When you run a small business you can often feel the need to do everything yourself.

In order to save costs you assume that it is much better to do things yourself, rather than to hire an employee. In many cases this can be true.

However, there are times when getting help in various areas of your business can be really beneficial. If you really don’t want to hire an additional employee then why not consider outsourcing?
How Outsourcing Benefits Businesses

Your business could benefit in numerous ways thanks to outsourcing services. Perhaps the main benefit is the fact that it leaves you with more time to focus on more important aspects of your business.

You can outsource tasks such as payroll which leaves you with one less hassle each month. By not having to worry about payroll, you can take the time to analyze how your business is doing and what needs to be improved. Basically, outsourcing gives you the time that you need to expand and improve your business. This in the long term will earn you more money.

Another advantage is that the person/business that you outsource your work to will be skilled in that area. They will potentially be a lot more skilled than you are. This means that they will carry out the tasks much more professionally and efficiently than you could by yourself. It can be worth paying a little extra money to get much better results.
Planning the Work Which Needs to be Outsourced

Before you agree to outsource parts of your business, make sure that you know exactly what needs to be done. Write a list of the areas that you are not currently great at. Is there one particular area that you are not excelling in?

Perhaps you really struggle with advertising? Or maybe hiring and firing is more your problem? When you have a list of the areas of your business that can be improved, it will help you to give better instructions to the remote worker and to improve the areas that actually need extra assistance.
Make Sure to Compare Different Outsourcing Services

When you look into outsourcing, you will find that there are two main choices.

Firstly there are individuals that typically work on a freelance basis. Then there are outsourcing companies. These will usually consist of a few employees who are skilled in different areas of business. One could be a skilled accountant, while another may be an expert in marketing. If you are looking to outsource a few different tasks then a company could be the best option. If you are looking for the cheapest prices then an individual freelancer may be the best choice.

No matter whether you choose an individual or a specialist business, it is important to compare your options.

Look at testimonials if you can and see whether other people recommend them. If you are looking at businesses then you may be able to find online reviews about them. These will give you a good idea of whether the company is reliable and professional.
Will You Require Long Term Outsourcing Services?

You need to consider how long you want to use the services of a remote professional. Will it just be a temporary thing? If so then a freelancer could be a great option. They will often be able to cover seasonal work when your business is busier than usual.

If you are hoping that it is a longer term arrangement then you will need to find a company who can offer you a reasonable price. If you look at different companies you should find that some offer competitive pricing for long-term clients.
Sorting Out the Legal Aspects of Outsourcing

One thing that many business owners forget to do when outsourcing their work is to ensure that they have non-disclosure agreements in place. If your job entitles handling confidential information then you need to make sure that you can trust the outsourcer.

If they do something that compromises your customer’s data then it will be you that mainly pays for that mistake. It could potentially ruin your business. Therefore you need to ensure that you make the outsourcer sign a non-disclosure agreement before any work swaps hands.

Another legal aspect of outsourcing is making sure all of the work completed belongs to you. If for example, you outsource your writing work, will you receive full copyright? Many people assume that the work will automatically belong to them once it has been completed. However, this really isn’t always the case.

You should always make sure that you are covered in case of theft or damage to your business. The consultant could make a mistake and you need to ensure that you are not held accountable for that mistake. These are the main three legal aspects of outsourcing that you really need to understand. If you don’t then it could have serious repercussions. If in doubt call in a pro.
Why Cost Isn’t the Most Important Factor

You will no doubt be looking to save as much money as you can on outsourcing. This can lead you to consider hiring really cheap services from professionals in India, the Philippines, and other far corners of the world. Before you do, it is important to understand that these professionals will not always provide you with the best quality work.

Just because someone comes from another country it doesn’t mean they won’t do a good job. In fact often they will, but sometimes things get lost in translation, so you need to be certain your outsourcer properly understands what you want from them before they start working for you.

While cost is an important factor when choosing an outsourcer to work with, it shouldn’t be the only factor you look at.

Take a look at their portfolio and the results that they have created. Look at the references and research their reputation. If they produce great quality work and a really low price then by all means, hire them instantly. However, you will often find that with outsourcing, you do get what you pay for.

Source:http://www.resourcenation.com/blog/successfully-outsourcing-work-in-your-business/32876/

When Atlantis launched Friday, it had one primary mission: resupply the International Space Station. And when it returns to Earth, another spaceship is ready to take on that mission — for a profit.

A California firm has both a rocket and a $1.6 billion NASA contract that could have it supplying the ISS by the end of the year. Within the next six months, SpaceX plans to make its first test dock with the orbiting lab and deliver supplies, a major step in NASA’s strategy to remain in space without a spaceship of its own.

“We see Dragon and Falcon 9 as inheriting the Shuttle’s legacy,’’ SpaceX spokesman Bobby Block said of the company’s capsule and rocket, both built using nearly $300 million in NASA seed money.

The shift from NASA-owned ships to essentially rented vessels has sparked a wave of worry over the future of space travel in general. Perhaps nowhere is the anxiety more pronounced than in Brevard County, the heart of Florida’s fabled Space Coast.

Through attrition, layoffs and canceled contracts in a process that began in 2008, the retirement of the shuttle program is expected to cost the region $2.8 billion in economic activity, and about 13,000 jobs. United Space Alliance, a consortium of private contractors responsible for many of the shuttle operations, told Florida regulators they plan to eliminate more than 1,900 jobs within the next six weeks alone.

NASA promises the private-sector space flights will be a temporary break in the agency’s pursuit of cosmic destinations.

A fledgling NASA program would build a new ship capable of returning to the Moon or landing on an asteroid. Both are seen as potential midway points for a manned mission to Mars. That kind of undertaking would likely bring the Space Coast its third big windfall, following the heydays of the Apollo and shuttle programs.

Until then, though, a certain amount of hope rests on spaceships for hire.

“That’s our opportunity to create more opportunity for jobs post-shuttle, where in the Apollo days we didn’t have that chance,’’ said Lynda Weatherman, head of the Economic Development Commission for Florida’s Space Coast. She was referring to the lean years at the Kennedy Space Center, as the United States ended its Moon missions on Apollo rockets while gearing up for the shuttle trips to Earth’s orbit.

“There is work to be done,’’ she said. “The space station is there.’’

Space “tourism” gets much of the attention when it comes to private spaceflight. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has already collected $57 million in deposits for flights 60 miles into the sky, high enough to both experience weightlessness and see the Earth’s curvature, a spokeswoman said. The spacecraft is going through tests before it can make an inaugural flight; tickets cost $200,000.

But replacing the shuttle has prompted a more high-stakes space race as companies compete to snag lucrative delivery contracts — both cargo and crew. Until private firms are cleared for human space travel, NASA plans to pay Russia to bring astronauts to the space station. The cost should be about $65 million per seat. SpaceX is testing a vessel it says can do the job for about $20 million per passenger.

Even the space program’s biggest supporters concede private companies can probably put payloads and astronauts into orbit faster and cheaper than NASA can. Space flight has gotten routine enough that the margins are squeezable.

It’s really not rocket science any more,” said Dale Ketcham, director of the Space Research & Technology Institute at KSC, a research center run by the University of Central Florida. “It’s still dangerous. It’s important. It’s not cheap. But we’ve been doing it for 50 years. The Russians have been doing it longer. The Chinese can do it. The Indians will be doing it in two years.’’

SpaceX is run by Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal, the leading processor of online transactions. Among its competitors for NASA contracts for human spaceflight: Blue Origin, a company based in Washington State and backed by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com. NASA awarded Blue Origin about $25 million in seed money to help develop a spaceship for the post-shuttle era.

Two other companies are in the running to take over the shuttle’s delivery route to the ISS: Sierra Nevada Corp., of Sparks, Nev., and Boeing, long one of NASA’s primary contractors.

“The space shuttle had its job. It was like a big moving truck,’’ said Sierra Nevada Chairman Mark Sirangelo, referring to the shuttle’s central role in assembling the ISS. “Now you’ve moved into your house. You just want an SUV to get you around town.’’

While workers at the Kennedy Space Center prepared Atlantis for the final journey to the ISS, heavy equipment operating just outside the gates were beginning to clear the way for the spaceport’s commercial future. Veiled in clouds of dust, bulldozers and dump trucks spread fill along a spur road called Space Commerce Parkway, laying the foundation for what NASA is calling Exploration Park.

“I assure you,’’ said Jim Ball, the NASA executive charged with leasing Exploration Park, “there will be life at Kennedy Space Center after the shuttle retires.”

But will there be wanderlust? That’s the question looming over NASA’s move toward private spacecraft. By relying on companies like SpaceX to get astronauts into orbit, critics say, NASA risks losing the talent required to land a human on Mars. Even worse: What if China gets there first?

“There aren’t too many people in the country who can do these sort of things,’’ said George Cecala, press secretary to Rep. Bill Posey, a Republican from Brevard who worked as a NASA contractor in the early 1970s but was laid off when NASA ended the Apollo program.

Under pressure from lawmakers in Florida and other states with large space industries, NASA is pursuing a vehicle that would let it bring astronauts to the space station in the event a private contractor can’t. Known as Orion, the “multi-purpose” vehicle’s main function would be to transport astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit for the kind of budget-busting missions that defined America’s space program since the 1960s. “There is no money in space exploration,’’ said Ritch Workman, a state representative from Melbourne and chair of the Florida Space Caucus. “There is no money for SpaceX to say, ‘You know what, let’s go check out the Moon.’ ’’

But advocates of NASA’s commercial contracts see the agency fueling a new wave of entrepreneurship in space. Bigelow Aerospace, owned by the founder of the Budget Suites hotel chain, is counting on a private craft to haul customers to a space station it is already trying to lease.

“We will provide a comprehensive turn-key experience including our clients’ transportation and on-orbit needs,’’ reads Bigelow’s website. “Whether you are a sovereign nation developing an astronaut program, a corporation interested in microgravity research, or an individual with a desire to experience space, we can help you achieve your goals.’’

Spacecraft companies think they can leverage NASA dollars into a larger portfolio of private clients, from satellite operators to zero-gravity vacation homes.

“NASA is like the anchor tenant at the mall,’’ said Sirangelo, chairman of Sierra Nevada. “They’re the Niemans that comes in and sign the big lease, and you can build the mall around them.’’

Source:http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/12/2311141/orbital-outsourcing-hopes-to-inherit.html