Can You Afford To Outsource?

How Much You Should Be Spending On Outsourcing

After writing my first outsourcing article, I have come to realize that there are just simply too many people looking for information on outsourcing. Look on the top right, for instance. You see, the number one all time popular article on ADJ is on outsourcing—and looks like it will stay there for awhile. To answer the many other outsourcing questions you may have, I have decided to write more posts on this subject. Today, I will give you my opinion on how much you should be spending on outsourcing.

If you are willing to spend any amount on outsourcing, you could go ahead and do it but it would not be a good personal financial decision. When I outsource something, monetary value is very important to me and I would not outsource anything unless I am totally satisfied with the money I am spending.

But how do I know I can afford to outsource? I use a very simple formula. First, I look at the whole project in terms of how much time I would spend to do the same thing. Let’s say I would like to outsource the chore of replying to all my emails. I spend 2 hours daily replying to my email. If, for example, my salary is $10 per hour, I would therefore be spending $20 of my time daily replying to email. Now, what’s a reasonable amount for me to spend if someone else is doing it for me? Simple—it has to be lesser than 1/3 of my own cost doing the same thing. In the above email example, I would only outsource if I could find someone willing to look after my email for less than $7 a day.

This is just how I do things and you don’t have to follow my formula step-by-step. Come up with your own figures that make sense for you. One thing you need to keep in mind: there are some projects on which you will not be able to put monetary value by comparing it with your own hourly rate. These projects are those which need to be done regardless of costs, such as redesigning your website, producing a professional-looking eBook from your word document, etc. For these types of projects, I recommend that you post your projects on more than one outsourcing site and pick the one with lowest cost. Read my previous outsource article to obtain a list of outsourcing websites.

I hope today’s article will help you figure out if outsourcing is for you and what you can afford to spend on it. I’ll be writing more on this topic in the future, so keep checking back. Don’t forget to bookmark this site for later use.

The Fall 2008 Toronto Small Press Affair

Toronto Small Press

First Published: November 2, 2008 ADawnJournal.com

The Fall 2008 Toronto Small Press Affair took place at the Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick (south of Bloor), Toronto from 6pm-11pm on Sat, November 1st, 2008. I participated in this event, and I am posting a video clip and pictures for your viewing pleasure. The weather was nice (8 °C no wind) and lots of visitors attended the fair. The Small Press Affair featured lively entertainment such as eclectic readings, musical performances, raffle draw etc.

I like attending this kind of event and I encourage entrepreneurs to join any events like we had today. This gives you an opportunity to meet many other like-minded people and it will increase your networking capability which is very important. I was able to hand out lots of cards with A Dawn Journal site information on it. A good chunk of blog success depends on effective marketing, and you need to market your blog continuously to become successful.

The video is not crisp clear as the lighting inside the Transac Club was not that bright; however, the video quality is still good. Enjoy.  Visit The Toronto Small Press Group Website for more info. For more pictures and video clips, visit A Dawn Journal on  YouTube.

The 16-Year-Old Internet Entrepreneur Who Dropped Out Of High School to Make $40 Million By

The 16-Year-Old Kid Who Dropped Out Of High School to Make $40 Million By 18

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Nov 4, 2008

What kind of courage do you need to tell your dad at the age of 16 that you are planning to quit high school? Moreover, wouldn‘t it be a lot harder if your dad is an immigrant from India who came to the U.S. with only $25 in order to pursue a better life through education and a traditional nine-to-five lifestyle?

Gurbaksh Chahal gathered that courage and asked his parents’ permission to quit school when he was 16. His dad was nice enough to patiently listen what he had to say, but still was not convinced. He asked this kid to show him some proof. He had no idea what this kid was doing in his room on the computer day and night. Once Gurbaksh showed his parents his bank account, their eyes were about to pop out in disbelief, and they thought their boy was going to jail. They started to panic. Who wouldn’t? Especially an Indian parent, to whom saving $100,000 cash would be unimaginable over a lifetime. And here this 16-year-old kid is sitting on that kind of cash.

Gurbaksh assured them that this was not stolen money and he made it from his Internet entrepreneurship. His dad eventually calmed down after listening to his explanation and gave him a one year break from going to school. Gurbaksh was 16 at that time. Guess what happened after one year? His Internet venture went so well that he was able to make $40 million in two years. So here is this 18-year-old kid who made $40 by selling his first online company ClickAgents for $40 million. Gurbaksh, or G, is now 26 years of age and last year he sold his second company BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million. G’s current project is gWallet – a site that allows users to find great deals.

G will be featured on the new TV show The Secret Millionaire, due out in December 2008. He has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, FOX Business Network, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Entrepreneur magazine, and many more. G is currently venturing into a few other TV shows.

G’s recently published book The Dream advises entrepreneurs to dream big, embrace risks, and go after new niches. According to Chahal, failure is not an option. I had a glance at The Dream and I liked it after reading the first few pages. I hope to review it for ADJ readers in the future. The success story of G shows us how you can overcome any barriers and succeed. All you need is a dream, perseverance, and a belief in yourself.

Read Gurbaksh Chahal’s blog:

Gurbaksh Chahal

Why Go For Outsourcing?

Outsourcing Can Benefit Your business

Outsourcing has grown in popularity in the last couple of years. For a long time, it was something that was the sole preserve of companies who had specific funds for paying outside contractors to do things that were outside their skill sets – for example if a company specialized in one field, such as sales and marketing, they would outsource things such as cleaning and IT solutions. However, among other things, the Internet has now made it more possible than ever to run a business from your home as an individual. In addition, with all business people aware of the old maxim, “time is money”, there are more and more things that the individual has found can be best addressed by outsourcing.

Outsourcing itself covers a very broad range of services that are best divided into two sections: Business and Non-Business needs. The difference between the two sections is more or less self-explanatory. Suffice it to say that Business needs are things connected specifically with the service that you, the business owner, requires in order to keep the business running – these include such things as web design, accounts and sourcing required items and services. Non-Business needs are more connected with personal or household tasks that take time that could be used to deliver what is required from you by your customers. This includes things such as cleaning and other essential chores.

There are very few tasks that cannot be outsourced in this day and age. As a business owner, it is for you to decide whether outsourcing is something that you wish to practice. In order to make this decision it is worth auditing what your daily routine involves, where you can make changes and where you wish to make them. If you feel that you are best served by having all your time free to concentrate on delivering what is required of your business, the chances are that you would be best outsourcing as much as you feel comfortable with. You probably do not much enjoy cleaning and tidying, for example. And depending on your arrangements you can end up spending a couple of hours a week at the task, which in turn can lead to lost opportunities to build and serve a customer base. Therefore, you should then ask yourself whether that task is a productive use of your time. If the answer is “no”, then you can look to outsource your cleaning to a specialist.

Business needs are, if anything, more crucial. If your specialist area is – taking an example – accountancy, then there is every chance that you are not the world’s best web designer. Nevertheless, an attractive, easily navigable website with user-friendly interface is more or less essential for an individual businessperson. In this case, handing over the task of designing a website makes all the sense in the world. It won’t come cheap if you are using a top designer, but if you cost the process based on how much business a good website will send your way (generally a very large amount), then it can pay for itself several times over.

Jobs That Will Be Obsolete In The Future

Will Your Job Survive In The Future?

First Published: Nov 26, 2013 EntrepreneurJourney.com

A report recently published by the Canadian employment website Workopolis looks at some jobs
that will not exist in ten years. Technological advancement and widespread availability of the  
Internet will make these jobs a thing of the past in the future as people will not be needing
anyone to provide these services anymore.

Here are the ten jobs that will vanish:

- Social media expert

- Taxi dispatcher

- Toll both operator

- Retail cashier

- Word processor or typist

- Switchboard operator

- Photo finisher

- Video store clerk

- Print journalist

Source: Workopolis

Also, according to Workopolis, here are the top five fast growing and fast decline jobs:

Fast Growing Jobs

- Financial advisor

- Financial service representative

- Field sales representative

- Sales associate

- Social worker

Fast Declining Jobs

- People greeter

- Photo lab associate

- Head cashier

- Data entry clerk

- Courier

Source: Workopolis

The study by Workopolis mentions that as people will rely more on smartphone apps to call taxi, 
taxi dispatcher jobs will be no longer required at some point. However, people still like to interact, 
buy, or get help from real persons and jobs like financial advisors/representatives, sales
associates, and social workers will continue to be in demand.