WahmIAm

Business industry gurus say outsourcing is the wave of the future. Those that have tried it seem to have differing opinions. Bottom line? It’s a personal choice as to whether or not you think it will work for YOUR business.

Outsourcing means taking internal company functions and paying an outside firm to handle them. This supposedly saves money, improves quality, or frees up company resources. Whether or not it saves money, and improves quality is a major debate. If you’ve called for information about your mortgage and wind up talking to someone in another country – you’re going to have serious questions about the merits of this practice.

Outsourcing is supposed to cover non-core or non-important functions – i.e. landscaping duties to someone who specializes in the area. However, more and more companies seem to be farming out their call center and customer service areas – both of which are actually critical to the firm’s bottom line. If they’re handing out things like payroll, billing and data entry that’s not quite as public relations sensitive.

Another area you’re likely familiar with is information technology outsourcing – like getting a service tech on the line for a computer problem and finding out you both have trouble understanding each other, and face cultural and time zone differences.
If you want to outsource what do you need to do?

Develop your organization’s philosophy about the role of outsourcing in its activities. Decide if it will help YOUR business. Then, decide what to outsource, where to do it, and whom you want to do it. Work out the legal, pricing and service level agreement terms, and figure out who is going to manage this. If you’re going to outsource, you will need skills in negotiation, communications, project management, and a good understanding of the terms and conditions of your working contracts.

Is this for YOU? Only you can make that decision. Take time to check out all the angles before you jump in. Anecdotal evidence is a good indicator of whether or not outsourcing is working.

Oh right you’re thinking – do housework at the same time as trying to run a business at home. Not! Seriously, you CAN do this with a little pre-planning.

No time to make meals? Easy – make them ahead of time and throw them in the freezer. Do this after the kids are in bed – fewer distractions and less stress. You’ll have time to make that deadline.

Haven’t had time to get near the washer? Grab a basket and go hunting for the heaps in each room. Have a laundry sorter set up – whites in one side, colors the other. Train the kids and husband to pitch the right color into the right side and all you need to do it load the washer, turn it on, and get back to work.

Dust bunnies the size of Jack Russell Terriers under your beds? Focus on ONE room a day.
Make a list and when your child is napping or doing something else – dive in. You’re done quickly and can finish your calls or typing.

If your little one is old enough to help you, give them easy chores – dusting or polishing. Too young to dust or polish? Pop them into a back-pack sling and storm your way through the room you want to get done. They’ll be happy to be with you.

About this cleaning thing – as funny as it may sound – do it as you go. Most of us leave things until we absolutely can’t stand it any longer. See it needs doing – do it right away. Better a small thing now, than a monster job later.

Last, but not least – be creative with your time saving cleaning tips. Microwave need cleaning? Stick a bowl of water in it, zap it for five minutes. Voila! Steam cleaned microwave. Put degreaser in mop bucket. Wow – what it does to stains on the floor. Use a sheet of Bounce to collect cat hair. Being sneaky is the cornerstone to cutting corners when you need to tend your home business too.

As a WAHM, you probably have a circle of WAHM friends that you may have met locally or online. They share in your successes, offer advice when you get stuck and listen when you have a bad day. They understand your life as a work at home mom.

However, to grow as a person and a business professional, you may want to step outside of the WAHM comfort zone once in a while. You may be asking “Why on Earth would I want to do that?” Well, there are lots of reasons.

Even if you have been able to conduct all of your business online so far, why should you ignore the business in your own ‘backyard’? Check your local paper for the times and locations for meetings of business networking groups or call your local Chamber of Commerce and find out when they hold their meetings. Let’s say you go to the next meeting and there are 30 people there; statistics show that the average person knows 250 people…. Well, if each of those 30 people in your networking group knows 250 people, who knows how many of them may need your product or service?

By showing up regularly for meetings and events, you will get to know the other members. The conversation will eventually lead to the subject of what each of you does for a living. When they, or someone they know, are in need of your services, you will be the first person they think of to ask for help. Likewise, when you are in need of something, you will have an established list of contacts that will be more than willing to help you out!

Plus, these networking groups often have guest speakers and business seminars. Who knows? You may end up picking up some tax tips or learn some community news you wouldn’t have heard about if you were surfing an online WAHM forum.

In addition, these events give you a reason to get dressed up and get out of the house, and sometimes that is the only reason you need to go to them!