The Truth About Outsourcing [hmmm...]
Dear Yoga Teacher,
Today I’d like to talk about the truth about
outsourcing, staffing, and getting help with your
business…
… whether you are hiring a maid, a web designer,
or a receptionist.
MYTH: successful people hire others to do all the
work they hate.
FACT: successful people have simply learned to love
and value tasks they originally hated.
MYTH: if you have enough money, it’s easy to make
money… you need money to make money.
FACT: 4 out of 5 businesses fail in the first year. Lack
of money is not the cause. Lack of planning is.
MYTH: you can outsource your life so all you have to
do is check your email and watch the money roll in.
FACT: staffing of any kind, is an extremely challenging
and involves skills that you have to learn.
Here’s my experience with employees:
I first started hiring staff when I was 19 years old.
I hired office help and freelance designers to do
custom projects when I was in the non-profit and
later the corporate world.
I hired people from the local newspaper. I used
craiglist.org and I even used elance.com before anyone
even knew what it was about.
And after hiring over 86 full time employees and 30
part time employees, here’s what I’ve learned:
Hiring is difficult NOT because there is a lack of talent
in the world, but because you have to be organized,
crystal clear in your direction, and ruthlessly picky
about who you allow into your life.
So what do you do?
Well, you proceed with caution. You start small, by
hiring for small tasks, part time, and then slowly if
people prove themselves, you give them more responsibility.
You’re in the yoga business, not the diamond business,
so you need to be very conservative with your spending.
If you get a funny feeling about a new hire, don’t hesitate
to let them know. Be honest. Tell them you feel like it’s
not a good fit. If they don’t prove to you otherwise, then
let them go as soon as possible.
A bad employee should be fired. It’s the right thing to
do for them and for you.
For your yoga business, the first thing you probably
need is a web designer. There are hundreds of thousands
of them, but you need a good one who you can trust.
Eventually, you’ll also need an assistant.
For me, I use a virtual assistant because I have too
much work for me to do alone. And at some point,
you’ll need help with other things too like graphic
design, video production, writing, and editing.
I’ve already mentioned craigslist.com and elance.com,
both great places to find staff. But if you’re new to
this and you want security and reliability, there is
a new service that my colleagues use that is highly
recommended: AGENTS OF VALUE
They provide you with a part time or full time help
for web work or administrative tasks. This is a real
person who sits in a desk in the Philippines and
helps you grow your business.
Maybe you hire them for 1 month. Or maybe you
hire them forever. But when it’s time to get help,
this is a great way to start.
Live outside the box,