Jonathan Roberts wrote a blog post, which is a rebuttal to my post, “Disadvantages of Outsourcing to Offshore Virtual Assistants.” You can read his rebuttal at Outsourcing to Foreign Virtual Assistants.
Apparently, there is a lot of discussion regarding this hot topic. What are your opinions?
We use the terms entrepreneur and small business owners interchangeably. I decided to do some research to see if they are the same or if there are any differences. I found this definition at QuickMBA:
Entrepreneurship vs. Small Business
Many people use the terms “entrepreneur” and “small business owner” synonymously. While they may have much in common, there are significant differences between the entrepreneurial venture and the small business. Entrepreneurial ventures differ from small businesses in these ways:
In addition, I found an article entitled, “The 10 Crucial Differences Between Being a Small Business Owner and an Inspired Entrepreneur” written by Nick Williams. It gives a more detailed listing of the differences.
According to the above definition and blog post, which are you? Are you an entrepreneur or a small business owner? I look forward to reading your comments.
Due to the tremendous popularity of this blog post, I decided to republish it.
As an onshore Virtual Assistant and small business owner, I feel obligated to inform small business owners about the disadvantages of outsourcing to offshore virtual assistants (VAs).
When you choose to outsource offshore, you are going to encounter virtual assistants who are not familiar with our culture and language. Although, they speak English, generally, it is not their first language. This causes language barriers, communication gaps, and lack of understanding. Is the frustration worth the money you save? Keep in mind, offshore VAs’ cost of living is much lower than ours. They can afford to work for less money. If you choose to outsource confidential personal data offshore, it may not be protected. Firms in India currently are not equally subject to any extensive legislative or regulatory data-protection controls.
Offshore VAs work for an outsourcing firm and are not business owners. They do not have a vested interest in your business other than getting more projects. Most of us, onshore virtual assistants, are business owners; therefore, we understand the operations of a small business, as well as what is required to develop it. Our goals are to establish an ongoing business relationship with you in order to help you reach your goals. We want you to succeed in your business. Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC stated in her blog, “These companies are working day and night going through a wide variety of tasks just to get them back out the door. They aren’t spending the time to strategize and become a partner in your business. They are simply providing cheap labor.”
Another disadvantage is offshore virtual assistants can’t operate without access to the Internet. On January 31, 2008, India had an Internet outage due to snapped cables in the Mediterranean Ocean. You can read the entire article here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326988,00.html. Onshore virtual assistants’ Internet providers are their phone companies, cable companies or satellite providers. We are not at the mercy of a cable under the ocean.
There are several disadvantages to offshore outsourcing, including drastic differences in time zones. The one main advantage to outsourcing to offshore virtual assistants is saving money. The old adage is true. “You get what you pay for.”
My blog URL address has changed from http://rjswordprocessing.wordpress.com/blog to http://rjswordprocessing.wordpress.com. Thank you for your continued readership.
As usual, when I come across information, which I feel may be valuable for you as small business owners, I share it with you. A business associate of mine, Denice Games, is CEOSpace Club President for San Diego. She states, “CEOSpace is an organization of investors, inventors, and a diverse group of business owners who get together five times a year to help each other become successful. Members and instructors make up some of the top trainers and corporate mentors in the world. Business education is provided along with valuable capital language instruction to allow business owners to raise necessary capital for their businesses. Teams and alliances are formed, contracts written, and business is completed!”
Although this chapter is for San Diego, CEOSpace is an international organization. To learn more about CEOSpace, please visit http://www.ceospace.net or contact Denice Games at 951-837-0858. They also have local meetings to find out more about the organization. Following is a list of meetings to be held next week April 7-9, 2008:
Monday night Michael Peak on Persuasion, 5030 Camino De La Siesta, Ste, 220, San Diego. 92108 7 PM
Tuesday Lunch at Rossi’s Pizza, 156 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road, San Marcos. 12-1 PM. Free to business owners
Tuesday night at 7 PM a concert at Rossi’s Pizza, 156 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road, San Marcos.
Wednesday a CEOSpace instructor from Phoenix, Maria Simone, sharing How to Recession Proof your Business. 7 PM at the Encinitas Terrace Apartment Clubhouse, 454 Requeza Street, Encinitas.
There is no charge for the events; however, please RSVP Denice if you plan to attend.
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