Outsource that MF - Inspired by Jon

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DrHowe

DrHowe

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Nov 22, 2006
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So I've been inspired by Jon's latest blog entry. I've been trying to do way to much of this shite myself. I'm an idea man. Not a tech man. My follow through is crap b/c almost every day I come up with a new million-dolla-dolla idea.

With that in mind, it's time to dive into the outsourcing world.

How about some reviews of common sites like elance and getafreelancer?

Or other sites and gems/ideas for outsourcing sources?

What are your experiences with them? Can you give examples?

Every been scammed CLingle style from an outsourcer?

Every gotten a simple unbelievable deal. Like an entire site designed and programmed for a few hundy and now it's making you millions?

Share the wealth. And adopt my new motto:

Delegate that bitch.

DrH
 


Hoorahhh! Another informative addition by Apple D! Thanks Apple! You're the best!
 
A couple of other freelancer sites for you:

Outsourcing Development

I don't use freelancers myself but generally speaking I would say that finding good ones is extremely difficult. Most of the experiences I have heard about using freelancers aren't particularly good ones. I would say you are better off trying to network at internet related conferences.

Rgds

WebRef
 
His comment does hold some weight. You can probably get a guy from India on guru.com to do some work on a site for about $500. It may even look nice but the code might absolutely blow - making it non SEO friendly and a pain in the ass for another programmer to come in and make changes should you want to do the same down the line.

It all depends on the scope of your project, I suppose. I think a very effective way to find a good designer/programmer is to poke around the internet at some smaller sites where you really like the design and take a look at the footer and see if it's linked to a person or company. Then contact them. For vbulletin forums, this is a nice way to go, but I imagine it holds true in other forms as well.

EDIT: ask to see (1) a portfolio and (2) references.
 
Very nice little spiel trigatch...

On that note has anyone used any smaller companies that offer: good rates, a reasonable timeframe (which they keep to), and some good code.

I agree that it seems that I'll never have enough time to keep up with my plans, so eventually everyone has to move onto outsourcing, or plateau.

I'm not stealing your thread DrHowe, Just trying to broaden it a little to help you out.
 
I have full-time guys working directly for me (not through an outsourcing company). To weed out the crappy guys, I gave everyone I interviewed a test. For the programmers, they were told to build a quick, nicely laid out site based on a data feed, and designers were told to come up with a new version of the homepage for one of my sites and explain why they did it the way they did. Almost everyone finished the tests, and when their work came in, it gave me a good idea of who was shitty and who could probably at least hold their own. I know some of you probably can't do full-time guys, but for me, at $700-800 a month each, it's great. The downside right now is that they work so fast, I can't keep them busy enough...
 
I'm an idea guy too - I have so many now that I have no idea if I will ever be able to get to them all...

I outsource everything - either via rentacoder for basic scripts, etc. or design teams that are cheap.

I make sure I have a very detailed project outline - with 'screen shots' that I have compiled using MSPaint and screenshots of sites that have features I want. I cut and paste the features into a mosaic of what I will have my site look like. I then label each feature - and in my outline describe each feature in detail. I then put together my business plan with a general summary and description of the site - and then break it down by page, with the details of each feature spelled out.

So far things are going well - I'm launching my 1st major site soon, at a cost of $1,500! No advanced graphic design though - that usually ends up costing more...

I also give the programmers my general description first - to get a basic quote and an idea if they can do it or not. If they say yes and the quote is good - I have them sign a Non-disclosure agreement and then send them the rest of my outline.

For me I know that if I take hours and hours learning advanced programming on my own, I will never get anything done.
 
BrianL said:
I have full-time guys working directly for me (not through an outsourcing company). To weed out the crappy guys, I gave everyone I interviewed a test. For the programmers, they were told to build a quick, nicely laid out site based on a data feed, and designers were told to come up with a new version of the homepage for one of my sites and explain why they did it the way they did. Almost everyone finished the tests, and when their work came in, it gave me a good idea of who was shitty and who could probably at least hold their own. I know some of you probably can't do full-time guys, but for me, at $700-800 a month each, it's great. The downside right now is that they work so fast, I can't keep them busy enough...
Click to expand...


wow id pay someone 700 dollars month to do shit for me! Where you get them?
 
BrianL said:
Job boards in eastern Europe and India. I actually spent a couple weeks over in Europe last year interviewing a couple of guys in person.
Click to expand...

Nice. I'll have to keep this in mind, as I'm planning a trip to Germany and the Czech Republic this year. Care to share the URL for the job boards?
 
Is speaking their language important? Would love to know the boards. I have a project I was going to throw out at Craigs List just to see what migth wash up...

I would pay 5-10 times that amount each for a few really good guys that could build me a site quickly without me needing to know anything about programming.


BrianL said:
Job boards in eastern Europe and India. I actually spent a couple weeks over in Europe last year interviewing a couple of guys in person.
Click to expand...
 
chucktown said:
Nice. I'll have to keep this in mind, as I'm planning a trip to Germany and the Czech Republic this year. Care to share the URL for the job boards?
Click to expand...

If you're looking for guys in the Czech Republic, try

English info about Jobs.cz web server
Error

India -

MonsterIndia.com - Jobs in India, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Submit resume, Apply for jobs
Best Jobs India :: Indian job search, job bank, employment and recruitment

If you can't find anyone that fits your needs on the normal job boards, you can do a search like this -

cv "web designer" india - Google Search

cv "web designer" czech republic - Google Search

...and end up with alot of people's portfolios and resumes.
 
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Good discussions here. FYI: I consider "outsourcing" the same thing as delegating or hiring a freelancer. Basically, anything where I hire someone else to do what I can't, don't want to, or am too slow at.

Alright, I'm diving in. I actually like doing the graphic design stuff myself, but the coding of anything, even simple html and css makes me want to throw something against the wall.

I'll keep u updated. Looking to outsource:
1. A small e-commerce site for a clothing boutique,
2. A blogger blog to WP CMS tranfer
3. Promotional widgets for Google Homepage / Desktop and maybe Mac Dashboard (barf)

And ebooks. Lots and lots of ebooks! (I just added this in hopes that Jon would see it and comment on his outsourcing experiences.) I'm convinced he does a daily WF search for "ebook". And then goes on a banning spree.

Peace,

DrH
 
I believe this is my first post, so I hope it doesnt suck. I have always used the Advertising forums at WebHostingTalk Forums - Web Hosting Discussion. I've yet to be disappointed and I've had probably 5-6 sites built there. You can find good designers and coders at reasonable prices and you can also find top of the line guys for the big bucks.
 
hahaha, you believe that is your first post? i am pretty sure it IS, bud.

on topic, i got some simple php scripting done from a guy on gurus.com for $15/hour. I was satisfied, though it was really simple and there was pretty much no way to fuck it up.
 
I have had best results with developers from eastern europe especially Romania & the Ukraine. As has already been said, you need a clear outline of what you are seeking to achieve written down.

Communication, make sure they are on messenger, aim etc and get regular updates. I have been strung along before to find 2 months down the road nothing has been done.

Once you find a good developer/designer keep them happy, I offer bonuses for early completion not mega bucks but enough to motivate.

If I see a site I like I try to find the developer/designer, sometimes "developed xyz.com" or designed xyz.com yields results
 
Hello, i live in south america, and i can do the job you are looking to outsource, please PM if any of you are still looking to outsource. I can show the portfolio too (through PM).
THanks.
 
i had a guy from calcutta , india do some design for me. I think that is like the poorest place on earth. It was cheap and fast
 
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