Did you know that you can use offshore contractors to do IT work, help you as a virtual assistant, write for you or provide customer service, all at very low costs? I’ve done this, read on to find out how I did this.

The low cost of offshore contractors makes it possible for you to do things that would otherwise be uneconomical. Imagine being able to build a new website for $100, or get low cost email support for your customers.  It is all possible.

Firstly, you’ll need to use a third party site to bring you and the contractor together.  I use Rentacoder.com, and have had positive experiences with it.  How it works is that you post a bid request on the site, which describes the work.  Contractors can bid on it, and you can view their work history and bids, and select someone (although you are not obliged to).  The money for the job goes into escrow until the work is completed.  You contact them through the site as the work progresses.

In the end, you finish the request, release the money and rate the contractor (they also get to rate you).  If there is any problem with the contractor not delivering (or you being unreasonable or not releasing the funds), they have an arbitration system to handle ratings and the money in escrow.  This is a major benefit of using Rentacoder rather than trying to go direct – you won’t get burnt if the contractor doesn’t do the work.  Also, they accept credit cards, which is a lot easier than trying to pay someone in a place that doesn’t necessarily have a developed banking system.

What type of work can you have done?  Anything that doesn’t require the person to be there in person and can be done through email or IM.  You can do any type of data entry, virtual assistant work (for example, book keeping or customer service), writing text for websites, or articles for submission to article directories, website development or general IT development.  I also use a superb graphic designer through Rentacoder, and you can see her work on this website and the cover of my book.

There are a few critical success factors with using Rentacoder.  Firstly, don’t use it for time critical work.  You may end up being late on your project.

Treat the people who work for you with respect and cut them some slack.  In some countries, there are electricity and Internet problems that may delay their work.  They are offering you a great price.  Remember that you are probably dealing with someone in a developing country, and there are cultural differences that you need to respect.

Bear in mind that if you ask someone who is not a native English speaker to write something, it may not be the same as you would get from a native English speaker in your country.

Don’t expect one person to be able to do an entire project.  For example, if you want a website built, get a graphic designer, website coder and SEO person involved, not one person.  Don’t give a vague direction and expect to get what you want.  Do some detailed analysis to develop your requirements.

Don’t be stingy.  You will get a better price because living costs vary between countries, but be generous.  Give the person a bonus if they do well.  A bit extra makes the person your partner and you will be able to work with them again.

Don’t choose the cheapest person.  Don’t be unrealistic, for example don’t think that you will get a website for $4 or build a clone of Microsoft Word for $100.  Don’t choose the most expensive either, unless they are bringing a lot of experience to the table.  I would recommend waiting at least 24 hours after posting a bid to get a range of bids.

Keep in touch to make sure that the work is progressing as you want and communicate early if you have any issues.

Tags: offshore, outsourcing, subversive, virtual assistant

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Daily subversive tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.