rescuedeskva.com Blog

I get up close and personal in understanding the nuances of business process outsourcing, otherwise known as BPO to all you acronym-loving CEO/COO/CFO/VP/EVP/CKO-types out there.

My theory is that BPO is quickly solidifying itself as a huge, resourceful, practical tool in today’s market for two reasons.

First – and perhaps most obvious – it’s an extremely cost-effective solution in today’s economic climate.  Just because the market is scrambling to pull itself up by its bootstraps, that does not mean businesses aren’t still scrambling to continue growing and increasing revenues. They’re just looking for cost-efficient, realistic, functional, outside-the-box alternatives to do so. An obvious alternative is outsourcing some of those day-to-day business processes.

Second, and maybe as a result of reason #1, organizations are seeing that outsourcing is simply an efficient tool in general to integrate into the overall business strategy … of any sized organization.

Why create an entire IT department when you can outsource some (if not all) of your tech needs to an already-established expert? Do you need to bring in an HR manager, when there are human resource consultants available on-call when you need them? And, my personal favorite, why hire an on-staff executive assistant to handle the details of your day, when there’s one right here who can do all the same things without the stress, cost and commitment of bringing on a permanent employee?

Every day I’m amazed at the new technologies I learn about that are easily and readily available for those of us in the BPO arena … tools that not only make our jobs easier, but also those of our clients.  Need to have a quick, few-sentence conversation? Click on your instant messenger and see if your service provider is online. Have a large file that needs to be sent? Check out some of the FTP or “drop” sites for quick and easy file sharing. Want someone else to be able to access files directly from your computer? Take your pick from several remote access tools.

The definition of BPO grows almost as quickly as technology changes. Back in the day, “outsourcing” brought images of larger-than-life corporations sending production lines offshore to other countries. Today, the one-person consulting firm down the street outsources her bookkeeping to a bookkeeper, sends her marketing materials and newsletter copy to her virtual assistant to produce, and emails her list of prospects to an off-site appointment-setter. 

What does she get in return? The equivalent of a three-person staff and the time to focus on what she does best – consult her clients and grow her business.

Before embracing the Brave New World of BPO, a little due diligence is always in order.  There’s a good BPO 101 article that was published on SourcingMag.com that outlines a few of the first considerations. But, do a Google search, and I’m sure you’ll be up against countless other resources.

But, you’ll find any BPO-related service provider is just as interested in making sure you understand the benefits and potential challenges as you are in discovering how to make it a workable solution for you.

Last spring, I had the good fortune to start meeting with some of my local virtual assistant colleagues for an occasional breakfast gab-fest. It was a pretty small group, but we got along famously and had fun talking about our businesses, sharing referrals and tossing around ideas.

It didn’t take long, and we got to thinking: Are we the only ones doing this? The only people getting together to network and build a little local support network?

After a little digging, we found … well … nothing.

We couldn’t find any other groups in the state. So, being the freakishly organized people we are, we decided to start one.

The Wisconsin Virtual Assistant Network officially launched earlier this month, with the introduction of our Website to as many Wisconsin-based virtual assistants as we could find.

In a matter of days, we got responses from almost half the VAs we contacted, filling out their membership profiles to be posted to the new site. The goal is to profile all the active virtual assistants in Wisconsin, allowing both the business community to meet us and learn more about adding a VA to the team, and providing tools and resources for VAs to grow their practices.

As the interim marketing and communications person for our new statewide group working to get the word out, I’m beyond thrilled about this venture! I’m excited to introduce VAs to each other and build support networks for our local industry; I’m excited to promote the industry to the state’s business community; I’m excited to help plan and develop workshops and seminars; I’m excited to educate everyone I talk to about the benefits of having a VA on the team.

So, to my fellow Badgerland VAs, welcome! And to the Wisconsin business community, let us know what we can do to support you and your efforts for growth!

When I flip the calendar from July to August, it’s usually met with a groan and exasperated sigh.  Why? Because August is the worst month. Ever.

August is like the Sunday night of the calendar year. When I was a kid, it meant a few short weeks until school started. Throughout my career, it usually meant a few short weeks until the beginning of an insanely busy fall season.  My usual glass-half-full optimism battles with glass-almost-empty pessimism because I know the clock is ticking. I spend the entire month feeling like I’m staring down the barrel of busy.

There are no holidays, it’s ridiculously hot, and it’s long – 31 days.  There’s no “like ripping off a band aid” quick solution to getting through it. Believe me, I’ve tried. Some years I mark off the days with a big red marker.  Other years I’ve bought myself a little present for every week I got through without incident. Last year I went so far as to cut out the word “July” and tape it over the word “August” on my wall calendar, trying to convince myself it was like July was a reeeeeeeaaaaaallly long weekend. 

With the exception of an occasional birthday, the only good thing about August is September follows it.

But, this year is different. For the first time, I can actually do something about it.

I’m sure there are others who share my aggravation with August. This year I’m channeling my empathy into my work. Thanks to what I do, I can effectively use it to make a difference in someone else’s end-of-summer blues.

My job is to make my others’ jobs easier by taking care of details of their to-do lists, so I have a feeling many are starting to feel the same way I do. They look at their projects, task lists and looming deadlines, wondering where the summer went when they thought they’d have all the time in the world.

Well, I’m here to help. I know exactly what it’s like wondering if you’re prepared for the next busy cycle. Details you didn’t consider crop up, to-do lists are littered with addendums of addendums, and you think you’ll never be ready.

But, you will be ready. September is going to roll around whether you like it or not. Time is the great equalizer … everybody has the same amount, no matter who you are or how busy you are. The difference is in how you use that time you have. You can spend time stressing about the details, or let someone else handle them and spend time planning for the big picture.

Since launching my business earlier this year, a huge part of my time is spent networking. After all, I own a heavily referral-based business, and the more people I meet, the larger my client base grows.

But, I recently went through an interesting exercise with a consultant friend of mine, who asked “How much are these events costing you?”

“Um … well … I leave from these events with the same amount of money I went with … so … nothing?”

I knew it was the wrong answer, but I wanted our conversation to segue into my friend’s area of expertise — cost-effective networking.

I’d never put any hard numbers behind my networking. Thankfully, I’ve been pretty lucky just relying on word-of-mouth combined with a little research, and I’ve found success at most of the events, speakers and meetings I’ve attended. But, our conversation was a reminder that my time is valuable, and that it’s OK to cherry pick.

Having a basic idea about a group’s membership or event’s attendees is an obvious place to start. If your business caters to other businesses, for example, attending Chamber events or checking out local referral-networking groups is a no-brainer.

But, don’t stop there.

Pull out your business plan and take a look at your ideal clientele. How large is your ideal client? Five employees? A hundred employees? What’s their estimated annual revenue? Can they easily afford and appreciate the value your business provides?  Which department do they oversee? Accounting? Human Resources? The whole enchilada?

Find out where these folks hang out – it could be industry association meetings, a monthly happy hour, or even in an online networking group.

Another thing I’ve found, which can sometimes fly in the face of your research, is to pay attention to your gut and watch the interaction.

I once attended a weekly referral networking group as the guest of a business acquaintance.  I did my due diligence ahead of time, and it seemed like it could be the perfect fit … the representative businesses fit my clientele criteria, the weekly meetings fit into my schedule, and I appreciated the group’s vision.

Well, while the businesses certainly fit my client base, it turned out very few of the attendees were the decision-makers I needed, nobody came up to say hello or introduce themselves, and 95% of the referrals were one member simply using another member’s services … I knew I’d burn through that pretty quickly.

So, before filling up your calendar with networking events and meetings, take the time to determine the investment you’re making. Ten or 15 minutes of quick research could mean the difference between a few hours of potentially wasted billable time or finding yourself in a room full of potential clientele.