Evaluating Bidders on RenACoder.com

I know it sounds like echoes of Sarah Palin, but we’ve eliminated the overpriced and the inexperienced bidders, and now it’s time to drill down and review their work samples and portfolios.  This is the next phase of the selection process where we are going to be judging the quality of their work.

Depending on your project, you want to be on the lookout for skills that are relevant to the project you are doing.  For this current project, we are a looking for competent “flashmasters” (I think I just coined that term!) to add our content to a predesigned flash template.

Hence, the inventiveness and “Wow factor” is not as much an issue - we’ve already selected our flash site.  For someone looking for a custom-designed, this would be an important factor.

The next thing we want to take a look at is their responsiveness.  Some bidders did not include samples of their work, so I sent them a quick reply asking for samples.  Most answered right away, a good sign.  If the coder takes a day or two to get back to you, what do you think is going to happen during your project?

In this video you will learn:

• how to narrow the field From 30 To 10 In 60 Seconds
• how to evaluate the quality of the coders work
• how to evaluate skills relevant to your project
• how to test for responsiveness

Enjoy the video and as always, feedback/comments are appreciated!

Next video: “…and the winner is_______”

Tags: guru, make Money online, online marketing, outsourcing, web graphics, online, programming, autoresponder, outsource, software

Evaluating Bidders - First Draft

It’s Day 2 of my outsourcing adventure, and in the first 24 hours I’ve had about 30 outsourcers bid on my flash website project.

The bidding is getting fierce, and it’s driving the prices lower!  The prices that I’ll have to pay, that is

It’s Pakistan against India, Egypt against Romania, China against the Phillipines - I’m talking my Bid Request page on RentACoder, not the nightly news! LOL!

In Episode 2 you’ll learn:

• How to narrow the field from 30 to 10 in about 60 seconds.
• What criteria to use in making the first cut
• Why the ratings average alone is not enough to go by
• How to make sure the bidder has read your posting description
• How to detect a “canned” response, and should that disqualify them?

There are a lot of gold nuggets in this video, as I “think out loud” in evaluating the bidders and their bids.

For the most comprehensive outsource resource, check out the Ultimate Outsource Directory

Your comments are appreciated!

Tags: ghostwriters, outsource, scripts, make Money online, Internet marketing, programming, elance, online, , software

Posting the project at Rentacoder.com

Welcome to Day One of the Simple Website Template outsourcing case study!

This will be a case study done in REAL TIME, where you can watch me take a project from start to finish as I outsource it using Rentacoder.com.

This should take about a week, about 6 videos, around 10 -12 minutes in length.  Not too much of a time commitment on your part.

It may not be quite the drama of a reality show, but this will give you real insight into how to outsource a simple website, using a stock flash template.  I’ll be doing this in a “look over my shoulder” style rather than a scripted video because:

1. This is not a formal product
2. I want to give you my thought process as I was going through the outsourcing steps.
3. I can get it out faster to you, no delays for fancy editing.

I also have no idea of any difficulties I may encounter during this project, and wanted to show you how I handled them as they cropped up, (which they always seem to do!) Hopefully I won’t embarrass myself with this…

The project will be a personal website from a flash template selected from templatemonster.com.  They’ve got some beautiful templates of there, and because my client already ranks #1 for her name, the benefits of a flash site out-weigh any SEO (search engine optimization) considerations.  You’ll see the template at the end of video one.

The content has already been written and compiled, so this is strictly a “put the content in the template” kind of a project.

It doesn’t get any simpler than this…or does it?

I will try to keep the videos as short as possible, so I will edit them for maximum content out of respect for your time.

In video one, we go through the Project posting process on Rentacoder’s site, talk about the project description, and have a look at the template.

So we begin…

For the most comprehensive resource on outsourcing, check out the Ultimate Outsource Directory

Please post your comments!

Tags: scripts, outsourcing, guru, online, autoresponder, , programming, outsourcing online, Web design, Internet marketing

Came across this video on outsourcing - thought I’d post for all to see! Enjoy!

Tags: Web design, elance, scripts, web graphics, outsourcing, online, software, autoresponder, directory submission, guru

I get a lot of questions from people asking what software I use to manage my projects.  The answer is, quite frankly, it depends…

I am always trying out new platforms and software in the quest for the perfect solution, and also as a reporter to report back to you, my subscribers, as to what I’ve found, to make it easier on others.

One of my most useful applications is a simple project management software I call, the “OutSourcerer’s Project Pad,” which is a cool, simple project management “sketch pad” so to speak, for simple projects and tasks I need to get done.  This is NOT a collaborative tool, but something that will help you organize your daily projects and associated tasks.

Here is a screenshot of the main screen:

OutSourcerer's Project Manager, "Project Pad"

You can download it and put it to use for your own personal outsourcing, and to manage those day-to-day tasks!

This is a giveaway as a token of my appreciation to my readers and subscribers! Get it here: OutSourcerer’s Project Pad.

Please leave any comments or feedback on what you think of the software. Thanks!

Tags: online marketing, Internet, outsourcing, programming, article submission, guru, scripts, software, ghostwriters, outsource

The “E-Myth Revisited,” by Michael Gerber, should be required reading for anyone starting a small business, especially a solo entrepreneur.

It was based on a single underlying principal:

“Systems run the business and people run the systems.”

And absolutely every frustration you experience in your business has a systemic solution. Even if you defined your problem as “the finding good people,” more than likely you need to tweak your hiring “system,” if you even have one!

In a recent blog post, “Finding Good People”, Mr. Gerber opines that for most entrepreneurs their hiring “system” consist of a sign that says “Help Wanted” or “Now Hiring.”

To narrow down your choices, and filter out the non performers from the performers, you need a weeding out system. One that puts the applicant, or freelancer, through some sort of qualifying process.

Let Them Weed Themselves Out…

“Give them a system that describes what you’re looking for, and an opportunity to demonstrate in advance that they have the minimum required skills to make you happy,” says Mr. Gerber.

This could be as simple as filling out a questionnaire, writing an essay or a shooting a video for them to make their pitch for why they would be a good addition to your team.

In the Seven Figure Code, a product by Mike Filsaime and Tom Beal, they related a process of elimination where the applicant had to shoot a video about Tom himself. The person who over delivered the most on this task got the job.

In the above referenced blog post, one of Gerber’s clients provided a stunning example of a recruiting system for his growing medical practice.

From the post:

“…Must enjoy following written procedures and have a passion for order. Please include with your reply your written system for preparing and consuming breakfast.”

He received several dozen responses, and considered only those that completely complied with his written instructions. Of those, one stood out. This was the candidate who’d sent an “Action Plan for Preparing and Consuming Morning Nourishment,” which described “how to determine a clean bowl,” schematics of his table setting, exacting cereal-to-milk proportions, a diagram showing the movement of the spoon to the mouth, and accompanying color pictures.

He’d found his office assistant.”

What sort of qualifying processes are YOU using for your hiring?

-Howard “imOutSourcerer” Tiano

Tags: guru, Internet, outsourcing online, elance, programming, article submission, outsource, make Money online, Web design, online

If you haven’t read the best seller by Tim Ferris, I highly recommend it! Here’s Tim giving a 6 minute video summary.

Enjoy!

Tags: online, scripts, outsourcing, online marketing, Internet, Internet marketing, ghostwriters, Web design, guru, autoresponder

When outsourcing your internet marketing work, there are certain web design tasks you need to have some knowledge of, so the project will go much smoother.

If you’re outsourcing internet marketing projects to sites like elance.com, guru.com, and rentacoder.com, be sure to give a detailed project description, so you have a better chance of getting the project done right.

In this video, there are tips from three very successful marketers.

Leave your comments below…

Tags: rentacoder, online, guru, outsourcing online, Web design, Internet, outsourcing, software, web graphics, ghostwriters