New way of Outsourcing - Easy concept, high margins

[creer222]

Hello everybody!

I recognized, that in the last years more and more big companies do offshoring of IT services (mainly software development). Also some interesting new portals like www.getafreelancer.com came up where persons or companies can outsource various tasks (almost everything that can be transmitted via internet or email). A lot of people from India and Pakistan and so on are a member of these sites and they have a lot of IT skills. So if a job has to be done you go to a site like this and post your project. So you can find somebody who can finish your job for a pretty cheap price.

My idea is to establish a company with a good website where I offer services to enable my customer to outsource various tasks such as data entry, translation of documents, internet research, search engine optimization, graphic design, CAD, worldwide supplier research... When a customer wants to outsource something I then go to these freelancer sites and post my project. I pay the freelancer and get the done tasks from him. I then forward the finished job to my customer.

Do you think this could be successful? My target group would be small and medium companies in the US.

Don’t you think I could make high margins because I don’t need a big office? I only have to pay for the freelancer when there is something to do…

Do you think I need a strong IT Background? I don't want to offer software development but internet research, search engine optimization, graphic design, CAD, worldwide supplier research...
My customers could outsource these tasks to me and I forward it to a freelancer...and I am coordinating between them. I want to offer these servces as a project support. So a company could handle a project they normaly would need 3 people with two because a lot of tasks are outsourced.


Thanks so much for you comments!

John

[tekmoney]

Scriptlance and guru.com are sites like this that already exist, so you really wouldnt be bringing anything new to the table. If you could "broker" your outsourcing services and marketed to businesses face to face, then i say you have a better chance of success.

[Brennan]

Yeah I agree you wouldn't be making something new and I think supply would be a lot greater than the demand and atm their wouldn't be much profit because so their are so many. But if you become a Broker as Tek said you probably have a better chance

[Mbaptista]

Thats almost along the lines of what im doing.

[creer222]

Scriptlance and guru.com are sites like this that already exist, so you really wouldnt be bringing anything new to the table. If you could "broker" your outsourcing services and marketed to businesses face to face, then i say you have a better chance of success.

Thx for your reply!

I don't want to create a site like guru.com but I want to use these sites. If a company has a task to be accomplished I go to guru.com and find somebody who can do the work.

Do you think I should only find somebody who can do it and make the connection, or should I not make a connection between the freelancer and the outsourcer - I could just get the job be done by the freelancer and return the work done to the client? freelancer and outsourcer don't have to talk to each other, I can be the person between them.

[Lucas_gm]

Hello, regarding your post about outsorcing, we are launching such services, since we are based in Buenos Aires Argentina the exchange rate allows us to offer extremely low prices in dollars. I invite you to visit this link. Developlgm -

On the other hand I have a project to build something related but based in Argentina taking advantage of low costs and skilled personnel with whom we have. Maybe we can do something collaborative. I´ll send u a PM.

greetings.
Lucas.-

[Future of Edu]

Thx for your reply!

I don't want to create a site like guru.com but I want to use these sites. If a company has a task to be accomplished I go to guru.com and find somebody who can do the work.

Do you think I should only find somebody who can do it and make the connection, or should I not make a connection between the freelancer and the outsourcer - I could just get the job be done by the freelancer and return the work done to the client? freelancer and outsourcer don't have to talk to each other, I can be the person between them.

The problem is you are trying to offer a brokering service where one is not needed. The only reason a broker would be needed for a person is translation. Whether it be actual translation of language or translation from IT geek speak into laymen terms.

The companies you would be talking to are easily accesible on the web. So why would I need to go through you and then why would I pay you? THe only way i would pay you as a business owner is if you had IT knowledge that I did not.

If you want to get into brokering work,, find a better industry for it.

Enjoy Life,
Nick

[ethansmith]

I don't know if this is really a new way of outsourcing, and I am not really sure it is an easy concept either. Essentially it sounds like you are adding a middleman to a process that is being facilitated at extremely high volumes without one. In effect, you may end up making the process a bit more complex than it needs to be.

You may want to change directions a little bit. If you are very familiar with the outsourcing industry and the way the economy of outsourcing works, you may choose to set up some sort of resource for people who know nothing about it but would like to look into it as an option for their business.

Brokering is not a bad idea at all, but I agree with Future of Edu that you may want to find a different industry to explore if you really want to do brokering work.

[singaboy]

That 'broker role' is actually called Project Manager or Program Manager or Accounts Manager in the IT Industry. I believe Creer222 is trying to fill this role, preferably online.

Most of the projects posted on these sites are all pretty much low end, and these companies don't have big budget. Asking for a logo to be designed for $50/- and so on. In which case, they don't need to engage you. Off course, there are reasonably big projects too. The real larger ones, never come to these sites and are dealt separately. Thatswhy companies such as Wipro, TCS are thriving. So, your pie gets shortened here.

This idea is workable. You need to list down what 'competency' you will bring in, and why the company should pay that 'premium' to you, when they can liaise directly with the freelancers. Experiences like Project/Program/Portfolio management, certifications PMP/PRINCE2, speak the local language to convey the 'requirements' clearly ? Business analysis ? know the complete SDLC very thoroughly ? Project Planning, monitoring/tracking, reporting ? so on and so forth.

Again, you need to target the 'high end' of the spectrum (projects worth several thousand dollars) and see how you can keep the cost under control, even if you take a piece out of the project cost.

[Future of Edu]

That 'broker role' is actually called Project Manager or Program Manager or Accounts Manager in the IT Industry. I believe Creer222 is trying to fill this role, preferably online.

Most of the projects posted on these sites are all pretty much low end, and these companies don't have big budget. Asking for a logo to be designed for $50/- and so on. In which case, they don't need to engage you. Off course, there are reasonably big projects too. The real larger ones, never come to these sites and are dealt separately. Thatswhy companies such as Wipro, TCS are thriving. So, your pie gets shortened here.

This idea is workable. You need to list down what 'competency' you will bring in, and why the company should pay that 'premium' to you, when they can liaise directly with the freelancers. Experiences like Project/Program/Portfolio management, certifications PMP/PRINCE2, speak the local language to convey the 'requirements' clearly ? Business analysis ? know the complete SDLC very thoroughly ? Project Planning, monitoring/tracking, reporting ? so on and so forth.

Again, you need to target the 'high end' of the spectrum (projects worth several thousand dollars) and see how you can keep the cost under control, even if you take a piece out of the project cost.

What you are describing is viable but not even remotely related to what he was asking. You changed the broker role into a contracted project/program manager role. If you are in the IT industry then you know how limited the time of a contractor is. Usually no more than 12 months. This is because of the microsoft ruling that rewarded contractors working for microsoft hundreds of millions. Contracted managers can NOT manage employee staff. They can only manage other contracts or the door is opened to legal litigation.

As far as his idea to "broker" (not manage) a project, it is not viable. There is no need for it and to make ends meet he would have to pull in a TON of business. Most likely, not going to happen.

CREER, if you want to find a way to make money by being the middleman, find an industry where there is a breakdown in communication.

For instance, shipping. Brokering shipments can be quite lucrative and there is a market.

Good luck.

Enjoy Life,
Nick

[singaboy]

Well, Nick, you are jumping to conclusion a little too early. Maybe you could have asked me to explain a little more ?

I am not an American and I certainly cannot talk about the legal aspect. Just the business viability. And, yes, I offered a different spin to the idea to make this 'more viable'.

All along, Company X worked with 10 freelancers (3 -India, 3- Ukraine, 4-Brazil). Now,

Company X pays Creer (Company Y) to MANAGE 10 freelancers and define the 'KPI's for successful delivery.

And, FYI, this is not a 'contracted project manager' position. Creer can setup his business and manage the projects for as many clients as possible. May even hire staffs.

[Future of Edu]

Well, Nick, you are jumping to conclusion a little too early. Maybe you could have asked me to explain a little more ?

I am not an American and I certainly cannot talk about the legal aspect. Just the business viability. And, yes, I offered a different spin to the idea to make this 'more viable'.

All along, Company X worked with 10 freelancers (3 -India, 3- Ukraine, 4-Brazil). Now,

Company X pays Creer (Company Y) to MANAGE 10 freelancers and define the 'KPI's for successful delivery.

And, FYI, this is not a 'contracted project manager' position. Creer can setup his business and manage the projects for as many clients as possible. May even hire staffs.

I guess I'm confused. If he manages projects for company x,y,z but is not employed by them, is he not contracted? This would make him a contract of some kind. No matter what his official title.

And yes you did put a spin on it. You gave him a great suggestion and I'm not taking away from that. However, you failed to address his primary question and business concept. Your "spin" = good and viable. His concept = not.

No matter how you look at it though, he would be a broker. He is negotiating terms and contracts between x and y. That is what a broker does. I apoligize if I came off a bit straight, it's how I am. I like to see questions answered, not spun or skipped.

Enjoy Life,
Nick

[brokemet]

Hi all,

It's been part of the experience that while managing my business I got terrible problems when it comes with time management. As I try so hard, often forget about my personal time and I could eventually spend a lot for promoting my business myself. Thankfully, this friend told me about this newest resource in internet marketing which talks about outsourcing.

I wanted to share this with you all as I am totally inspired with how dissecting your business and leveraging time makes it a lot easier now. By checking out: How To Outsource Your Internet Business - Why You Should Outsource Your Work | Mass Outsource you'll see that this Australian guy is always willing to help and share new ideas about managing business in an easy way plus giving away free access to his outsourcing videos.

I hope this brings a lot inspiration to you too.

[killer2021]

Its been done.

When I needed to hire an employee. I simply used craigslist (india) and got 100+ emails. I interviewed a couple people. I was mainly looking for someone who had research skills, English writing skills, analytical skills, and fluent english. I paid him 4,600 INR (indian rupees) per month via paypal. Which is about 100 USD per month. Well worth the money. Worked 40 hours a week for me. He made alot of money for me.

[diknox00]

The problem is you are trying to offer a brokering service where one is not needed. The only reason a broker would be needed for a person is translation. Whether it be actual translation of language or translation from IT geek speak into laymen terms.

The companies you would be talking to are easily accesible on the web. So why would I need to go through you and then why would I pay you? THe only way i would pay you as a business owner is if you had IT knowledge that I did not.

If you want to get into brokering work,, find a better industry for it.

Enjoy Life,
Nick

Because in this day and age...everyone doesnt know about GetaFreelancer or Scriptlance.com. In fact, I'd bet there are millions of business owners that dont.

I personally, think you could broker the services AND make a nice profit. I'm always outsourcing work and I can see the spread from what they charge and what you would be able to charge your end customer.