My good friend John Reese has just released an amazing free video about outsourcing.
Check it out here and let me know what you think.
For those unfamiliar with John Reese… (well just search on this blog).
About the author...
Jeremy Schoemaker – who has written 2416 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.
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{ 85 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Jeremy,
That’s a cool video and very helpful. I was recently running a business and all work was outsourced. It was great but it’s never completely hands-off as I was always relying on others which is a big headache.
If you can pay others to make you money (pay £12 to someone who’ll make you £18), just keep duplicating that until you’re a millionaire.
Lou
It’s a great video! Simple but powerful concept. We are human and cannot do everything by ourselves. We only have so much time on our hands.
This is the first time I’ve used your blog’s search function. Neat.
I was going to watch the video until I realized I had to enter my email.
…
I don’t like spam.
That’s a rather long video. I’ve gotta run, but I’ll view it tonight and I’ll get back to you.
Pay other people to do all the work for you… works for me.
Gosh, I don’t think I would recommend outsourcing everything. Especially certain areas that establish a strong relationship.
This is a really good video for people who are feeling overwhelmed and are running either a web business on the side or just getting into a business structure that works for them. I’m passing on the link to your blog on my Facebook page yet again, Shoe.
Smarter not harder!
Outsourcing’s not for me just yet. Maybe for people with bigger businesses.
Well I’m definitely looking forward to the next video. I’ve considered outsourcing before, but right now I don’t think I need it since I have a very small business. And there are other things I need to smooth out before I start hiring people.
I agree with the concept of outsourcing, but find it rather hard to implement. What’s to stop the people you outsource to from sharing your sensitive information on the internet?
That’s part of what the video series is supposed to explain, I think. Why don’t you go download and view it? I’m sure it’ll answer a lot of your questions and doubts about outsourcing.
How do you download the video?
very informational! i don’t know much about outsourcing but the concept is amazing.
The video was too long, while the message could actually be summarized in one sentence: You could get richer without having to work too hard with outsourcing.
The video: Great visuals, I love the background scenery, I especially LOVE the car (shiny, shiny car), lots of good analogies and examples, in short a really well made video.
But am I buying the whole message? Nope. I’m just not sold. I’m not sure why. Probably because the video was too long. I just don’t get why there should be a series of videos when you can say it and possibly convince people in five minutes.
Nice video. I’ve actually read articles about outsourcing and how it’s good and bad for economies. That’s something that should be brought up in the next video.
Man that video is a little bit too long for me at the moment. Gotta head off to bed and be well rested for my job interview tomorrow.
But I will check it out tomorrow!!
Old idea but still powerful
I don’t think outsourcing is only for big companies. Small companies have a lot to gain if they outsource. But they also need to think about the disadvantages (http://operationstech.about.com/od/outsourcing/tp/OutSrcDisadv.htm).
Looks like John Reese is earning a lot of money for sure. Going on a vacation to Spain, relaxing and still able to make money… that’s something I can’t do.
Wouldn’t there be a quality problem if you outsource? If you outsource you can’t control the production, unless you have a trusted and trained employee who can manage for you. And it would take more time to hire people online, isn’t it?
I’m not so happy with the concept of outsourcing. Aside from negative implications to the US economy, I’ve heard of bad customer service and unhappy employees. You pay these people half a dollar per hour, you give them work and they talk to unsatisfied clients on your behalf. They might get stressed, and your clients might even become more unsatisfied because they couldn’t get their refund. What’s likely to happen? Your employees might quit in a few month’s time. And your company might get a bad rep, thus you’ll lose clients.
Well that’s customer service. Customer service is hard work. I’m not surprised if customer serv reps quit after a few months.
I don’t think outsourcing is that bad, honestly. There are other kinds of work that could be outsourced. As the video mentioned, you can outsource the work you hate, outsource the work you’re not good at, and outsource the work that other people can do better at (did I get those right? I think I’m missing something).
You may hate designing websites and coding, but some people like doing that. A personal example: I have friends who don’t understand why I love designing graphics. But if they need some graphics done they come to me and they pay me. So not all outsourced work lead to “unhappy employees”.
That’s a killer video, I agree. I wonder how much it cost him to film that.
Amazing video. Thanks for the link, Shoe. I don’t have a need to outsource though. I’m contented working by myself. I ain’t that busy anyway.
What’s John Reese’s business? Does he have an outsourcing company or just tied to one? Just curious. Maybe I ought to google him.
I used to be in the medical transcription business, many of those businesses outsource, so I know this topic very well. All I can say is it has its own pros and cons, and neither outweighs the other. Outsourcing has helped a lot of transcription businesses, but yes sometimes there are quality/time/money issues. Though often times those issues don’t get too big to the point that the business stops outsourcing. Like I said, it helps the business. And if there are quality/time issues at first, they just learn from it.
That video deserves five gold stars. It’s a long video, but I was glued to my screen the whole time.
The palm trees and the beach backdrop helped, didn’t it? And the GT-R. That car is hot.
Of course that helped
Seriously though, it’s a creative and informative promotional video. I liked it a lot.
How come I feel like John Reese is bragging about his Spain trip and his fast, shiny car?
That’s the trick. If you feel jealous, then you better stay tune for his next video! And the next! Until you’re convinced to buy whatever it is he’s selling or subscribe to his blog posts.
Anyway I haven’t watched the video yet. Maybe later. I’m hitting the sack now.
Whatever dude. Not going to give you my email address. Even my junk one.
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This is a promotional video, folks. As if Reese will actually give up the secret sauce.
I got distracted by the Nissan GTR for a sec there.
These tips arent actually that new. There was a big discussion about that already by Tim Ferris in the “4 hour work week” like 4 years ago. And again nobody really can apply this outsourcing scheme in a market which is not English. In general internet strategies in markets like Germany, Latin America or China are totally different then the issues discussed here in these blocks. I really would like to have a discussion or blog about internet related themes aside of the always repeated U.S. market. I think that combining these markets you can find the real hidden arbitrage business models.
Long video but worth the watch for sure. Outsourcing is a great tool, but not one that I have had to utilise yet.
Two dollars per hour? That’s not a fixed rate. Is it? I’m thinking some third-party companies could charge higher than two dollars an hour. I’ve heard of really cheap outsourcing costs, but there must be a risk there. Quality of production, quality of service, maybe security as well.
I like the video. Waiting for the second part.
Interesting comments so far. I’m just sitting here waiting for comments. I didn’t finish the video since I knew what it’s going to be about anyway.
I’m curious about what John Reese has to say on outsourcing, but too bad his site requires email. Is there any way to watch it without giving my email? Maybe I could give my friend’s email instead.
Outsourcing is a good option if you have tons of work to do and you don’t run out of clients. Money is not really a problem since it’s pretty cheap.
Well, that got me interested. I hope he releases the next videos soon.
I noticed that a lot of companies nowadays are turning to outsourcing. Why, is it really the best way to go if you want to save on costs?
And I don’t think you get to relax if you outsource. After all you’re still the boss, you still have to manage people. It could lessen your work, but you still have a lot of work to do.
I was going to say the same thing. Outsourcing sometimes causes more work because you have to then train and manage.
I wish we could “like” comments on this site. (Hint, hint Jeremy.)
Is he wearing his PJ bottoms in that video?
Seriously, I am always amazed at how resistant many people are to paying other people to get some of the work done. I think people put very little value on their time.
But for me, my business has benefited greatly from outsourcing and I know it is well worth the cost because you will eventually get to a point where you cannot grow your business without it.
The key, of course, is to outsource wisely and stick to a budget that doesn’t put you out of business!
I am going to have to go back and read those questions that folks submitted. Some of them must have been really hard
I don’t agree with this post. With all the fantastic recent graduates running around without jobs, I can’t support the concept of outsourcing. My friend just hired a recent MBA graduate who could not find a job. She agreed to a free six month internship just so she could get experience. Why are you gamble the future of your fellow Americans for the sake of saving a few dollars? The experience is invaluable to others, and can give them an opportunity to build skills that they can apply to a future in Digital Marketing. I encourage others to think of their country’s future rather than thinking of something so short term. Please think about this.
Thanks for saying that. I hope this whole outsourcing thing stops. I will be applying for jobs next year. I would be happy to take an unpaid position just to get some experience. My friends who have graduated aren’t finding anything.
I’m learning affiliate marketing in hopes of supporting myself in the even I can’t find a job. I think it’s a better bet for my future.
Free stuff is cheaper than outsourcing. I like to scrape content and spin. There is plenty of software out there that will help you with this, and you don’t have to feel guilty about feeding someone’s family in a third world country. Many tasks that are outsourced can be automated too.
College-educated people who will work for ten dollars a day? Sounds like a bargain. But how do they know that these people know what they’re doing? I guess that’s where the selection process comes in.
I actually had a really bad experience outsourcing. I hired a freelancer and gave him about 3 months worth of work to do. When I told him I no longer had work for him, he got really mad. He changed all my passwords, then went on a rampage writing negative comments about me and my sites everywhere. I couldn’t believe it. I think outsourcing is great, but I would be really careful about who I hired if I did it a second time, I might consider using a service to help me find someone.
this is kind of old news, don’t you think?
This takes me back to the book “The Four Hour Work Week.” I think outsourcing my entire life sounds like a good idea. That includes my day job, my dating life, my bills, Christmas shopping, etc.
I would have never made money if I hadn’t tried outsourcing. It worked for me! There is just too much to do when you’re running a site. The work can get overwhelming.
This works well if you find the right employee / service.
Yo Shoe! Where is free shirt friday? It’s getting close to me shutting down for the day. I can’t do it without seeing your t-shirt first.
Dude I totally outsource my term papers. Writing stupid essays about abortion and cancer research funding and Obama is such a waste of time.
Great post, as usual! Thanks for sharing!
This is complete exploitation of people in developing countries. Americans are rich in comparison. Farming off low-end tasks does nothing for the career development of others. Shame on Reese for showing off his posh lifestyle when others go to bed hungry and are forced to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. You are perpetuating the stereotype of the Ugly American. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, why don’t you spend some of your easy earnings on one of the countries you choose to exploit? Start with India and you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’m talking to you Reese.
These people wouldn’t have ANY jobs without outsourcing. None. Nada. Zilch. It’s hard to eat with NO money. They are thrilled by outsourced jobs. Americans are not exploiting these developing nations by offering them jobs, they are “developing” them.
As for Americans unhappy with jobs being outsourced… we are now in a global economy. It is only going to get worse.
Wyatt
The genie is out of the bottle. Suck it up.
I know for a fact that overseas employees are happy to take this work. Outsourcing has tipped the scales of fate for some of my overseas friends. This is a win-win situation for a lot of people.
David, I bet one of the items of clothes you are wearing right now are from China… and you know the fast food you ate the other day? Grown in south east Asia somewhere. The computer or portable media device you are using to make this post? Yep, China or Taiwan.
If you really cared you wouldnt use any of this stuff, but saying something like this makes you a hypocrite. Its real hard not to take advantage of overseas cheap labor.
Interesting post. If I had the cash, I would try it.
how the hell is someone supposed to find a legitmate person do to thier work for them??
hell if i went to elance.com right now it would take me quite some time to find someone who can do what i have in mind, then i would have to teach them what to do, and then give them login details etc,
soooo much time wasted, when i could get it done and save money..
and what if they just take your money and dont do the job?
outsourcing is good if you can trust your employees but some random guy online? idk about that
So what’s the catch here? My inbox is blowing up with links to this video from the various Internet Marketing guys out there..
That said, it’s a good video, and something that we’ve utilized from the get-go. (Back in my corporate days, we brought guys over on H1Bs, and even THAT was more cost effective than having programmers from the US work for us)
There are plenty of ghost Tweeters out there. This is nothing new, and has helped plenty of small shops grow and promote their own businesses.
Surprised that there isn’t a more aggressive response to this article, esp due to the state of the economy. I admit I’ve considered doing this. Who doesn’t need help at a good price these days?
I’m not convinced that you can find quality work by outsourcing. How many of us have gone to sites to find broken English and shoddy work? You know the site owner would never do that. It’s a result of crappy software shortcuts and outsourcing, all of which results in low quality content. If content / branding / community is king, then outsourcers will get nowhere in the long run.
I am the victim of an outsourcing IT disaster. The company I worked for swore never again. We lost so much time and money. Never again. Now outsourcing as an affiliate is another story. That’s an easy choice.
That is a sweet video! – Thanks
Powerful Info, Thanks for sharing.
And this is not old news?
Is this the same guy who started blog rush?
Yes, John Reese is a great guy and I think this course will come full of great content for those who are just starting out and don’t know much about outsourcing.
Yes, John makes a strong case for outsourcing. We might need his product to shortcut the steps in finding suitable workers who’ll do quality work for that $2/hr pay rate. John Reese has certainly come a long, long way since year 2000 and outsourcing is the one thing I need to pick up on, quickly… thanks. GD.
John lost his eyesight?
Anyone else find it a real turn off that he recorded this vid wearing sunglasses?
Eye contact (well, from the perspective of the viewer) is an essential part of the sales process.
Love the idea of outsourcing, especially when it comes to the tasks you hate to do.
Yeah, the sunglasses, the whole tone, stinks of shady. Couldn’t sit through the hype to find out if there was any useful info at all.
Great! I think I am even ready to buy it)
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Hm, So i am happy with this but nevertheless not absolutely positive, thus i am gonna research a little more.
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