Ironically, in the last week, I stumbled upon three different sites that are promoting Outsourcing Strategies and Tips gleaned from successful web entrepreneurs. With the roaring success of such books as "The 4 Hour Work Week", it seems that a number of new resources are emerging to capitalize on the Outsourcing boom we are seeing take place on the Web.  The reality is that many SMBs (Small/medium Businesses) are quickly recognizing the power that effective outsourcing has for taking their web endeavors to the next level.

Here are the three resources I stumbled upon this week:

1. Outsourcing Outtakes - This resource is set-up as a Online Video Ezine which provides short video interviews of Successful Web Entrepreneurs sharing some different Outsourcing tips and strategies. Look like an interesting resource. I have viewed one of the videos thus far and to be honest the tips weren’t ground shattering, but I have subscribed and will continue to see if these video interviews have good value.

2. TheOutsourceCode - Now, this is a new series of CDs by Dr Mike that again provide some tips and strategies for leveraging the power of outsourcing for any new or existing web business. I see that their site now says that their tool has been sold out. The tool was retailing for $497  (as my memory recollects), which seems a bit pricy, but I haven’t fully reviewed the series, so can’t comment on whether it is worth the investment.

3. OutsourceandDelegate - I had a review of the Sales Letter for this new tool and I think this one could have some good value. The author, Dan Lok talks about the Ceiling effect that all to often occurs with small businesses who are trying to be "all things" for their business and not effectively delegating or outsourcing tasks. He illustrates this phenomenon with a nice little "organizational flowchart" image, which includes "YOU" as the CEO, VP of Marketing, Affiliate Marketer, Customer Service Rep, SEO Strategist etc….Wearing too many hats and taking on too many tasks can cause your business to hit a "Critical Mass" bringing your success to a grinding halt. The cost of this tool is $47 (pretty cheap) and he actually offers a Free Audio series that you can test drive before you buy the product which is nice.  I am going to buy this one and will send some more feedback later!

Being a SMB ourselves, we are always looking at ways to better delegate and outsource those tasks that are pulling us away from our core (revenue-generating) responsibilities.

It is cool to see this growing interest and demand in the outsourcing realm as it bodes well for Outsourcing Solutions like ESalesGuru.com which we are slated to launch at the beginning of August!

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As most of you know, I am an outsourcing evangelist through and through, primarily due to the positive effects it has had on my current business as well as previous web endeavors! Not to mention, our business, ESalesGuru.com is heavily focussed on the Outsourcing Field specifically as it relates to Internet Marketing.

Another fellow web entrepreneur ( A Canadian too!) who runs the site, ArtofMoney.org posted a very insightful commentary on 10 ways of Overcoming Outsourcing Objections. While Outsourcing endeavors do not always go perfectly according to plan (such is life), Jon provides some realistic and helpful ideas on making the most out of outsourcing - a good read!

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Well, I am officially in mourning…… My Canucks (NHL Hockey Playoffs) suffered a gut-wrenching defeat in overtime to go down 3-1 in the best of 7 series. But life must go on:)

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the practice of Outsourcing for Internet businesses has become an inevitable reality as they seek to meet budgets and remain competitive in a quickly change Internet landscape. I would say approximately 85% of the time, I have been very satisfied with my outsourcing endeavors and have been pleased with the results.

But, I want to chat about the 15% today! I recently suffered a set-back with a web application that I had outsourced to an International Firm. The overall performance and productivity of the company had started to spiral downward over the past couple months, which led me to the tough, but inevitable decision of letting this development team go. While this was a difficult process to deal with and costly from a time and invesment standpoint, it was also a great learning experience!

Many of you may have had an opportunity to read my report, Six Success Strategies for building Effective Outsourcing Partnerships. You can access the report at ESalesGuru.com.  My sixth strategy is to establish realistic and specific performance measures. I see that in my recent Outsourced project, I faltered on this particular strategy and let the performance measures get blurred.  The development firm repeatedly missed the mark on our agreed upon performance measures and yet I delayed the tough decision of pulling the project.  Yes, once again I did not follow my own strategies and advice that I always preach about!

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of being a pro-active Project Manager that continually evaluates the project progress against the original performance measures and time-frames that were established.

Well, I am happy to report that the "Outsourcing Blues" are behind me. I have moved on and selected a talented firm and have laid out clear expectations for the completion of our project.  Again, if you haven’t had a chance to review my above report, I highly encourage to to take a read as it may just help you avoid some of those pitfalls that I have personally experienced. Here is a quick summary of the Six Strategies:

1. Define for motivations/objectives for Outsourcing.

2. Know your Core Competencies.

3.  Choose the Right Outsourced Professional/Firm (The report includes a good evaluative process to help in your selection)

4. Build an effective project management Process.

5. Communicate effectively with your Outsourced Partners.

6. Establish realistic and specific performance measures.

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Well, if you have read a few of my posts, you probably already know my bias towards outsourcing… But again from my experiences, the value of outsourcing has been immense for my business! So, the way I see it, there are 6 good reasons to consider Outsourcing some of your Internet Marketing tasks in 2007:

1.  Enhanced Cost Savings - Outsourcing can provide significant savings on hiring, training and infrastructure costs.

2.  Access to World Class Expertise not available in-house - Quickly fill skill and service gaps with outsourced Internet Marketing Specialists.

3.  Improved Focus on Core Competencies - Ability to invest more time on the core strengths and outsource those task not core to the business.

4.  Enhanced Scope of Services - Many Internet Marketing firms have embraced outsourcing in order to expand the level of available services to their clients. Web businesses can increase their Internet Marketing capabilities by recruiting outsourced professionals.

5. Filling temporary or permanent skill and service gaps -  Given the current boom of the Internet industry, many companies are experiencing fast growth situations and in house work overload that is requiring a quicker solution then traditional hiring and training avenues.

6.  Improved Performance and Profitability - Based on my own research and experiences, I found that recruiting and managing the right kind of outsourcing partnership has the potential to improve the performance, productivity and profitability of your business.

A few good reasons to consider outsourcing this year…

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