Your Outsourcing Questions Answered

Over the last few months I have been running teleconferences every fortnight for my students and I have accumulated a lot of common questions that gets asked regularly. It was very interesting to find out that it's not just my students that have these questions, but also many business owners around the world have asked these questions as well. How I know is I regularly check forums to see what is happening within outsourcing.

What I've created below is a video that goes for around 20 minutes and it answers a lot of the common questions and I even give away a lot of tips on how to leverage your Internet Business. So take a moment now to watch it:

Transcript:

Hi, Tyrone Shum here from MassOutsource.com. Welcome to this video! This video has been created so that I can help answer any of the questions that students and any people such as business owners from around the world have asked and a lot of the questions has to do with outsourcing and how to setup their business so that they can be outsourced to people over in the Philippines.

What I want to do now is go through and answer the most common questions that people wanted to have answered and also be able to give them guidance, some tips and also strategies on how to be able to outsource their business. This whole video presentation is for you to be able to benefit from and gain some knowledge and be able to get out there and start outsourcing your entire business. Hopefully with all the information that I provide here, you’ll be able to take away, get started and take action straightaway. So enjoy this, and just see how I’ll be answering a lot of these questions as well so it can benefit for you:

Where do I start?

This is a very common question and also very good question too. A lot of people who are just starting out and internet entrepreneurs wanting to run a business online and also those running the business for 6 months to 12 months plus are getting to the point where they say “I don’t know how to explain, how to grow and how to leverage business…” then basically you’ll want to look out outsourcing as the next level to be able to get your business running to where you want it to be. So where do we start with this?

The first thing I do is just to gain some experience exactly on how to go about outsourcing. I know you’re not going to get it right at the beginning and this is the reason why I’ve created this video for you and also to be able to answer these questions for you.

I know from experience when I first started to outsource a lot of work that I’m doing in my business, I struggled because I don’t know where to go, how to get the right people in place and also what systems to put in place and give them the right tasks to do. A lot of times I’ve been through and been ripped off as per sé and also not paid the correct price, a lot of times wasted as well. I don’t want you to go through that. I want you to fastrack your success to be able to achieve the goals that you want in your business.

Now, the first thing that we want to look at is getting some experience and also some knowledge. Let’s take step back – the most important thing that I believe in is Knowledge. Get some trained knowledge on how to go about doing it. What I would do is there are some free videos that I have in my MassOutsource.com website – 10 free videos on Where, How, and When to manage these people and a lot of these are towards hiring people from the Philippines. Go through and have a look on those videos just to be able to get started. It’s all absolutely free so there’s no strings attached.

Though, to gain experience, if you just have the knowledge and you don’t have experience, you wouldn’t be able to succeed in outsourcing your business. The first thing I would do is to either go out or find someone and hire them on a contract basis just to give them one project to start off with, learn to manage with them and learn to train them and see what they can do. Once you get that first trial over, and you know what to do from there then you can start to hire these people on a full time or part time basis.

Read more

Podcast: Getting Freebies And Making Money With The Freebie Guy

Press play to begin streaming the audio or right click the text link and choose save as or save link.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download the MP3 [ 21 Minutes - 19 MB ]

Who Is The Freebie Guy?

The man behind The Freebie Guy is Leslie. Not only is Leslie working full time as a school teacher, he is able to earn a part time income from his Internet business and teaches individuals how to make money as a Freebie trader. His story is very interesting and if you want to find out more about how to make money giving away freebies you should listen to the podcast.

How To Make Money With The Freebie Guy?

In this interview I did with Leslie, you will learn…..

• How Leslie started his Internet business making $70 in the FIRST DAY
• How to make money from Freebie trading
• Leslie’s top 3 tips on how to make money from an Internet business
• What you should do to start your Internet business

Read more

Outsourcing Increased My Productivitiy By 200%

Recently I’ve been testing some new ideas with “outsourcing” for Internet Business Path and from what I can gather, it’s been able to increase my productivity by at least 200%. What I did before outsourcing work to people was to create a mindmap of what the business needed in order to grow and continue to run without my input. Below is the mindmap of my businesses in it’s simplest form:

If want to create one, a really good software to use is FreeMind. It’s very easy to learn and very powerful for any business because it allows a business owner to laid down their ideas in a logical path. Since applying a mindmap to my business I’ve been able to design the system to increase my productivity by 200%.

How Do I Outsource If I Don’t Have The Money?
Firstly let me say, if you don’t have the money to afford $3 – $5US an hour to pay someone to handle your tasks that needs to be done repetitively, then you shouldn’t be in business. Okay, I’ll be fair and tell you this: I had the mindset previously to do everything myself because it was always about not having enough money. I know how you feel when you first start running an Internet business or is still a one man show, but it’s having the courage to step out of your comfort zone and learn to delegate tasks to other people to do. It’s not going to be perfect at the beginning, but with a little training, some trial and error and time you will be able to leverage your time and increase your productivity.

Outsourcing Administrative Tasks
An example that I’ve been able to outsource for $3 US an hour is the ability to get my virtual assistant to check and reply to customer service emails every second working day. Provided that I have given the guidelines and information for how to respond, I have eliminated at least 10 hours a week of my time that I used to spend replying and following up emails. When you think about it, it only costs me around $30 US for a virtual assistant to free up 10 hours of my week. Isn’t that worth the trade off when my time is worth $500 per hour? There are many other examples I could give you on how to outsource your work, you can read more of it in my Internet Business Blueprint report.

A Web Developer Will Solve All Your Website Issues
If you’ve read my business timeline, you would know that I graduated with a Computer Science degree from UNSW. Even with a degree in Computing Science I’m still not a good programmer and I choose not to be. I would rather leave the technical issues for a web developer that I can hire on an ongoing basis and pay them to work on my projects. It would take them a couple of hours to do something that would take me all week. Hence the websites I design and this blog you are reading has been designed by a web developer I hire and I simply project manage the process to achieve a great result for my clients.

A Bookkeeper Will Keep The Tax Office Happy
If you’re like me and hate seeing piles of invoices and accounts unreconciled, then I know you would hate book keeping. It’s a crucial part of your Internet business and without it there’s no way to measure how well your business finances are doing. There are systems that allow you to keep track of your business online, but not all of them are compatible with the tax laws within your country. Therefore I still purchase accounting software that is meeting Australian standards, such as MYOB Accounting. I hire a book keeper to help make sure my accounts are up to date and to generate reports to show me the financial health of the business. I hire a book keeper on a monthly basis where I can have all my paper work batched and she will enter the information at one time. She makes sure that my books are up to date and tax is paid on time and I don’t get calls from the tax office. She would save at least 20 hours + a month of book keeping that I would have had to do myself, all for the cost of a dinner with my partner.

I’m Still The Writer And Internet Marketer
I love writing and expressing my ideas on Internet Business Path and will continue to do so for a very long time. I found that it’s a great way to communicate with people from all over the world and I love receiving feedback and comments. I do this because I’m passionate about Internet business and if you know me I usually share my ideas with my friends and family most of the time. I could outsource the writing to a ghostwriter quite easily and let someone else do the marketing, though I have learnt that these are my strengths and communicating and promoting my business is my passion.

Tyrone Shum
Outsourcer

Getting Started In Your New Internet Business

I always think it’s fun and exciting to start a new Internet business. I know for me that I would do something that I’m interested and passionate about. Otherwise the new venture doesn’t last for long. As it’s just as important to have passion, motivation and interest, there are a few areas that help me succeed in business.

Promoting Your Internet Business
I would call this the “show me the money” part of the business. Without money or income, there is no business. Therefore it’s important to promote your business and turn your promotional activities into sales. At every opportunity, try to promote your business through passive means: e.g. through your stationary, letterheads, emails, brochures and any other promotional material you may use. Even if it’s just an article you write for a directory, remember to put your website address at the bottom of it. In the past, I made stickers of my logo that I could easily stick on my products. Also I made sure that every email I sent out to a customer had a company logo in it. This all helps with creating the brand for the business.

It’s crucial to develop a marketing plan that will not only sell your products, but also your brand. Here are some other articles I recommend to read to help you promote your Internet business:

• Spreading The Word: Turbocharge Your Traffic
• Converting Traffic Into Sales Part 1: Generating Leads
• Converting Traffic Into Sales Part 2: Profiting From The Back-End
• 12 Sales Effective Marketing Tips

Operating Your Business
This is the “lifeblood” of the business and I’m amazed at the amount of businesses that still operate without having good systems in place. An electrician I use from time to time asked me how I maintain my book work and said he doesn’t know how to do it. I was shocked because I’d known him to be trading for over 2 years and he probably doesn’t know how much money is being made in his business or let alone lost. What I am saying is to not be like my Electrician friend and make sure you buy an accounting software to track all your accounts and paperwork. I would suggest hiring a book keeper because it will save you the hassle and time of doing it all yourself. Some good software packages out there that are under $500 like MYOB Accounting and QuickBooks will be more than sufficient when you start out.

Another area that most people forget or get caught out on are getting the appropriate insurances for your business. The most common are public liability insurance, fire, burglary, vehicle and workers compensation insurance. All these can be easily found via a quick search on Google. I would recommend ensuring both public liability and fire insurances are in place before even running your business.

Keeping Pace And Staying Up To Date
This may sound all too overwhelming when you have to promote, operate your business and keep up to date with your industry. Believe me it’s not as hard as it sounds. Take the first step and join a trade association or your local Chamber of Commerce. You will find it both informative and beneficial to your business. To know what is happening in your area and within your industry can help you make better decisions for promoting your product or service. Whether it may be time to change a product line or add more services to your business, you will be keeping up with the industry and making sure you are not missing out on opportunities. Also it’s a great way to network and promote within your trade associations and Chamber of Commerce. Simply write an article to contribute and it can be used as great public relations (P.R) for your business.

Also I emphasise to have a well prepared business plan created before starting your business, because this will be your starting point. A business plan is useful for so many areas for your business from sourcing finance to implementing a growth strategy for the next 5 years. Once it’s written down, it will become a living breathing document that you can update and review over time. I’ve just finished preparing my business plan for this business which took nearly 3 weeks to complete but I can tell you that it is well worth the time and effort to do. Learn how to put your own business plan together and I can guarantee you that you’ll get finance and negotiate business deals much easier.

The Future Of Your Internet Business
Starting your Internet Business is rewarding and if you look into those areas I have mentioned, then you will have a good foundation to running a successful Internet Business. Take action today and know that you deserve to live your dream.

Tyrone Shum
Internet Business Coach

Work For Money, Or Mind Your Own Business?

There are so many money making opportunities in the world today. By far, trading your time for money is probably the worst money making opportunity I see because if you don’t work, you don’t get paid! In fact, I have not held a job for more than a year and a half as I can’t see why I should earn dollars for the hour. Since quitting full time work, I’ve run numerous businesses and I believe that is how the rich get richer. Some comparisons to why minding your own business is better than working for money:

Reason #1: You get taxed the most as an employee
Once you start earning above a certain income bracket as an employee, the government starts to tax you around 48.5% of your income and I would start asking is this worth it? So if you like to trade the average 50 hours a week to earn $100,000 a year from your job and have a nice chunk paid to the government, then I would say keep your job. But if you are smart and start your own business, doing the same hours and earning the same income in your company, then you will be able to keep more of your money. Even if you earned $100,000 through your company, you are only taxed at a flat rate of 30% after expenses are paid.

Reason #2: Security versus Stability
In my opinion a job nowadays doesn’t necessarily have security, because your employer can make you redundant anytime the business goes through hardship. An example in more recent times can be seen when Australia’s ANZ Bank cut almost 3,000 jobs or nearly 10% of it’s work force. Unfortunately once you are made redundant, your job security is lost and the weekly income is gone, a tough call for stability? In comparison if you had a business that you setup and structured well, you could be living off a stable source of passive income just like many successful Internet Marketers who are earning in excess of $200,000 a year from their businesses.

Reason #3: Fewer Tax Benefits
As an employee not only do you get taxed the most, but you also get fewer tax benefits. As a company you can write off almost everything that you do for the business and claim it with pre-taxed dollars. On the flip side, as an employee you have to pay for your lunches, conferences, buy clothes, buy fuel for your car with after-tax dollars and only do you get to claim these deductions back at the end of the financial year. Doesn’t that seem unfair?

Use Your Time Wisely
Everyday you are limited to 24 hours just like everyone else and no matter how much you earn as an employee your income is caped. Once you stop trading your time for money, your income stops immediately. Even if you are a high paid IT consultant that bills out $1000 an hour you still have a cap, and you are still trading hours for dollars.

There will come a time when you can no longer work either because you become sick, have an accident or are forced to retire. What happens then depends on the decisions you made earlier in life. If you planned well, you’ll have enough to live on without trading hours for dollars. However, statistics shows that the majority doesn’t plan well and will be force to take some kind of social handout – either by the government or family.

If you are currently working for money and not minding your own business, I urge you to take a serious look at your situation. You will see that governments tax more on employees than on companies and it can mean that my company only pays a flat rate of 30% tax on it’s profits and an employee has to pay almost 50% on their wages upfront. There are substantial benefits in minding your own business and I urge you to explore how it can help you become wealthly and have more freedom for yourself.

Tyrone Shum
Business Owner