Archive for June, 2006

A Few Words About Outsourcing

Wednesday June 28th, 2006 @ 10:16 pm

Dear Valued Subscriber,

Today I want to talk to you a little bit (and give you a couple of GREAT tips) about outsourcing; primarily outsourcing at places such as scriptlance.com, elance.com and the alike.

You may not find my advice useful today, but I am SURE it can save you (and make you) a lot of money one day.

Okay, so what’s outsourcing?

According to Dictionary.com:
“obtaining goods or services from an outside supplier; to contract work out; “Many companies outsource and hire consultants rather in order to maintain a flexible workforce”

So yeah, it basically means to hire people to do stuff for you.

I rely heavily on outsourcing when it comes to software programming, article writing and complicated script installations.

Here’s how outsourcing for software and/or custom made scripts works.

Let’s suppose you have a great idea for a software program… BUT you are not a programmer!

What do you do?

You head on over to scriptlance.com, create an account and post your project.

Programmers will start bidding rather quickly, usually like an hour after you posted. (many programmers will bid on your project and you get to choose who works on it)

How much can you expect to pay for a software program or script?

Well, that depends on the complexity of your project, but I usually pay about $200-$500.

But remember, it will be YOUR Software, or YOUR Script! If you have a strategy in place, you will easily recoup your investment.

Here are some tips to follow:

TIP #1:
Always have a very detailed project description, and I do mean VERY detailed.

Do not just post a brief explanation, here’s why:

Lets say you post a brief explanation and a programmer bids $100 to complete your project.

Awesome, right? You’re about to have your software program created for only 100 bucks, right? Wrong.

Once you hire the programmer, and you start being more detailed…

He’ll tell you something like: “You do realize that this is beyond the scope of the project?”

In other words: “You are going to have to pay me more”

Yes, I am guilty. The very first time I posted a project I ended up paying close to $500 for what was supposed to cost me $75. Yikes.

But I learned my lesson. I now write very detailed descriptions, some times about 4-6 pages long. (Hey, that extra bit of writing will save you some moola)

Tip #2:
Stay in touch with the programmer if you liked his/her work.

Yes, ask for their messenger Ids or even their phone numbers. Be nice to them, respectful, let them know that their work kicks-butt! (feed their ego)

Why?

Because they’ll like you and if you ever need another project done… they’ll gladly do it and they’ll probably be more reasonable on the price.

Outsourcing Articles.

First of all, let me start by saying that I personally write everything I send you, as well as every post on GabrielAguinaga.com. (You can probably tell)

Anyhow, I don’t have to tell you about the many benefits that come from article writing… but the main reason I started outsourcing articles was because I created a site named: InstantProfitsCenter.com

As part of the membership, members get 20 original Private Label Articles per month. Frankly, I don’t have the time, patience or writing skills to churn out 20 original articles per month. (700+ words each)

So I outsource them.

Listen, you don’t have to have a private site like mine to outsource articles… if you cannot write, then you can simply get them written for you (about $10 per article) at Elance.com Or you can always join IPC and get 20 orginal articles you can call your own every month… and for a very low monthly fee. :)

Here’s the TIP:

If you are going to outsource, lets say, 15 articles.

Post 3 different projects for 5 articles each.

This way you can have 3 different writers work on your articles.

WHY?

Because once you get them completed, you’ll be able to decided whose writing style you like best, and you can then hire that one person for all you articles writing duties. Simple, but effective.

Alrighty… that’s pretty much all I have to say about that. :)

Finally, please excuse any grammatical errors. I just sit, type and pay little or no attention to grammar; after all, this is not an English class, right?

All The Very Best To You and Your Loved Ones!

Your Partner In Success,
Gabriel Aguinaga

I Forgot My “Idea”

Monday June 12th, 2006 @ 4:34 pm

Dear Valued Subscriber,

I was asked by one of my subscribers if I was currently working on any projects, and the answer is “yes.”

I have a super awesome product launch scheduled for late July… it will blow people’s minds! I am very excited about it. Stay tuned.

Anyhow, I write to you mainly because I want to give you a bit of advice about “Ideas”

Here it goes:

“WRITE THEM DOWN!”

Yes, yesterday I had this great idea for a product, and I thought to myself, “I have to write this down”

But then I thought, “Nah, It’s too good of an idea, I wont forget it”

Guess What?

I FORGOT IT! :(

I still can’t remember what it was. All I know is that it was a “killer” web script idea, but that’s about it.

From now on, I’m going to walk around with a little notebook in my pocket so I can jot down my light-bulb moments.

I would advice you to do the same, you never know when that BIG idea is going to sneak up into that brain of yours, and you definitely want to be prepared.

Don’t take this “simple” advice lightly, I strongly urge you to come up with a system to keep track of your ideas, as one (or more) of them may help you succeed on or offline.

Take Care and God Bless!

Your Partner In Success,
Gabriel Aguinaga