when the trouble begins…

                                    Common outsourcing pitfalls

It's very common to slam into many of the same pitfalls that most freelancers run up against when they begin to outsource for the first time. If you've dealt with any of these, then let me tell you: you’re not alone!
               

                                              1.It’s faster to just do it myself

Most freelancers feel that almost every time they delegated a task to someone, it only took a day before their backtracking and just doing it themselves.  Sure, the task got done, but they are back in the same place they were before: working solo and stuck doing everything themselves.

                  2. The person I hired did a poor job and/or didn't deliver on time

In the beginning, a lot of freelancers have this happening constantly! A web page was not coded properly, or a PSD mockup design didn't meet the standards you had hoped for. You go ahead and pay freelancer, then they end up re-do the work themselves. Now their not only doing the work themselves, but they are also paying for it!
       

                3. I hired someone, but I don’t have enough work to keep them busy

Ever gotten so excited to hire your first virtual assistant, so you can delegate all of the low-level tasks that take up so much of my day. But then find once you bring them on, you find yourself spending even more time just thinking up things to keep them busy. Over the years, you'll learn lots of things the hard way when it comes to outsourcing and growing your team — especially as a freelancer, bootstrapping your business from the ground up. So for the rest of this article, we're going to share our key lessons we learned, to help you avoid some of the same mistakes we made.

                               Position your service as a product

Before you can begin hiring, there’s a lot you must do to prepare. If you want to grow beyond just a one-person operation, it will require a fundamental shift in the way you approach your work, and your business.

Coming directly from our own experience as a once green start up we strongly advise freelancers who are looking to scale up, to move toward productizing your service. Were not saying go and build the next big software product. That’s a huge leap to make, and will require lots of experience in order to gain traction. But positioning your service as a product is a much smarter first step toward growing into a more scalable business model, which can ultimately be run by a team. When you productize your service, what you’re really doing is establishing predictability.

You’re going from taking on projects of different shapes and sizes, implementing all sorts of different solutions for different types of clients, to a more predictable, repeatable service. The more you deliver the same service, the more predictable the process is, and the easier it will be to train a team to carry out some (or all) of the tasks. It wasn't until I productized my service that my struggles to keep my employees busy went away. The business had clearly defined processes that needed to be carried out on a weekly basis, so it made sense to hire (and keep) people for these jobs.

         

                                                Document processes

Documentation is one of the most important things you can do to help your business prepare to grow. Without well documented processes and instructions, training and working with your first teammates it will always be an up-hill battle.

In the beginning, when you start outsourcing for parts of client's projects to a freelance web developer or designer, you'll go above and beyond to document exactly what you need them to do, how you expect it to be delivered, and by which date.

Over time, as you're business transitions into a productive machine of services, these documents become your standard operating procedures. These are like the engine behind your whole operation. Without your procedures, the business wouldn't run, at least not without you doing all of the work solo!

If there’s one thing you can do to get closer to being ready to hire and delegate work off of your plate, it’s documenting your process for how you work.

Here are some tips:

• Focus on the tasks that are repeatable (you do them every week, or every month);

• Start simple! Just jot down a few basic steps you take to complete a task;

• Over time, you can (and should) add more detail to your procedures. Improve them as you find more efficient ways to carry out a task;

• Add screenshots and notate them. My team finds this very helpful.

• Keep in mind, documenting procedures is a lot of work, and it will take a lot of time, especially in the beginning. But you’re investing this time up-front so that you can ultimately remove things from your plate. It’s well worth it.

Your goal is to craft procedures that will make your teammate’s jobs infinitely easier and position them for success.

                                               What will you do with your time?

Your ultimate goal as you bring on your first teammates is to free up your own time, right? So what will you do with your free time, once you've successfully delegated the tasks you used to be doing? It’s very important that you give this some thought sooner rather than later. This way you can leverage your time effectively to grow your business further. That’s how you’ll see a return in investing in hiring your team.

I see two ways freelancers can go with this:

1. You can focus more on your craft 

"Early on, I was in this camp. As a freelance web designer, I wanted to stop doing the things I didn't enjoy, like back-end coding and inputting content, and more of the things I did enjoy, like wire frames, design, and CSS. So I outsourced the things I wanted to get off my plate so I can focus more on design."

2: You can scale up and grow the business

"I eventually transitioned toward this route. As I productized my service, I no longer wanted to outsource only parts of the operation. I slowly and methodically outsourced every task in our service. Now my main role is to work on the bigger picture vision, the marketing, and helping our team work more efficiently as the business grows."

                            Common questions about outsourcing

Now let’s talk specifics. We get a lot of these questions from folks,  so lets cover them one by one.

Q: Should I hire a specialist or a jack of all trades?

A: We don’t recommend hiring a jack of all trades, or trying to ask someone to do anything and everything in your business. I made this mistake early on, and it resulted in unfocused and unproductive work. If you need development work done, hire a developer. Need a Photoshop mockup? Hire a designer. Sure it’s helpful if they have some crossover experience, but you’ll have a much more polished finish product if you have an expert specialist for each role.

Q: Should I hire locally or remotely?

A: We strongly prefer remote workers. Even though I work in an office space now and I have the room to bring in a teammate or two, I’ve always found it challenging to find the perfect fit when hiring locally. Hiring remotely opens up a worldwide talent pool to select from. Plus, you can take advantage of the worldwide contractors like GT Solutions Group.

Q: Should I hire overseas or domestic workers?

A: We have always (and continue to) work with a mixture of both. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on the role you’re hiring for. There are also some very common misconceptions. Hiring overseas in places like the Philippines and India is commonly associated with low quality, unreliable, and flaky results. I certainly have worked (briefly) with less than desirable workers, but I also found some of the best, brightest, and most talented teammates I could ever ask for overseas. Hiring domestically might make more sense if you have the budget for it and you need a teammate with a higher level of experience. It also might help in situations where the person will be client-facing in person or over the phone or skype.

Q: Should I hire contractors, part-time, or full-time employees?

A: As a freelancer working on a project-by-project basis, a temporary contractor makes the most sense. It’s easy to budget for the cost of hiring a contractor when you know exactly how much you’ll be making on the project. But as you begin to attract a consistent stream of work, or if you've productized your business, it might make more sense to transition a contractor over to a regular weekly part-time schedule. We prefer this route because we like to build a long, strong working relationship with each of our teammates, rather than constantly jump from contractor to contractor. I don’t recommend hiring a full-time (40 hours/week) until the need is there. When you’re bootstrapping, you can often make do with having a worker work 20–30 hours per week for a while. This might also be preferable for them as well, if they’re balancing other obligations like other clients, a family, or a side project.

Q: How can you be sure that a new hire will work out?

A: First and foremost, GT Solutions Group always looks for people with outstanding communication skills — no matter which role we're hiring for. A great communicator will always be a fast learner and often cares more about their work. During the hiring process, we recommend a multi-tiered interview. Start with a few questions over email to gauge their written communication style. Then move to a Skype video interview. We sometimes do two or more video interviews with candidates as we narrow down the shortlist. Another way to ensure it will work out is to start with a (paid) trial period or a trial project. Although we call this a “trial” project, we're often giving them a piece of a real project to work on, just make sure it is something low-priority. First, at least something productive will get done, and second, we'll get a sense of what they’re really like to work with when “when it counts.”

                                 

Q: Is outsourcing really a good way to grow my business?

A: Outsourcing has become a big deal in our economy. There are articles and books written on it all the time, and you can attend countless seminars and speeches on the subject. I just did a Google search on "outsourcing" and got 1,130,000 links. You can find a lot of information on this subject, and a lot of opinions on how to do it right or screw it up!

One popular way this is described is that you should decide what you are good at and outsource everything else--i.e., focus your company on your core competency, and let someone else do the rest. That logic is sound in theory, and to a certain degree in practice, but like everything else you can take it too far. The key is to understand your business and its goals and decide how outsourcing might help you attain them.

When deciding what to outsource, some things (legal services, printing, health insurance, etc.) are fairly obvious, and most businesses outsource them. Some functions are a bit less obvious, and people opt to outsource these task depending on their personal expertise. For example, if you have an accounting background, you probably keep your own books and file your own taxes. There are other things many people could--but probably shouldn't--do themselves. For example, most people could create a basic website or design their own logo, but the differences in the end result between doing it yourself and hiring a professional can be significant.

There are some crucial aspects of your business you should probably not outsource. You need to keep an eye (your eye!) on them at all times. These include cash-flow management and, in many cases, customer interaction.

Some tasks make sense to outsource initially and bring in-house later. If, for example, you aren't very experienced at hiring a receptionist, you could turn to a temp agency to hire one for you. They will charge you a premium, but for that you get significant value--they will understand your requirements, advertise for people, screen them and place them at your site with no risk to you. If they don't work out for whatever reason, you just call the temp agency and tell them to send someone else. When you find the right person and decide you want them long term, you can pay the temp agency a fee and make them a regular employee (i.e., transition from outsourced to in-house).

While the above scenario is common, you don't have to consider outsourcing until you have enough work for an employee. One advantage of outsourcing is flexibility--it can be a lot easier to cut back on a vendor than an employee. Think of how you would feel if you had to tell an employee who is dependent on her job that you only need her half-time now. Another advantage is that you don't have to become an expert in a particular area--you can depend on the outsourced company to be the expert, as in the above website/logo example.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of outsourcing is its ability to save you money. This will, of course, depend on the size of your company and what specific tasks you outsource, but in general, if you think it through, you can save money. For example, my company outsources its IT services (help desk, computer support and maintenance), and we pay significantly less than we'd pay for a full-time IT person to give us the same level of support. We also outsource our bookkeeping and office administration, with similar savings. As we grow, we'll continue to reevaluate these decisions--it may be that the business case for the IT outsourcing remains good as we grow but that we might eventually hire someone to offload other work from our current people, and since we would be paying them anyway, we could get them to do the bookkeeping as well.

One disadvantage to outsourcing is that you are putting part of your company in someone else's hands. You have to ask yourself if you can trust them, if you think they'll stay in business and if they can adapt to your growing and changing needs.

The best advice I have is to carefully think through each function in your business and figure out which tasks make sense to outsource.then just try it! In most cases, common sense will see you through.

                                    

   

Outsourcing, offshoring: The good, bad and ugly!

President Barack Obama wants to make it less attractive for U.S. companies to ship jobs overseas. "We have a huge opportunity, at this moment, to bring manufacturing back (to the U.S.)," Obama said in his State of the Union address last week. "We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it. So let's change it."

Under Obama's proposal, U.S. companies that move business abroad to take advantage of favorable tax rates would no longer get a tax break to do so and would have to pay a minimum tax on their overseas profits. Obama also proposes tax credits to help U.S. companies move production back to the States and aims to reduce their tax rates, especially for high-tech manufacturers.

William Henson, partner in the International Tax Services Group at Chicago-based Plante Moran, said Obama's proposal offers "quite a few incentives for business operations in the U.S., many of which are a continuation or expansion of familiar tax incentives." But Henson added that he is not sure Obama's proposal to discontinue giving companies tax deductions for closing U.S. factories and moving them overseas will effectively change taxpayer behavior.

"The reality is that there are a number of non-tax reasons a business would look at locating outside the U.S.," Henson said. "A taxpayer incurring moving costs is already paying a price. Denial of a deduction will increase the after tax cost of the move but it's not clear that would be sufficient to change a taxpayer's decision when there are other factors compelling the move in the first place."

But without such tax breaks, some companies turn to outsourcing — farming out a specific task — or offshoring — moving a plant or operation to save money or gain efficiencies — processes that have grown gradually in the last 30 years.

                                                 

                                               

So what is out sourcing?

Outsourcing has become a major trend in human resources over the past decade. It's the practice of sending certain job functions outside a company instead of handling them in house. More and more companies, large and small, are turning to outsourcing as a way to grow while restraining payroll and overhead costs. How can you make it work for your business?

First, make sure the company you're hiring can really do the job. That means getting (and checking) references. Ask former or current clients about their satisfaction with the client. Find out what industries and what type of workload the firm or individual is accustomed to handling. Can you expect your deadlines to be met, or will your small business's projects be pushed aside if a bigger client has an emergency?

Also, make sure you feel comfortable with who will be doing the work and that you can discuss your concerns and needs openly. Ask to see samples of work if appropriate (if you're using a graphic design firm, for example).

One outsourcing option is to hire independent contractors. Instead of hiring an in-house bookkeeper, for example, you might outsource the job to an independent accountant who comes in once a month or does all the work off-site. Independent contractors can be more flexible and lower in cost than outsourcing firms. As with outsourcing firms, however, before hiring an independent contractor, make sure the individual you use can do the job.

If your outsourcing needs are handled by an individual, you're dealing with an independent contractor. The IRS has stringent rules regulating exactly who is and is not considered an independent contractor. The risk: If you consider a person an independent contractor and the IRS later reclassifies him or her as an employee, you could be liable for that person's Social Security taxes and a wide range of other costs and penalties.

                   

Welcome to GT Solutions Group

We are an industry leader in providing clients with successful business outsourcing solutions.

Our goal is to reduce client operating expenses, increase cash flow, and improve their customers' experience and to meet and surpass the growing and complex needs of our clients. GT Solutions Group support essential functions including acquisition, growth, care, resolution, and retention with leading-edge technology, proven efficiency, and exceptional quality.


GT Solutions group operates a global network with the flexibility to respond to a rapidly changing marketplace, and to scale operations to meet client specifications. Our clients are empowered to successfully address immediate business needs, while enabling long-term growth.

Company Profile;

Our business strategy encompasses building long-term client relationships, capitalizing on our expert response team and leveraging our depth of relevant experience. Our growing success is largely dependent upon the efforts, direction and guidance of our senior management who have years of experience.



Our success also depends in part on our ability to attract and retain skilled employees and on the ability of our executive officers and key employees to manage our operations successfully. Our expanding work force is composed of a mature team of qualified and consultative professional personnel. Our goal is to provide enhanced services in a proactive and responsive manner, acting as a partner in our client’s business and retention rates, thus profit, through timely, insightful and proven solutions.


Additionally, we practice a corporate culture whose foundation is built on respect, cooperation, opportunity, courteous service and results.

Mission;

GT solutions Group is dedicated first and foremost to providing the highest quality of Applicants to meet the needs and demands of our clients. This will be realized both internally and externally by continuous communication and transparency between management, employees, customers and community, and by ongoing improvement of processes, systems, and technology.

Vision;

It is our intent to develop quality relationships with our employee’s, clients and the community in which we operate – making a difference with each contact we engage in through phone, email and chat. We will continually set standards of excellence, both personally and professionally, which exemplify our dedication to our goals and to the fulfillment of this vision statement.