Remote Working And Outsourcing
– My Business Mantra –
I am in Hawaii on a mother-daughter trip this week (Mar. 25th – April 3rd). I really appreciate being able to work remotely and yet enjoy being away from my office. Earlier today, I “attended” our weekly meeting dressed in a swimming suit and sitting by the pool. How nice is that?
Thanks to modern technology, I am able to do a lot remotely, while enjoying what I love the most – travelling. As long as there is internet access, I can be in any part of the world and be working at the same time. How great is that?
I can’t ever imagine going to an office and working 9-5 again, even though that was my routine 20 years ago!
Some years ago, working remotely and outsourcing were confined only to the big players in the industries. Outsourcing was done on a huge scale with the primary objective of lessening overhead expenses instead of giving opportunities to freelance workers. That picture has now changed.
With the innovation in technology, I have learned that remote working has actually become an industry standard, one way or another. Many organizations are now practicing this innovative technique to enhance productivity. They now have more options to choose from when hiring staff. At the same time, more people are given more opportunities to work while staying in the comforts of their homes. The system provides them the flexibility to work independently. Personally, I have hired a few contractors through Odesk, an online platform for outsourcing. My experience has been really good and I feel good to be able to support people from under-developed countries.
Now, I see that the big names in almost every field, IBM’s, people at Apple, Yahoo, Google, Facebook and many more other prominent organizations are all outsourcing. They are also allowing their local employees to work remotely and encouraging others to work from home when not in a position to go to the office, and why not? As long as the work gets done, as long as the deadlines are met and as long as the quality of the service provided is at least satisfactory, it does not really matter where the work is being done and who is doing it.
There may be a few downsides to outsourcing due to communication gap and time zone difference, but once the employer and the employee have adjusted to each other, then, things can flow smoothly.
From my experience, remote working and outsourcing can bring in a lot of peace to a business owner. Knowing that your work is being done even when you are busy with something else is a great experience! This means, you are literally working 24 X 7, wasting no time at all; totally fits my value of efficiency!
I am not at that level yet,but it sounds great. I am still at 7:00-5:00.
It takes a different type of person to break out of the rat race.
Hopefully the new economy means more of us can really skip the office-based work.
It takes time and effort to arrange a remote working lifestyle. It’s not something that happened overnight for me. There will be some jobs that can not be done remotely such as a cook so you do need to get into a career that is suitable for remote working… And it’s definitely not a lifestyle suitable for everyone either…
Very well said and I agree completely. I am working towards that goal and one day I could do the same.
I am sure that day will come very soon Stephen… 🙂
Congratulations Amy!!! I really happy for you that you have found the best working lifestyle for yourself. I also admire your courage to “make dreams come true”. I always proud of you!
Thanks Anne! We all need to have dreams…. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, great article. Marco
You’re welcome. I am glad you enjoyed it Marco… 🙂
Good for you Amy. At what point was the kicker that you decided to make change. I’m sure the initial change was enlightening
Thank you for your comment, it’s a good question! On thinking about it, it has been a gradual process that really started many years ago when I left my bank office job to be a mortgage broker. This was the start of remote working for me, I didn’t have to go the office, I made my own appointments and worked my own hours, which often meant 18 hours a day. The kicker was that I needed the flexibility of remote working to balance my work and personal life. Since that day in 1994 I have never worked in an office, so I have been a remote worker for many years. As my life, technology and business interests have developed so has my remote working lifestyle so I now feel comfortable and productive working across multiple timezones from anywhere in the world. But the start for me was all those years ago and it wasn’t really a choice at the time, I just had to do it to survive and I haven’t looked back!
Hi Amy!
I am happy you are becoming true your dreams.
Your article will inspire to several people.
Thanks very much sharing it.
Best regards, Nibaldo
Thanks Nibaldo! If I can help inspire other people, that be a great reward… 🙂
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
Plz answer back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know where
u got this from. cheers
I hired someone from Odesk to build this website but I did the design myself.
Thanks Stephanie! I hired someone from Odesk to help me build this website. But the design was mine 🙂