What is outsourcing? This is the most basic question many have about the subject of outsourcing. They are not yet interested in more complex aspects of the issue because they have not yet grasped the most basic understanding of the process. In the simplest language outsourcing is when a company delegates the completion of certain tasks to an individual not employed by the company directly. This individual may be an independent contractor or an employee of another company who is subcontracted to complete these tasks. In exchange for the individual’s services, he or his company receives monetary compensation. Outsourcing has become a very popular alternative because of some reasons.

While cost reduction is still a primary advantage, other elements such as access to specified experts, a larger workforce and more flexible options are being claimed as the other advantages offered by outsourcing. This will ensure business owner can take much more time and effort to concentrate on their business while other supportive aspects are handled by other hands.

Internet marketing and outsourcing work very well together. In fact most Internet marketers employ at lease some degree of outsourcing. The most common aspects of Internet marketing which are outsourced are copywriting and website design. Ideally these tasks will be delegated to individuals who are skilled in search engine optimization (SEO). Additionally, those who manage multiple niches may opt to outsource the responsibilities of managing some of their niche markets. Other popular outsourcing projects are Web design, web applications, programming, other similar projects. Finding the right people for your projects can be very frustating, but you don’t have to worry because there are some freelancing and outsourcing groups you can find over the internet. Generally they are gathered together on a forum or website like this one (taskcity) taskcity.com is free market for freelancers and employer where you can find your project outsource experts or if you are freelancer you can also join them for free, start build your reputation, and bid for jobs available in the website.

As a freelancer

Basically the website will try to unite job seeker and job poster, in this case if you are freelancer you will need to post your resume, your past projects and your specialized ability. This will group you into specific field of available jobs based on your ability. You also will need to build more reputation or rating which will include your ability, trustworthy, project completion rate and customer satisfaction (within their project which overtaken by you). You will compete with other freelancer on bidding projects posted by the owner.

As company owner

The most basic advantages is already mentioned above, with taskcity.com you will meet many programmers, designer, and freelancers. You should verify first before you decide to give them your project. You can also need to negotiate the wage which will give you flexibility and efficiency. More general advantages will be shown below

Working with freelancer will need some points to be considered carefully. You will meet with groups of freelancers that you may never met before. So these are some basic criterias you need to consider:

Verify Candidate Qualifications

One way to avoid being outsmarted by fancy resumes hyping the accomplishments of an individual is to verify all of the information on the resume before awarding the project. This may entail contacting previous employers as well as references to determine the capabilities and work ethic of the individual. Taking the time to verify the information on the resume can help to ensure the individual you outsource the work to is truly qualified to complete the project.

Outline Project Requirements Carefully

When outsourcing a project it is important to be very clear in outlining the project requirements. This is important so both the client and the independent contractor understand all of the requirements of the outsourced project. Preparing contract documents stating the exact project details and compensation to be provided is a good idea as well. Taking this extra precaution will ensure the client does not have to pay fees until the contract specifications are met. A contract can also be helpful if disputes arise and mediation is required to resolve the conflicts.

Additionally, it is wise to include information regarding the required deliverables in the contract documents. This should include the exact end product which should be submitted. In this portion of the document the client can specify information regarding whether they require the project submitted as a hard copy of the completed project, a soft copy of the completed project or both.

Schedule Periodic Project statuses

Regularly scheduled progress status meetings are very important when a project is outsourced. These meetings should be scheduled often enough to ensure the project does not fall too far behind schedule during any one phase of the project. These meetings can be helpful to both the client and the independent contractor. The client will benefit because they will remain in control of the project and can intervene if the independent contractor is heading in the wrong direction with the project. These meetings are also beneficial to the independent contractor because they can prevent him from being caught by surprise at the conclusion of the project if he misinterpreted the project requirements.

Working with online freelancer can gives you much benefits since you can set the maximum bid price (as project poster) and negotiate first before you choose which one who will take your job.