Outsourced My Life

(Guest post by Mrs. Outsourced)

My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Costa Rica.  I LOVE that outsourcing allows us so much freedom to travel and explore!  We flew into San Jose and then stayed in Jaco and Playa Langosta before flying back home after two weeks.  We had an incredible time seeing wildlife – gorgeous, brilliant flying Macaws, howler monkeys, sloths, crabs (everywhere!) – and experiencing another mode of life.  We were amazed at how many people they fit on bikes there – and how they ride and walk in the streets with cars passing whenever/wherever they please.  Traffic laws there are more like suggestions than rules.  We loved the (more…)

As many of the readers of this blog know, I’ve pretty much moved all of my outsourcing to oDesk .   I’ve been very happy with their platform and the workers / providers found through their system.   I’ve also met and been very impressed by their CEO Gary Swart & also their VP of Product StrategyMichael Levinson.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a “Mix & mingle with oDesk entrepreneurs”.    In the invite was the following: (more…)

I thought I’d take a moment to update this blog with my current status in outsourcing my life.

I’m still using oDesk as my primary source for talented (and inexpensive) worker bees.  At this point I feel like I’ve got a pretty solid group of individuals and am pleased with the services they provide and the quality of their work.

With that said, keep in mind that I adjust my expectations based on the amount I’m paying.   I often joke with friends that I don’t expect a $30 pizza from Little Caesars $5 Hot-N-Ready deal.   At the same time, when I do go to a fancy-smancy pizza joint with my friends and put down $30 for a pie, I expect a pretty freakin’ amazing pizza experience.   The same applies with my virtual assistants and other workers.   Where much is given, much is required!

I’ve still been focusing on many of the same tasks that I’ve been outsourcing for years, but over the past few months I’ve been moving into (more…)

A few days ago I received a saddening note from the virtual assistant I’ve been working with for the past year.  She’s been a fantastic part of my team.  Her English was amazing and she was fantastic at thinking “outside-the-box” and coming up with suggestions and improvements. While we parted on very good terms, I couldn’t get a clear idea of why she was leaving. She said she needed to move toward “other projects”.  I offered more money, but her mind was made up.

After a bit more review I believe she fell victim to something that has always been a concern of mine:  I’m not providing my VA’s with enough consistent work.  Going back and reviewing the past year I found that while there were spikes of 20+ hours a week, most of the time the average was only 5 hours a week.  I can completely understand how frustrating this would be to a contractor that might be expecting more consistent work.

Assuming this is the problem, what are my options? Here’s what I came up with: (more…)

I currently have 4 “virtual assistants” on oDesk (by VA I mean personal assistant, programmer, designer, etc.) and each has very different degrees of skills and the ability to know exactly what I want from them.

I’ve also worked with many different virtual assistants over the years. Each has had very diverse skills, experience, and personalities (much of which I’ve found can be formed by local culture). One of the things I’ve struggled with is finding the perfect balance between a virtual assistant that takes the right amount of initiative… not too much, and not too little.

What do I mean? Well, I’ve found that in some cases, initiative and following explicit instructions can be mutually exclusive. Still not sure what I mean? Maybe a few examples will help from two virtual personal assistants I had last year:

(more…)