What Is BPO & How to Get Started For Your Business

Article by DesignRush

“BPO” has been thrown around the business space in every conversation. What does BPO stand for, you ask? BPO meaning Business Process Outsourcing is an assignment of more or multiple IT-intensive services to an external provider. The BPO industry has been around since the early 1980s and up to now, it continues to grow into a multibillion industry, supporting businesses as third-party service providers.

Business Process Outsourcing: Which BPO Model Can Boost Your Company Operations?

Article by DesignRush

Businesses all over the world have access to a robust network of professional peers who work in different circles, and still be able to collaborate. You may be a small startup or a large enterprise, but outsourcing your business process is an option to help optimize your workplace operations.

With a BPO model, you can partner with organizations that are more experienced in their specialized field. This can be any service, such as payroll, IT, customer support, or marketing content.

Hurray! I have one of the top 10% most viewed @LinkedIn profiles for 2012.

Top 10% Most Viewed LinkedIn Profile – Congratulations LinkedIn!!

To celebrate, I received an email this morning with this infographic congratulating me on being on of the Top 10% Most Viewed LinkedIn Profiles. I was very excited…still it is a small, but nice, gesture on LinkedIn’s part. And now I can say I am the Top 10% 😉

Hi Mimi,

Recently, LinkedIn reached a new milestone: 200 million members. But this isn’t just our achievement to celebrate — it’s also yours.

I want to personally thank you for being part of our community. Your journey is part of our journey, and we’re delighted and humbled when we hear stories of how our members are using LinkedIn to connect, learn, and find opportunity.

All of us come to work each day focused on our shared mission of connecting the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. We’re excited to show you what’s next.

With sincere thanks,

Deep Nishar

Linkedin Senior Vice President, Products & User Experience

P.S. What does 200 million look like? See the infographic

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I came to the realisation that my business could not keep growing if I was the only person working on it. I was running out of time and energy. It was at this moment I began to explore the idea of engaging a Virtual Assistant.

If you are not sure what a Virtual Assistant (VA) is, Kathie M. Thomas has written a great article called Working virtually: A definition.

I engaged my Virtual Assistant four months ago and in that time she has become an invaluable resource and contribution to my business – she even babysat my business for four and a half weeks when I went overseas on holidays.

Many people I have spoken to have shared stories about their difficulties making their VA relationship work well and have asked me how I got so lucky.

I can tell you luck has had nothing to do with this! Here are five tips for creating a successful and productive relationship with a Virtual Assistant.

1. Be clear about what you want your Virtual Assistant to do

The first thing I did was a brainstorm of all the activities I currently did that I would like someone else to do. I then compiled a list of all the things I wasn’t getting done which fell into two categories:

• things I would like my VA to do for me
• things that I wanted to do when I had more time (thanks to my VA taking on existing work).

“ The first thing I did was a brainstorm of all the activities I currently did that I would like someone else to do. ”

This allowed me to find a Virtual Assistant that had skills and experience to match my requirements.

2. Articulate your personal quirks

As a soloist so much about the way I worked was inside my head – such as how I like my day structured, what my response times to enquiries are and how I word my email correspondence. Having someone else to work with meant I needed to articulate all of these things, which is easier said than done!

3. Be explicit with instructions and deadlines

This may seem to be stating the obvious but it never ceases to amaze me how many people issue a request for work to be done without a deadline attached. Then they get annoyed when the work is not completed when they want it! Deadlines can be as specific as ‘Wednesday 3pm’ or as general as ‘by the end of this week’, just ensure you have one.

You also need to be explicit with instructions as it reduces the chance of miscommunication or error. Remember, much of what you do is habit and you can’t assume someone else will think the same way you do.

4. Agree on work flow processes

Spend time in the early stages of your working relationship agreeing on work flow processes. How will you share information? How will you ensure things don’t slip through cracks or get double handled? How will you issue instructions – verbally or in writing? Will you send requests as they happen or save them up in batches?

Discussing these things up front will minimise the chance of things going wrong.

5. Be willing to let go

I am a self confessed control freak. The most challenging thing for me was to let go of tasks and trust my VA to do a great job. I didn’t want to drive my VA crazy by always checking on work and timelines. To help soothe the control freak within me, we created processes which ensure I am updated regularly on the progress of work.

Having a Virtual Assistant can be a wonderful addition to your soloist business. Take the time to create the structures that will support it being a great experience for both of you.

Have you had any experiences of your own?

Linda Anderson is a Certified Professional Coach dedicated to helping people live bold and rewarding lives. Linda has an energetic and direct style of coaching which suits people who like to be challenged.

Source: http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/working-smarter/outsourcing/five-tips-for-working-with-a-virtual-assistant

This is the year of big goals and bigger execution, but remember, you are not an island! Teamwork is a must when building a meaningful business in the upcoming year, but what to do if you don’t have gobs of cash to throw around? That was the exact predicament I was in when I started my first business online. I needed someone to help me upload my WordPress blog, to help me with research and to act as an all around internet jack of all trades. I found this in my very first virtual assistant and I’ve never looked back. So in the wake of my business, I decided to list 100 things Virtual Assistants can do that will make your business and life better. And if by the end of this post I haven’t fully convinced you that you must run out and hire a virtual assistant today – well then send me a tweet and tell me I ought to be ashamed of myself!

Virtual Assistants can…

1. help you set up your website/blog.
2. set up your email list.
3. transcribe voice memos you record on your phone, and then email them to you.
4. fix problems with your iTunes account using a screen sharing application.
5. spend hours comparing and contrasting all the hotels in the San Francisco Bay Area and present you with a categorized list of the top ten, their features and then book the one you want for you.
6. unsubscribe you from pesky mailing lists that just won’t stop.
7. send out emails that say “Hi, this is {insert your name here}’s assistant” which always impresses friends and family.
8. do myriads of brain-numbing online research for you.
9. help you balance your business budget using a free tool like Outright.
10. find great keywords for you to use in specific blog posts.
11. do simple SEO on your website/blog.
12. do research to help you, help your kid with the math homework that you don’t understand.
13. go through your business or personal voicemail using a service like Grasshopper, handle basic matters and forward any pressing issues on to you.
14. upload photos to Flickr.
15. tag photos in Flickr and add those pesky, time-consuming descriptions to each.
16. delete Facebook friends that aren’t, really your friends.
17. act as a recruiter or head hunter when you are looking to fill a position.
18. find you an apartment or house when you move cities.
19. set up meetings for you with the spots you like the most and double check your budget on something like Mint.com to make sure you can afford it.
20. research the best school for children.
21. research links to printable worksheets for students (i.e. worksheets for addition, worksheet for adjectives).
22. research a specific topic and write a draft blog post in my blog on said topic.
23. find the lowest air fare for an up coming trip.
24. organize your email & delete the 30,000 “archived” messages you have that are keeping your gmail down, man…
25. respond to email/ticket support requests for your business.
26. create several templates for sending out sales letters.
27. do letter preparation & mailing through a service Snailmailr.com.
28. transcribe podcasts, or anything audio/video for that matter.
29. proof read your documents.
30. edit your website, documents or important emails for proper grammar.
31. create newsletters.
32. create flyers.
33. do data entry (thank goodness… because you know you don’t want to be doing that!)
34. can create charts and graphs out of your spreadsheets.
35. look for contractors/plumbers/pest control in your area.
36. update your website.
37. fulfill product orders (electronics products that is).
38. prepare stunning powerpoint presentations.
39. organize your ideas and thoughts into actionable lists using Evernote & then BasecampHQ.
40. update address/contact lists
41. do market research for a new product or business.
42. manage your facebook fan page and interact with your fanbase.
43. respond and retweet interesting things on your Twitter account when you’re too busy.
44. do live chat support for your web business.
45. follow up on business leads.
46. send flowers to your wife using Proflowers.com.
47. organize your day and week using something like Google Calendars and then sending you an email/text a half an hour before each meeting/engagement.
48. give you fashion advice as you model outfits in front of your web cam for your VA to act as a real-time hotornot.com.
49. tell you that it’ll get better when you’re having a terrible day (p.s. lots of VPA’s call you “Ma’am” or “Sir” which always makes me feel special!)
50. create a financial projections sheet for your business.

What can’t virtual personal assistants do? Almost anything you can think of! They can’t grab you a cup of coffee (over-rated) or pick up your dry cleaning (do it yourself, lazy!). Another great thing is that ANYTHING you can virtually imagine a VA can do or learn to do in time.

I work with virtual assistants and keep them on for the long run since they get to know me and my business and soon are anticipating my needs before it even comes to that point. Do yourself a favor this year, start treating your life and your business like a priority and hire a Virtual Personal Assistant to handle all the stuff you don’t want to or can’t do. It’ll save you gobs of time and free you up to become a much more creative and relaxed entrepreneur!

Source: By Maren Kate In Virtual Assistants – http://www.escapingthe9to5.com/outsourcing-2/50-things-virtual-assistant/

Here’s some pointers to get you started.

• About Indonesia
• Political and Economic Environment
• 2012 Indonesia and U.S. Public Holidays
• Useful Tips

Market Overview

• Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy and has delivered consistently high annual growth exceeding 6% in both 2007 and 2008. Growth of between 2% and 4.5% is expected in 2009.
• The consumer market continues to grow in the world’s fourth-largest country. There are more than 237 million citizens, 50% of whom are under the age of 30.
• GDP per person exceeds its ASEAN neighbors such the Philippines and Indonesia has a GDP per person three times that of Vietnam. Indonesia is a thriving democracy with significant regional autonomy. It is located on the world’s major trade routes and has extensive natural resources.
• It is a top-ten market for U.S. agricultural products and within the top 30 overall markets for U.S. exports. Indonesia has ratified the Cape Town Treaty, which gives U.S. aircraft exporters access to financing through international protection and registration of financial interests.

Market Challenges

• The business environment in Indonesia is challenging. U.S firms often find it difficult and time consuming to enter the market.
• Although improving, rule-of-law issues persist. Dispute settlement mechanisms are not highly developed. Local and foreign businesses cite corruption and ineffective courts as serious problems. Business and regulatory disputes, which would be generally considered administrative or civil matters in the United States, may be treated as criminal cases in Indonesia.
• Competition from companies from Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia and other regional players is intense.
• Deregulation has been successful in reducing some barriers by creating more transparent trade and investment regimes, but the bureaucracy can be cumbersome.
• The Rupiah has depreciated by approximately 20% against the U.S. dollar since January 2008, making U.S. exports relatively more expensive.
• The public trade statistics may significantly understate market opportunities and trends due to the large numbers of shipments that are recorded as U.S. exports to Singapore but which ultimately enter Indonesia via Singapore.

Market Opportunities

• Important opportunities exist in mining and agribusiness equipment and services.
• The aircraft market favors U.S. products. Aircraft, replacement parts and service are valuable and significant markets.
• Telecommunications technology and satellites remain excellent areas for American products and services.
• The expansion of banking to previously underserved customers offers software and systems opportunities.
• Education and professional training, research, medical equipment and high-quality American agricultural commodities all retain their market edge even with premium prices.
• Emerging opportunities include palm oil biofuel processing and refining.
• U.S. franchises continue to attract Indonesian demand.
• Growing markets include: renovation and construction of regional and municipal infrastructure and water systems, military upgrading, safety and security systems and protection of sea-borne traffic.

Market Entry Strategy

• Although it may be possible in some cases to sell directly to the Government or state-owned companies, local services of agents, local offices or distributors are often critical to successful project development and to assure timely delivery, installation and follow up service needs. Most government procurement decisions favor proven providers or assurance of service based on long-established relationships.
• Small- and medium-sized U.S. firms entering the Indonesian market increase their likelihood of success with strong local agents or distributors. The U.S. Commercial Service Jakarta helps U.S. companies identify and qualify potential Indonesian representatives.
• U.S. companies must visit the Indonesian market in order to properly choose an appropriate agent or distributor. Appointment of a representative requires care, since it is difficult to get out of a bad relationship. Qualified representatives will not take U.S. principals seriously unless they make a commitment to visiting the market on a regular basis. Patience and presence are key success factors.
• Key factors affecting purchasing decisions in Indonesia are pricing, financing, technical skills, and after-sales service. Firms should be prepared to invest capital and manpower into making their local representative a first-class service provider.
• Indonesian non-financial firms obtain nearly 50% of their financing from abroad via loans, bonds, and other credit thus Indonesian exports often depend on trade financing.

Source: http://export.gov/indonesia/doingbusinessinindonesia/index.asp