While there are mostly benefits to outsourcing work to help you grow a web based business there are also some disadvantages to be aware of. Probably the biggest disadvantage to having somebody else do work for you is a lack of quality. Not surprisingly, others will not be as passionate or quality conscious towards your business as you are and many people that have work outsourced to them are just in it for the easy cash. In this case it is beneficial to be able to somehow test and compare potential “employees” to make sure you are paying money for the best possible service you can get within your price range.

My own online business is a good example. For a long time now I have been writing articles on various topics to add to my websites and blogs. Now that the number of projects I run is fast approaching 50 sites it has become more difficult to write good content regularly and still research new avenues and ways to make money online. So I made the decision to hire article writers, or Ghostwriters as they are known and outsource all the article writing to them.

Briefly, I put out an advert entitled Article Writers Wanted and I must say, had a huge response. From that response I was able to send each potential candidate an article topic to write on as a sample of their writing ability. The topic was the same for everybody and allowed me to compare their ability and style and all articles were checked on Copyscape for originality, something I am very cautious of when publishing new content online. I was able to choose what I believe to be the best two writers to outsource all my writing needs to while I am now free to research and focus on building the business to take things to the next level.

There are of course many different ways to find the right kind of people to work with and help you get tasks done, the only reason I shared what I am doing is to give a working example of how one could find people. Of course that won’t work in all cases but it is important to see some examples of work or a portfolio of some kind when looking to hire people to help you grow your business and assist in offering solutions for your outsourcing needs.

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1: Failure – What??!! Yes failure. If you never fail at anything you will never learn how to make certain decisions that contribute to success. Many of the world’s best business men and women have hit rock bottom before climbing to the top.

2: Nerves Of Steel – There are times that entrepreneurs get close to bankruptcy before a contract deal or sales come through to lift the bank balance again. Staying calm in these times requires nerves of steel.

3: Patience – Somewhat related to needing calm nerves I suppose but patience is often required in board meetings and dealing with clients who insist you need to hear their life story! (Personal experience and I won’t go into detail).

4: Sense Of Humour – In my humble experience I have found that cracking the odd joke with a client can lighten the all too corporate mood and even be the deal clincher when competing for new business.

5: Persistence - A business person needs to be persistent in almost every area for things to run as smoothly as they can. Marketing, management, administration, production, every part of a successful venture needs to be running constantly. If one link gets rusty, the chain eventually breaks and the machine stops working.

As I said, there are many other factors that contribute towards the success of a business and these are just a small handful I thought about today.

If you would like to add any of your own then please do so from the comment box below this post.

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A good few years ago I left my employer of 10 years in the printing industry and decided to start my own surfwear label called Nudge Boardwear. In fact the website is still live (www.nudgeboardwear.com) because I make a little extra pocket money from the ads on the site but the business has been put on the bench for different reasons.

I am now running my own website design and development business called Jumping Spider web design on the outskirts of Cape Town South Africa. Jumping Spider was never a business I intended starting, I wouldn’t say it was an accident but certainly the last thing on my mind when I left my employer to start Nudge Boardwear.


Why am I telling you this lot? – Read on a bit.


I needed a website for Nudge Boardwear and I wanted an e-commerce site to be able to sell the surf clothes worldwide. After doing a little research and almost dying too young because of the expensive quotes I was getting for an e-commerce site I made the decision to do the site myself. To cut a long story short I had very little experience in any kind of web design and to dive straight into putting an e-commerce site together and actually getting everything to work correctly was quite challenging to say the least! Anyway, I did manage to pull it off and was stoked when the website made its first sale. Talk about work satisfaction.

Shortly after doing the Nudge site I had one or two friends approach me for sites which I happily did for them for next to nothing and before I knew it Jumping Spider Web Design was born and is now flourishing into a business for which I have a vision that sometimes shocks people I share it with and often surprises even me! That’s another post.

There is more to this but I only wanted to highlight the main points so that I can get to the reason for this article and hopefully encourage those who are considering starting a business.


GO FOR IT!!


You absolutely never know what lies ahead for you tomorrow. In the world of business, although challenging at times, you’re going to get far greater rewards than you would working for any kind of boss… ANY kind. Not to mention the much bigger financial benefits in the long run. One thing leads to another in business, you make contacts, meet potential clients stumble across opportunities, create opportunities, It’s exciting and rewarding.

Never let a small emotion (or any kind of emotion come to that) like fear stand in your way. After all, chances are you’re not going to die just because you tried to start a business. You may lose girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, wives, kids, your car, house, favorite clothes and jewelery, the big screen T.V., Hi-Fi, your friendship group and the family dog but you won’t die. Yes… just kidding.

If running a business gets too much for you and you can’t take the heat then just pull out when you can and go back to work. At least you’ll always have the satisfaction that you tried, which is far better than always wondering things like “what if…” or “If only I had….” when you’re old and gray.


Anyway, this is what I’m saying - Don’t let anything stand in your way if you are seriously considering starting your own business, get your head down and go for it.

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WRONG!

It’s extremely important to discipline yourself correctly when starting your own business. You have to be in the same mindset as if you were working for a boss. Set a strict time to start work, take breaks and lunch at proper set times and stick to them. There may come a time when you can be a bit softer on yourself and allow more flexibility but when starting a new business stay strictly disciplined, it will pay off.


4: Analysis - Part of starting a new business, if your business idea involves something that’s already being done, is to conduct a competitive analysis in your chosen market. In English that basically means being aware of what your competitors are doing. Chances are they’ve been in the game for a while so do an analysis on their product lines, prices, advertising, services, quality, distribution and promotions. If you see something you feel can be done differently or even better than your competitors write it down and make a plan of how you will implement it within your new business.


5: Ask Questions - Never be afraid to ask established businessmen and Women for their advice. Most business people will be willing to help as they were more than likely in the same position once upon a time. Seek help from small businesses and ask questions. I don’t mean going into the local T-shirt shop and asking their advice for the T-shirt shop you’re now starting up across the road from them but go to other small businesses. Have a nice friendly chat with them and you may be surprised what good business tips you can pick up just by chatting casually.

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The same applies for offline business. Lying about service or product delivery dates just to get the business or land the deal is going to throw you in hot water sooner or later.


Advice from Mr. Ali G – “Keep it Real”

A well known best form of advertising a business is by word of mouth and if you’ve been lying to people and making false promises you’re going to be upsetting them if you don’t deliver and they will quickly let others know about how you conduct things. It’s one of the fastest ways to kill your success.

Tell the truth even if a potential client seems a little unhappy about it, your honesty will prove to be a definite key to your success. It’s certainly not a lie to tell people they can make money online as some of us know that’s a fact but it is important not to blow things out of proportion giving people a false sense of hope and excitement.


Please feel free to comment, mail me your bank details and I’ll transfer $2000.00 into your account tomorrow. ( For the more serious folk, yep that’s a joke ) !!

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Personally I really like going to clients at their homes as everything is so relaxed and I can normally turn up in my regular shorts and a T-shirt but this is a boardroom we’re talking about so I’m not recommending that here.

I have been running a successful website design company in Cape Town South Africa for over two years now and we’ve been in and out of more boardroom meetings than I care to remember so I’ve put together a few suggestions on how you may want to handle things in the boardroom.


1) Dress Appropriately: Not every boardroom meeting is going to require you wear a shirt and tie, in fact most of the boardroom meetings we go to are a more smart/casual affair, no tie. If it’s a large corporate company you’re dealing with and those at the top are shirt and tie folk then you might be better off doing the shirt and tie thing otherwise a smart/casual look is normally good.


2) Be Confident: Some boardroom meetings can be a little intimidating when you first go in, large medieval looking tables surrounded by high back chairs, don’t let this intimidate you. Be bold and confident. The clients you are dealing with need to feel secure if they are going to be doing business with you and showing confidence in your services and products will put them at some ease.


3) Crack a Joke or Two: A good sense of humor and the odd funny line to make a potential client laugh can score you a lot of points. Be very careful here though, it must seem natural and be well timed. Don’t go into a boardroom meeting and open thing’s up with something like “Did you here the one about the two squirrels in the park”. If nothing funny crosses your mind during the boardroom meeting then don’t force it.

On the other hand, be sure to laugh if your client cracks a joke but again, let it be natural laughter and not a sudden outburst of false hysterics.





4) Smile a Lot: Don’t sit there looking like half your family just got wiped out in a freak snowstorm. Put on your best natural smile and make eye contact with whoever’s speaking when you do it.


5) Be Courteous and Well Mannered: Remember your please and thank you’s if you’re offered something to drink or eat, show some appreciation. When the meeting’s over and the time comes to exit the boardroom and leave your potential client, be sure to smile, shake hands and thank them for their time. If you’ve promised a quote for a service or products, be sure to follow up and deliver on time as promised.

A lot of things in the business world boil down to plain old common sense and the boardroom advice I’ve mentioned here is exactly that.

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Everything but death and taxes is negotiable.

I’m not saying you’ll always get what you want at the price you want it but you can surely negotiate and in a lot of cases you should. There’s a little preparation required and a few strategies you can apply when negotiating with someone so I have put together four simple lines to use when approaching a potential negotiation.


‘I’m definitely not prepared to buy at that price.’ That’s a clear sign to the salesperson that you’re ready to leave unless you can find common ground.

‘I need you to help me here. I want to do this deal, but there’s no way I can at this price.’

‘Let’s talk about how to make this more affordable.’ Follow up by saying, ‘I really like what you have, but …’

‘I’d love to do business with you.’ Follow this one up by explaining that you’re serious about making the purchase, but you need the figures to work.


As I said, try and find the common ground, you need to negotiate in such a way that it becomes a win – win situation. You’ll be surprised at what you can negotiate on. Anything from buying jewelry to legal advice and car insurance. If you’re uncomfortable with negotiating you need to get over that, you don’t have to enjoy it, your not doing any wrong or hurting anyone. You’re simply playing the game that the system is designed for.

I live in South Africa and years ago my Dad came out from the UK for a holiday, we had a great time. He thought because this was Africa that he could negotiate and bargain with everyone and as I believe you can, I encouraged him. It was just really embarrassing when we were holding up the queue at a large supermarket chain store while he was trying his negotiating skills with the girl at the till for our groceries.


Get Educated.

Do some homework and make sure you know what you’re talking about before you get there so you can make informed decisions. Surf the Internet and do some research. Do some comparative shopping. Never say ‘I haven’t got time for that.’ It takes 10 or 20 minutes.


Never take it personally.

Buying a car is much different than looking for a date. When the transaction is over, the salesperson moves on to the next customer. You don’t have to be concerned about whether they think you’re sweet, cheeky or funny. Also, don’t think there’s something wrong with yourself if the salesperson doesn’t budge or give you what you want. People don’t just give stuff away.

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