A blog plugin that doubled the length of i-phone visits!

March 4, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsource Marketing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I noticed that many people were visiting my blog on i-phones which is no surprise since everyone I know is glued to their i-phone! I figured that I might get more visits, or longer visits if I optimized my blog for i-phone usage.

So, my programmer offered to do a manual job of reprogramming my blog so it would look really good on any format. But, I wanted to know what it would look like before I committed to the work. It was not about the money, I just like to know what I’m buying. So, I mentioned that it might be nicer to try a plugin. That is faster and not expensive. So, the next day my programmer had the plug-in plugged in. It was very easy on the eyes. The width of the rows was just right. The display of recent blog articles made it easy to choose which article I wanted to read. It was so easy and so perfect. Then, I went to my stats. Visits had gone from 98 seconds average to 180 seconds overnight! Wow!

So, if you have a blog, it is time to consider a plugin.

Then, on my travel blog, we were having a problem with spam comments. I asked the programmer for that blog to put in a spam blocker for comments. Once again, overnight, the headache stopped, and I was really happy.

It is nice that in life certain things are easy and fast like plugins. The rest of my life unfortunately is not so easy! Onward ho!

The million dollar outsourcing query call

February 28, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged | Leave a comment

The trick question – what city are you in?
We’ve all heard of the TV show from the 1970’s — The Million Dollar Man. He can jump twenty feet in the air, put his first through a brick wall, and run faster than a car. But, what about a million dollar call? I call outsourcing companies daily, and am astounded that not a single one handles themselves completely professionally over the phone. There are always aspects of professional etiquette that even the highest class of outsourcers miss. People answer the phone saying, “Hello” instead of stating their name for one. At other companies they transfer you the minute you ask a tricky question such as, “What city is your company in?” That question is too difficult for the caliber of employees that they hire. After you get transfered, you get put on hold for long periods of time, or disconnected. In the best case scenario you talk to some other moron who hasn’t a clue how to answer your PhD level question and requests to transfer you to yet another imbecile. The transferring never ends as there are no intelligent people who are available at many of the larger companies.

How much business do you lose per year?
As an outsourcing company, you should be aware that high profile prospective customers could call you at any time. If they talk to someone who is an idiot, or doesn’t have proper phone etiquette, you could lose that prospect. If they are a customer and get put on hold too many times, you could very easily lose that customer for good. My question is, what is the cost of having good phone service, and what is the cost of having bad phone service? If you lose a 1 million dollar contract because someone untrained answered your phone, the cost of your bad worker is the profit on that 1 million which could easily be $50,000. I’m sure that the cost of hiring someone decent to answer your phone who has half a brain would be a lot less than $50,000 in India or the Philippines. In real life, you probably lose a lot of smaller clients who might have jobs for US$20,000 per year. In the course of a year, you might lose several million in revenue from new prospective clients due to your bad phone staff.

Use a contact form
My suggestion is that if you can’t have someone good answer your phone, don’t have a phone number. Use a contact form on your website. It is hard to have someone answering calls eight hours a day, or 24 hours if you cater to overseas clients. It is easier to have them fill out a form, and much more respectable too. It is better to not have a phone number rather than having a numskull answer your phone. At 123outsource.net, we call all companies on our directory. If they have unacceptable people answering their phones, we will remove them from the directory without a second thought. However, if they have a contact form and no phone number, we will keep them at the bottom of the list which is mildly better than being removed.

Don’t allow certain people to answer the phone.
Have only designated people answer your phone. In India, most people (99.9%) lack proper phone manners. Have an American or British friend train six of your staff members to answer the phone and don’t let anyone else touch the phone without a substantial penalty. Additionally, train your phone staff to answer basic questions about your company so they don’t have to transfer the call. They should know simple things like what your company does, where they are located, what they charge for various services, etc. You can write all of this information down on a cheat sheet to make the task simpler.

Good luck!

Hiring Programmers? How to spot a reclusive geek!

February 24, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Semi-Popular, Software Development | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Many of us hire programmers from time to time. But, learning how to understand these bizarre personality types requires training. They are not like the rest of us unless they are in a management position of some sort.

There are many types of personality traits common to programmers.
Some are gentle, others are hostile, a few are brilliant, many are actually mentally impaired or behave that way (how can they write code if they can’t think?) The one trait that the majority have in common is that they are anti-social. Programmers normally lack the skill to interact with others. But, the worst part from a management perspective is that they lack the desire to interact positively with others.

Many Programmers Many Cultures
I’ve hired programmers (or tried to) in a variety of cultures ranging from American, Latin, Indian, Filipino and Eastern European. The cultures are all different, but the traits of programmers maintain a similar theme. The Americans are better at communicating although they typically choose not to. They often will complete a task, but fail to inform you of that fact unless you harrass them many times asking, “What’s going on?” The Indians are generally more friendly which is a cultural reality, but often lack the skills to answer simple English questions. I always ask them what they would do if they won a million dollars. The answers are typically no more than eight words which is not very detailed. My Costa Ricans offered to do a test project for free, but went on vacation in the middle of the 2 hour project and never came back. Eastern Europe was more polite as a destination, but bizarre. When I asked the million dollar question I was informed that it was a complicated quesiton and that he needed to think for a very long time to answer it. All I wanted was a quick answer to verify that he was able and willing to communicate in simple English sentences.

Big Trouble Awaits if your Programmer Refuses to Communicate
Please be informed that hiring someone unwilling to communicate can undermine very expensive software projects. You might be paying $50,000 to get some coding done, and the programmer will refuse to answer calls, will never even email you back, and doesn’t want you around. What if there is a problem with the project and you are forced to interact with them and they won’t? Or what if they are so anti-social and irresponsible that they quit in the middle of a project? Finding a programmer with semi-decent social skills is critical for your survival, so pay attention to this during the interview process.

Telltale signs to identify an anti-social geek.

(1) Sitting silently at the interview
Have you ever gone to a programming interview where the programmer and the project manager are both there? The project manager by nature wants to dominate the conversation and impress you while the programmer might be sitting silently for hours. This is something you might ignore, but it is a serious warning sign. If you are going to have any serious dealings with the programmer, you might be in for some real trouble. At the critical moment, he might just dump your project or refuse to communicate. This happened to me.

(2) Having the receptionist always be your point of contact (avoidance)
You interview the company and you are impressed that they answer the phone whenever you call them which is only true of about 20% of programming companies. Most programming companies avoid their customers (and humans in general) and don’t want to answer their phone. I found a company that always answered the phone. The problem was that the “go-between” assured me that she would be able to give me all pertinent information about the progress of my project and not to worry. The programmer was “busy” and couldn’t be interrupted… ever. The problem here was that the programmer was UNWILLING to talk to me, and that the go-between receptionist was cut off from accurate information about the project since the programmer didn’t record any records of what he had actually done (or not done.) Yes, it is true that programmers like to lock themselves in a dimly lit room and write code. Yes, it is true that they should not be interrupted all the time. But, if they are never willing to talk to clients, that is a serious problem that can sabotage your working relationships which can be expensive if you gave them a hefty deposit.

(3) Failure to answer emails
Sure, we know that programmers don’t like to talk on the phone. But, if they just never get backto you even by email to give you a head’s up confirmation of what’s going on, that can be a serious problem. If a programmer just doesn’t get back to you, and you always have to chase them down, that is a sign that they are not responsible, anti-social, and that they don’t care that much about your project.

(4) Unwillingness to answer the phone
Is your programmer always at lunch or in the bathroom when you call? They are avoiding you. Perhaps they hate their job, their life, their boss, or you. Perhaps all of the above. This happened to me, and my project took forever to finish. I had to call eight times to get through to this person once. If a programmer you’ve worked with for years develops a bad attitude, it is time to try someone new.

(5) Failure to coordinate at the critical moment
I was visiting programmers in Northern California. I went to Yosemite to relax for a few days when they went away on a quick business trip. They were supposed to tell me when they would be back, and when they would be ready to show my their last bit of work. I never heard from them and didn’t know if should start driving back or not. They left me high and dry.

(6) Missed deadlines
If you hire a programmer on a critical time-sensitive project, you will find that 90% of programmers who don’t work for huge companies on multi-person projects just ignore deadlines. They couldn’t care less if they inconvenience your schedule. They might keep you waiting for months, or just quit in the middle of the project without even telling you they are unwillling to complete it. If you deal with programmers you need air-tight contracts that will penalize them severely if they don’t finish their work correctly and on time. It is best to test a programmer out on a project that takes about 12 hours with a written deadline. You will lose $1000 or more, but you will know if they honor deadlines. Most programmers never honor any deadline and just don’t care if they lose their customer. Customers grow on trees these days, and if you drop out, someone else will give them a deposit who they can string along. If a programmer misses a deadline, see how much longer it takes them to finish work. If getting the work done depends on your initiative, it is time to sift through many more programmers until you find one who actually takes responsibility for their commitments.

(7) Inability to answer simple questions
If you hire foreign programmers, this is a much more serious problem. If you can’t answer simple logic or small-talk type questions, how can you possibly write code? The answer is that those types of programmers are the ones that create shipwrecks for American companies who try outsourcing for the first time. They are left with a mess of broken code and often have to throw the entire mess out and start all over again. If you can’t communicate, you can’t code properly. If your communication is a mess, your code is probably a mess that nobody else will be able to work with. If you communicate sloppily, your commenting on your code will be unintelligible to the next programmer who works on it which means you created a dead-end for your client.

Advice: Interview the programmers first, THEN the project managers and salespeople.
If you hire programmers, there is an order of people at the company who you should talk to first. The sales and technical managers will always insist on talking to you first, middle and last, leaving the programmers completely out of the picture. That is what is in their interests, but not yours. The programmers are the ones who actually do the work, and if they cannot function as intelligent human beings, your code will come out a disaster. Interview the programmers first. Typically at Indian companies, they hire people who can’t even function at coding and can’t function in a conversation. See if you are impressed by one or more of their programmers. If you are impressed by all of their programmers you might be in business. 80% of programmers I interviewed in India who were fluent in English could not answer simple questions that an American ten year old could probably answer.

Test companies out
Test people out to see if the programmer initiates communication and answers email
Test the programmers out to see if they answer the phone. If you only call them at the time of the interview, that is not an indication that they will answer the phone during normal times of business.
Test the programmers out to see if they are sloppy. Give them a small task that involves following directions
Test the programmers out to see if they miss deadlines. Give them a 12 hour project with a deadline. See if they finish by the deadline with correct work.

Good luck hiring programmers. Most of these people avoid contact with humans. But, if you can find one who is relatively responsible and considerate, you might be in luck.

Is your outsourcing job just a job?

February 22, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Popular Posts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I must have called close to a thousand outsourcing companies over the last two months. I called call centers, medical billing companies, programming houses, data entry facilities and more. When I call them, I can tell whose job is just a job and whose job is a passion that really matters. I want to hire people who are devoted to their work.

One way to see how devoted people are is to call them after hours. If someone answers their phone at 7pm or after, they might be more devoted to their job than someone who leaves promptly at 5pm. See who works on the weekends. Many people are not willing to. Keep in mind that just because someone puts in that extra effort doesn’t guarantee they are the right fit for you, but it helps and is a plus!

Another thing to look for is managers who answer their own phone. Many managers who are serious have a phone line that they generally answer. Others have a secretary transfer calls to them. There are also managers who are completely impossible to reach who you have to schedule an appointment with. If you are doing a serious time sensitive project with someone, you need to be able to reach them.

As a parting thought, it would be so much nicer if more people would take their jobs more seriously. If you could get through to people on the first attempt rather than chasing them around town, life would be so much easier. If managers hired the right workers, you wouldn’t have to shop around so much and fire people so often. The world would be a much better place!

You might also like:

Six problems that only someone in the BPO industry would understand
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/06/15/six-problems-that-only-individuals-working-in-a-bpo-industry-would-understand/

Is it safe for women to take cabs in India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/22/is-it-safe-for-women-to-take-cabs-in-india/

Judge a book by its cover; Judge a company by its office
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/05/26/judge-a-book-by-its-cover-judge-a-company-by-its-office/

123notary Review – A Notary Freelancing Site

February 20, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

123notary.com – what customers are saying

123notary has been around since 2000 which is a bit unusual for a notary directory. Notary Rotary and the NNA have been around longer, not that it is a competition. Each customer has a different opinion of 123notary, and in this article we wish to articulate who thinks what and why.

The Pros of 123notary
(1) 123notary is a directory that promotes competitiveness.
Carmen is the dedicated salesperson at this company and is very helpful answering technical and marketing questions of notaries. Some people take this for granted, but no other notary agency has someone who is so willing and available to answer questions.

(2) Many notaries get most of their business from 123notary.
Many notaries high in the search results for 123notary claim that they get most of their business from 123notary. Yet, other notaries claim they get more business from other directories. So, which directory is better? 123notary is feast or famine. If you have a high spot, are certified by 123notary, have a few reviews, and a well written listing, chances are you will do well. Otherwise, you might be paying a hefty listing fee without the accompanying results. But, whose fault is that anyway?

(3) 123notary offers two tiers of certification.
Many other sites have a certification exam or product, but there is no other site with Elite certification. Only about 200 notaries so far have passed the sophisticated Elite test, but those notaries are by far the cream of the crop. If you air to be in the top 2%, 123notary caters to you in more than one way.

(4) 123notary shows up well on Google & Social Media.
123notary generally shows up well on Google and has an intensive social media presences on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Linked In. Some people like the staff while others don’t, but few can claim that they don’t show up online. Some people say that 123notary shows up everywhere they look!

The Cons of 123notary
Keep in mind that the negatives of this site are not objectively negative, but only cons in the minds of particular individuals based on their personal prejudices.

(1) Staff can be tempermental
The staff of 123notary work long hours, and help many people all day long. If you get them on a bad day, they can be irritable. Keep in mind that 123notary hires staff based on their knowledge, and not based on their customer service skills. 123notary staff are generally helpful, but if you are rude to them, they can sometimes be rude back!

(2) Not everybody gets lots of business
Notaries who are low on the list or who don’t get the 123notary certification often complain that they don’t get much business from 123notary.com. The fact is that there is limited business going around these days, and that business normally goes to the best qualified notaries. Many notaries argue that if they are not getting much business now, why should they invest further in a site that doesn’t deliver? Those notaries will never learn if 123notary delivers or not simply because they are not trying hard enough to create an attractive profile.

(3) Refund policies are tough
123notary has never liked the idea of giving refunds. 123notary will give refunds if you bought the wrong item by accident and return it right away. But, if you simply didn’t like a course you purchased, or if your listing didn’t pan out, then 123notary doesn’t normally refund money. Unfortunately, this return policy has lead to various negative reviews on the internet which were bad for 123notary’s reputation. Additionally, many notaries try to contact Jeremy on his cell phone which is NOT a 123notary designated business number. They rarely get a return call simply because he is flooded with nonsense calls and doesn’t answer most of them unless he knows who you are. However, those who contact the designated 888# on 123notary get Carmen who is very helpful and will explain 123notary policies to any callers.

(4) 123notary is nosey
Many notaries don’t like the idea that 123notary asks questions. 123notary doesn’t ask questions for their health, but for quality control reasons. 123notary.com wants to know if you have a laser printer, how many loans you have signed, what languages you speak, as well as your starting and ending hours of operation. Many people are very evasive about divulging this information which results in 123notary asking the same questions repeatedly until getting results.

(5) Listings can be terminated for not logging in.
Many notaries get very upset with 123notary for removing their listing as a result of not logging in. This has been a policy for over ten years, but notaries still don’t like it. Many notaries argue that they have been in the same place for 30 years and therefore don’t need to confirm their information. However, 123notary can’t differentiate a 30 year veteran from someone who died yesterday. If you don’t login, 123notary will assume that you might be out of business, might have moved, might have died, or just don’t care about properly maintaining your listing. 123notary.com doesn’t remove everyone’s listing for not logging in, but if you generally don’t maintain the listing well and additionally don’t login for a long time, you are a prime candidate for removal.

In short, 123notary seems like a good directory for notaries who are very motivated and serious. For those who don’t like maintaining their listing, and don’t like being asked questions, or like purchasing and returning items on a whim, perhaps it is not the best notary directory for them!

10 Mistakes I made hiring programmers that you should avoid

February 18, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Semi-Popular, Software Development | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Here are some of the biggest mistakes I made hiring programmers. To an average person, they might not look like mistakes. But, once you get a little experience in this domain, you will understand why what I did wrong was so wrong!

(1) Initiative (or the lack of it thereof) The Los Angeles Programmer
The first programmer I hired was actually the best I have ever hired. However, he lacked a desire to get things done for me. I had to crack the whip, and visit with him regularly to coerce him to finish work. My mistake here was that I didn’t shop around to see if there was anyone else who had comparative skills accompanied by a little more initiative.

(2) Interviewing without testing: The North Coast Programmer
Many years went by and then my first programmer quit, and his helper got fired. I was left high and dry. No programmers, and no way to find good ones in a world-wide situation where there was an acute shortage of programmers. I interiewed several companies I liked. I tried to decide which company to hire purely based on an interview which was a huge mistake. The interview only tells you one dimension about a person — how they communicate when they are trying to impress you. It doesn’t tell you how they work, or if they get things done on time. The company I hired disrespected all deadlines, and even tried to cheat me several times. After that I learned that you have to try companies out with small inconsequential test projects before giving them the passwords to your main sites. Additionally, they tried to get me to communicate with the “project manager” instead of the programmer. But, the project manager didn’t make sure anything got done and was completely useless. So, when anyone tries to block critical channels of communication — fire them.

(3) Knowing the boss, but not getting to know the programmers: An India programming nightmare
I had a bad feeling about this, but I had no choice. I needed my site to be in someone’s hands who I trusted. I had known Deepak for years. So, I offshored my project to India. The first programmer he gave me was very acceptable and did good work. So, I handed my project over to Deepak. Little did I know that his programmers had gone far down hill in the last few years because the big companies worldwide had been poaching quality programmers. So, I started out with a programmer who just couldn’t function, and then fired him and moved on to another one of Deepak’s programmers who was better. She left on maternity leave and then I got a third one who was somewhat capable of doing my assignments. Had I interviewed these programmers by phone individually, and tested them on small test projects before allowing them to work for me, I could have avoided the dysfunctional results given to me. Now I know.

(4) Communication seemed open, but was blocked: The Arizona dry spell
I gave assignments to a number of other programmers who all went on strike until I found a company who seemed promising. First of all, they answered their phone. I was happy that they kept their channels of communication open as closed channels can ruin projects and have become a deal breaker for me. The trick was that they changed their willingness to communicate the minute I put my reliance in them. I could talk to the receptionist who assured me that she could relay any critical information to me. The problem was that they forbade me from talking to the programmer in critical situations and the contact person was never given any critical information unless I harassed them many times. The result was that the programmer either didn’t finish work correctly or at all, or made some serious blunders which never would have happened if he would just double check his steps with me. But, his attitude was that I didn’t know anything so I should just stay out of it. The reality is that he doesn’t know a lot of things about my site that I do know that he could have found out if he would just answer is damn phone! This was one of many deceptive things programming companies have done to me.

A quick note – Open Channels of Communication are imperative
I have a rule that all channels of communication need to be open. I need to be able to reach the programmer, the boss and the project manager if there is one. If one of these channels is blocked, then I fire the company immediately. However, if the programmer is busy and doesn’t want to be bothered — I don’t mind communicating with an intermediary some of the time if it will make it easier for them providing that they don’t cut me off completely from communicating with the programmers. Most companies don’t want you talking with their programmers, so this is a constant issue. I just tell them I’ll fire them if they don’t cooperate on this front, or that I won’t hire them for any serious work if they block communication even once. You have to stand your ground or they will keep you behind a barrier nine times out of ten.

(5) Silence at an interview: The beach programmers
The boss said that none of his seven programmers were willing to show up at an office. Later on I suspected that there were no seven programmers, just the one who showed up at the interview and sat silently for three hours while the sales manager chatted me up. I didn’t realize that someone who sits silently for so long is a huge risk. Such people do not like humans and don’t care to interact with my species either. They are dangerous if you put them on a project. Here’s what happened. We did a little test job and looked at the site at a cafe. I drove down to see them. After he had agreed to take my project and give me 20 hours a week, he delayed finishing the test project, and after I spent $800 on hotel rooms he uttered the words, “Another project” and just quit altogether. Antisocial people do antisocial irresponsible inconsiderate things. Beware. Nobody is perfect, but antisocial people are much more dangerous than the average person. Additionally, these programmers went on vacation all the time and “brought their work with them.” I don’t know if their vacation schedule caused a problem, or just their attitude of doing whatever they felt like, but too many vacations could be a warning sign.

(6) Giving the code without a deadline in Orange County
I met a nice guy in Orange County. I really liked him and he really liked coding. He described himself as a cracker jack of coding. He seemed like the gentleman of the business. Sociable, smart, nice and trustworthy. After waiting six weeks he informed me that he couldn’t start my assignment because it was in PHP and he didn’t know PHP. The code was in ASP Classic, and he had not even looked at it because he had, “Another Project.” Now, where have I heard this before. If I had given him a 20 day deadline to fix some code which only would take a few hours, then I would have been able to give the job to the next guy in line without such a long delay while my website wasn’t functioning correctly.

Another Quick Note – “Another Project”
The biggest reason why a programming company will not finish work for you, or talk to you is because there is, “Another Project.” If you test programming companies out, see how well they get your work done if they have, “Another Project.” Otherwise you will be on the back burner until you dump them for another company who does the same thing.

(7) Not getting a bid
There was yet another programmer who I really liked. He was decent to me for the most part. He had done several small projects for me. They weren’t necessarily done on time, but they got done. So, I gave him another slightly more complicated project. It took twice as long as I thought necessary and was done wrong. If I had had him give me a formal estimate for the project, I would be able to hold him responsible for fixing it and getting it done according to specifications by a certain date. yet another mistake on my part because I had developed trust in someone. Even if you trust a programmer, for well defined tasks that take more than 10 or 20 hours, get a formal bid.

(8) Testing them on easy stuff only
I learned the hard way that you have to test companies out before using them. So, I tried yet another California company out. I really liked the boss. They got 100% on my project and finished it quickly. Then, I gave them a complicated assignment and asked them to bid on it. Their bid was double or triple what I thought a top-notch programmer would charge. Were they cheating me? Were they just being careful? Or was their programmer not as senior as they portrayed him to be? A junior programmer would realistically require as many hours as they bid. The problem was that I tested the company out on easy work, but didn’t test them out on complicated tasks before hiring them. It is good to have a comprehensive score sheet on any company you hire that covers communication, meeting deadlines, efficiency, cleanliness of code, and how they function on different levels of complexity. I made exactly the same mistake with another company in India who did exactly the same thing. They did great on my test project, but then bid 800 hours on a 100 hour project that was slightly complicated. Once again, I fell into a pitfall and learned the hard way.

(9) Not having backups
I hired programming companies without having qualified backups. The result was that when they started being irresponsible I couldn’t just fire them because I had nobody else to dump my project on. I had already run through my supply of people I thought were my backups. They wouldn’t call me back or cooperate. A backup is not a backup unless you know they are going to perform reasonably. Otherwise it is like walking on a frozen pond. You put your foot on the ice and it breaks. Then you step to the left to your backup spot on the ice which also breaks, then you go back one foot and it yet again breaks. You need to find ice that doesn’t break even when you pound on it — then, you have a back up. If Warren Buffet were hiring programmers, he would probably have at least four meticulously tested backups at all times for security if he had a serious project as an entrepreneur.

(10) Giving deposits without a contract in the Bay Area
I have given many people deposits. One company in the Bay Area took my deposit and left me high and dry. I couldn’t get the programmer to return calls. I had to keep calling his boss just to get him to get back to me. What is the problem? I finally gave up. I let them keep the deposit. But, honestly, you have no leg to stand on if you give an unreputable company your deposit. And you have no way to know if the company is reputable unless you work with them. Most companies don’t have that many reviews on the internet, and those are not always trustable interviews in any case. If you have a contract that stipulates that work must be done to specifications by a certain date otherwise you not only give the deposit back, but pay a penalty for wasting my time, then it is easier to sue them when they screw up. Getting them to sign such a contract might be close to impossible, but you need some device to ensure your safety, otherwise you are gambling. Programmers are so busy these days that if you don’t pay up front, perhaps none of them will work with you! So, you are not in much of a bargaining position. So, having a contract is just a thought.

Putting the ball in their court — outsourcing advice for beginners

February 16, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Many of us are forced to outsource work overseas because of labor shortages at home, or due to excessive prices in your country. The problem is that most outsourcing companies, particularly software development companies are not that reliable. You have to test them out to find the best software development companies.

My mistake testing people out was that I was too emotionally attached and anxious throughout the testing process. I sort of made myself involved in the process which was my biggest mistake. The purpose of the test is to see what a company will do on their own initiative, not on your initiative. You have to throw the ball to them and see what they do. Many will drop the ball or make quite a few mistakes.

By testing out ten companies at the same time, you will be so busy, that you won’t be paying attention to any particular one of those companies. That way, they get back to you when they are ready, and not when you remind them.

This reminds me of a story I heard about medieval Japan. There was a Samurai who would always hire two prostitutes at the same time. That way he wouldn’t fall in love with either one of them. Do the same with programmers. The minute you become attached to one, you might be settling for less than optimal service. Always be comparing them even if you have a regular provider. Keep a ranking system that keeps evolving and gives quarterly updates to the ranks of the programming companies who you like at different stages of the relationship.

The Charlie Hebdo attack: terror or honor killing?

February 10, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Mixing Cultures is like Mixing Chemicals
When you mix cultures, it is a little like mixing chemicals. If you have children hanging around at a chemistry lab, they might be tempted to mix a few chemicals together and see what happens. In real life this is dangerous. Certain chemicals explode when put together just as taking two medicines at once can sometimes be fatal.

A Labor Shortage
France has had a labor shortage and a shortage of good soldiers for decades. Their solution, like many other countries is to take in members of drastically different cultures, give them citizenship, and live with them Sometimes this mixture of cultures results in a happy marriage. However, other times it does not.

Christians vs. Muslims.
In many parts of the world, there have been serious conflicts between Christian and Muslim communities. These conflicts did not start overnight. They have been in existence for over one thousand years. I remember reading about how Muslims would force Christians in Egypt to get a tattoo of a cross on their arm in the middle ages. To me this is a Nazi practice, but this is what happened. In India, there has been a constant conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims since the very first influx of Islamic invaders long time ago. Islam is not the problem. The problem is the aggressive expansion of a group of people. It doesn’t matter who the group is — the problem is the aggressive behavior which incidentally is banned in Islam according to the Koran.

But, Dubai doesn’t have a conflict… why not?
In places like Dubai, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Hindus live peacefully together. In my opinion, the reason it is so peaceful is that the country is owned and controlled almost purely by Muslim locals. Sure the guests outnumber the locals 10:1, but the ownership is not in question. In France, members of a foreign religion and culture are citizens and if they turn on the host culture (which some of them do) then the host has their hands tied. In Dubai, if you break Shariah law, they can throw you out, and sometimes they do. But, in France, if you conflict with the indigenous culture in a dangerous way, the government can’t do anything until after you’ve torn the country into pieces..

It was an honor killing
The massacre at the media company was not a terrorist attack in my point of view. It was an honor killing done by people who felt insulted that Charlie Hebdo’s staff had undermined the dignity of their main prophet. Honor killings are not something understood by the West, but are common in Greek and Islamic culture as a way to regain your dignity after being degraded, or suffering the rape of one of your female relatives. The attack was an avenging of an insult. In my peaceful opinion, murdering people as a response to an insult is as immoral as any other type of killing.

According to my guru, someone else’s life is not yours to take!
Maybe Muslims should have had demonstrations to protest the indignity inflicted upon them by these cartoonists. It is a sure face that Muslims would gain a lot more respect in France and worldwide if they systematically solved their problems in the most diplomatic way possible. Maybe one day they will. Let’s keep a positive thought.

I blame it on the French!
I blame the recent turmoil in France not on Muslims, and not even on Atheist cartoonists with big mouths (and big pens.) I blame French security. Several of the individuals involved in the various attacks in France had criminal records in the French intelligence database and were either known terrorists or suspected terrorists. It was not like this was their first offence. One of them recruited members for ISIS. If you are going to let known violent criminals roam freely throughout your country, of course a massacre will happen. It is guaranteed, especially these days. America used to allow some of the most violent terrorists in the world to come to our country. It took us until 2001 to figure out that this was not a very intelligent policy. You don’t need a PhD in Nuclear Physics to understand that if you let bad guys run loose, trouble will soon follow. My suggestion to the French is to separate dangerous people from society and perhaps separate their families from society too even though that could be construed as a violation of their rights. Do you protect the rights of families who breed murderers, or do you protect the rights of those who are peaceful members of society? This is a question the French need to think deeply about before it is too late.

On a brighter note, Muslims, Jews, and Christians live peacefully side by side in France for the most part. So, our little irreversible chemistry experiment is okay most of the time — for now…

9 insane things stress can do to our business

January 31, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

You would be amazed at learning what stress can do to you. It can affect your health, your behavior, your work, and your business. So, why are we all so stressed out? Because there is too much to do and too little time to do it! I have decided to have less to do every day and to decrease my stress level. The costs of being stressed out and overworked are just too high. Here are some problems I have seen that result from stress.

(1) Stress can cause you to be impatient with people
I have too much to do, and when I do phone calls, I tend to be in a hurry. If the person who is supposed to help me can’t make it, I tend to get the work done myself. But, I am not so nice to people when I do the work myself because I am stressed out from over working. If people talk back to me, I sometimes even yell at them. I am much nicer when I have a chance to do some serious relaxing.

(2) Stress can cause your mental functioning to be impaired
I remember going to Whole Foods once. I was working much too much. I forgot one thing, and left my bag with a lady in the front. When I came back, the lady had no idea who I was. I started losing my head and panicking. I started raising my voice. Then another lady looked at my receipt and told me that the lady two aisles over was the one who had helped me. The two ladies were both Hispanic, and of a similar age. Under normal circumstances I am not sure if I would have confused them, but I was very embarrassed.

(3) Stress causes you to make bad decisions
When you have to make a decision at the last minute, it won’t be a good one. You need to reflect slowly on decisions to make a good one. That is why I recommend relaxing and bathing before you make any critical choices for your business. It makes sense to put off decision making until you are in a good state of mind even if the delay causes a temporary loss.

(4) Stress causes spelling mistakes
I make lots of spelling and writing mistakes when under stress. It is okay to do a first draft of writing work under stress. But, proofread and fine tune your work when you are feeling relaxed, preferably after a long trip to the beach at night which is the most relaxing place a person can go!

(5) Stress impairs your ability to prioritize
A good business person does tasks in order of priority. When you are under stress, it is difficult to be able to figure out what is a priority. You just want to crank work out fast. To me, it makes sense to do busy-work while stressed, and thinking work on a different day while relaxed, or during my breaks where I can daydream.

(6) Stress causes the urge to drink; Drinking reduces stress
So, is drinking good or bad? I’m not sure. Drinking red wine in small amounts is good for you. Eating healthy foods reduces stress.

(7) According to Kabbalah, stress is good.
One Kabbalist once told our group that stress is good. If you are under stress that means you are accomplishing a lot of tasks in a short amount of time. Being under pressure means you are doing lots of things at once or in a limited amount of time which indicates efficiency. On the other hand Warren Buffet chooses to work two hours a day and be selective to where he devotes his time. He spends his time only thinking about the highest priorities and leaves the rest to others!

(8) Stress causes action
When you are under stress, you tend to take action more quickly than when you are relaxed. Another reason why stress is good.

(9) Stress causes temporary insanity
If the stress really gets out of hand, you won’t be able to think at all and go into a sort of mental paralysis. When this happens, it is time to take some time off!

The Pen is mightier than the Sword; But, is Flogging mightier than Blogging?

January 31, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest, Popular on Twitter, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Flogging for Blogging
In Saudi Arabia, a man is to be flogged as a punishment for criticizing Islam in his blog. Due to health reasons, his flogging is to be delayed based on what I read on 1-22-2015. The world seems to be polarized these days. There are 1.5 billion Muslims who are often not treated with respect from the rest of the world. Muslims are often not tolerant of any disrespect. Part of this reaction could be based on the amount of disrespect that has accumulated over the last several centuries towards them, particularly for those who live in primarily Christian countries.

It’s Muslims vs. Christians; Secular vs. Religious
With the Charlie Hebdo incident it is very clear that there are many Christians that will go to any lengths to offend Muslims, and will stop at nothing. The extremists who retaliated against Hebdo’s offensive cartoons will also stop at nothing in their war against offenses to Islam. Even the Islamic world is polarized. We see countries like Egypt divided between secular Muslims & Christians vs. the more religious types. Turkey has a similar division although the secular people in Turkey are more numerous than the religious ones. It seems that whenever you put Muslims and Christians in the same country, or even Muslims and Muslims in the same country, a serious conflict will result. So, what is the solution?

Punishment & Spirituality
The government of Saudi Arabia has the right to carry out justice as they see fit. It is their land, their government. My point is more of a spiritual point. If you abuse someone’s body, you are not only damaging their life, but you are also damaging your soul. For those of us who are believers (in God, but not necessarily in a particular brand of religion) we acknowledge that we have a soul, and that the condition of our soul is based on our actions and thoughts. If we behave well, we might have a chance at going to heaven, or at least be reborn well. We believe that we reap what we sow. I believe that the punishment of flogging is an extreme way to preserve a religious way of life in a country that endorses only one religion. But, the amount of damage done by the flogging extends far beyond the victim. The flogger will also reap a karmic penalty for his act of violence, his supervisor, and the society as a whole will gain a bad vibration as a result of this unmerciful act.

If Allah is merciful, then as followers, we should adopt his attributes.
Allah has 99 names according to Muslims, and 72 names according to Jews. They are only disagreeing by 27% which is not bad considering who we are dealing with! The Islamic names of God are very spiritual in nature. I only know a few of these names, but they include Merciful, Compassionate, Peace, Struggle, among others. If God is compassionate, why should we be any less as spiritual followers? You can pray to God as many times a day as you like, but if you lack spiritual values such as a love of peace, compassion and mercy, what good does the prayer do you? Prayer and religious life are meaningless unless paired with good values and character development. This means that we must exercise kindness and charity in our lives, even if we are not perfect at it.

I am also offended
I am not a Muslim, but I respect all monotheistic faiths. I take offense when someone defames the Islamic faith, especially if it is done in an insulting, unfair, or hateful way. Rather than calling people names for being offensive, I often explain how their false statement against Islam is wrong, why it is wrong, and what the truth is. I know very little about Islam, but I am able to explain some of the basics to rude “infidels” who insult this holy religion. My way is a peaceful way. I am not sure if much good is done by my way. However, my way produces no harm, and could do at least a little good. Flogging someone will do irreparable harm to everyone involved. It is an extreme measure. Rather than speaking against flogging, I’ll politely ask those in favor of it to consider a gentler way to deal with individuals whose blogging is damaging to society — whomever they might be.

I support separation
I live in America which insists on integration. Segregation is a dirty word here, and if you are for it, then you are a dirty racist pig! However, putting people together who don’t like each other and who don’t get along can be much worse than segregation and can lead to murder, flogging, and worse. Religious Muslims do not integrate well with secular Muslims or people from other faiths. Secular people tend to offend Muslims, and Muslims tend to shun secular people. Even when integrated, the two separate like oil and water. Lebanon was plagued by an horrible civil war which left many dead and many more emotionally shattered. In my opinion, the Christians in Lebanon should have their own country. The Druze should also have their own land, and the Muslims should have a country to themselves too. This way they don’t have to fight with each other over control. Egypt is teetering on the verge of civil war because secrular Muslims, Christians, and religious Muslims don’t see eye to eye. Perhaps it would be better if Egypt became two or three countries. I don’t know having separate countries for each type of people in the Middle East is best, but in the short run, it seems like it would solve a lot of problems.

Talaka, Talaka, Talaka!
The same holds true for Iran and Saudi Arabia which do not grant freedom to break Islamic law. There are many residents in both of these countries who are very Western in their thinking and cannot be happy following Shariah law. For those folks, it might be easier if a chunk of Iran or Arabia is reserved for them to set up their own communities where they can live by whatever laws they like. If you don’t get along, why fight it? Get a divorce! Talaka, Talaka, Talaka! Islam allows a couple to get a divorce, so why not allow a community of secular minded people to do the same. Everyone will be happier in the end — perhaps…

You might also like:

Outsourcing a Jihadi
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/01/12/outsourcing-a-jihadi-a-comedy-about-something-not-so-funny/

99 ways to die in social media — choose one!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/01/05/99-ways-to-die-in-social-media-choose-one/

Good business karma or bad business karma?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2016/03/08/good-business-karma-or-bad-business-karma/

7 rules for women entrepreneurs to live by

January 30, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Success | Leave a comment

It is interesting to see how women function in the workplace. Women who do jobs requiring force like being in law enforcement tend to validate the expression that “a woman can do anything a man can do just as well, or better!” Unfortunately, in law enforcement, women tend to do the hostility part just as well or better than men can do it. Women often feel insecure in particular roles which society may feel do not suit their nature. Women in law offices feel they have to prove themselves, and then reprove themselves and are in an endless cycle of having to continuously prove themselves as others don’t always take them seriously. So, what is the solution?

First of all, women do much better in business than as Attorneys or in Law Enforcement simply because the prejudices against them don’t exist as strongly in the business world. Second, women are better than men at particular types of tasks and situations such as being non-threatening, and maintaining relationships. So, let’s see how a woman can optimize her chances in the business world.

(1) Let the men handle the conflicts while you concentrate on other things!
Women are seen as non-threatening. Is this good or bad? In my opinion, if you are trying to smooth over a situation, you need someone non-threatening. But, if you have to assert your authority, a non-assertive man gets more respect in the real world for being an authority than an assertive woman. It makes no sense, but this is a proven fact. So, if you are a woman and you need to lay down the law, you can always hire a man to do the job. He can lay down the law in a neutral tone of voice and people will listen.

(2) Forget about seeking validation
People’s prejudices get in the way. How they see a woman entrepreneur may never be evenhanded. So, forget about trying to gain people’s approval. Focus on building your business the right way and not on what people think.

(3) Focus on relationships
When men are younger, they have an easier time being friendly and maintaining relationships. I remember in school that I always had a huge social circle. But, as an adult my social circle fell apart and I had no way to grow it. My housemate is a woman, and I found that I made more friends through her than on my own. Many men find that they make friends either at work, at church, or through their wife. I don’t have a wife, but my spiritual group and housemate filled the void for a while. The point I’m trying to make here is that women do a better job at creating and nurturing relationships than men do as adults over twenty-five. So, instead of worrying about what people think of you as a woman entrepreneur, focus on what you are genetically superior at — building relationships. As a business owner, your success depends on creating and maintaining nurturing relationships. Yes, they need to be profitable, but even a non-profitable positive relationship can turn into a seed for endless referrals and good will. So, recognize your assets and milk them! Let the men handle authoritarian roles while you build relationships.

(4) The 30 something and 50 something female breakdown syndrome.
Femanists have conditioned society to think that women are identical to men in almost all ways. But, this is not at all true. Women do well in the workplace at certain stages of their life. But, in their mid thirties, many women I know have experienced a mid-life crisis. They lose their urge to succeed and work hard. Many want a family, but failed to build a relationship with a steady man and hence don’t have a marriage. Other women have children by this time and need to tend to their children. Then, twenty years after this breakdown there is menopause which is another serious female issue that leads to emotional instability. As a woman, you need to plan for children, emotional instability and breakdowns. But, how? Realize that in your 20’s you are full of energy. Realize that you need to create your business in such a way that you can take more time off in your thirties. Additionally, try to have other people who are reliable take over your customer service role when you reach menopause because you will lose a lot of your best business relationships if you get nasty with them! I’m just being realistic.

(5) Controlling your destiny is good
In a male dominated world, women may not have as much opportunity to move up. Men often prefer to hire men as middle and higher level managers. As a man who works alone, I don’t know how easy or hard it is for a woman, but I can imagine that in many circumstances there could be artificial roadblocks to your success. Having your own business eliminates these roadblocks. You start at the top, and build your clientele and network below you. By being an entrepreneur, you create your own blocks (or unblocks) to success rather than letting some male chauvanist do it for you! Interestingly enough, many Palestinian guys choose entrepreneurship for the same reason. They see working for a boss as constrictive and oppresive and they want to control their own destiny and give themselves a chance to get rich. Many work 80 hours a week, save up, and buy small markets or gas stations and build their empire brick by brick.

(6) Get more nitty gritty
Women can often be tempted to want to live the dream, rather than getting involved with smaller aspects of the business. There is a lot of analytics and nitty gritty tasks in business. You will not do well in business unless you learn to embrace more technical aspects like calculating profit margins, accounting, calculating opportunity costs, assessing the value of doing particular tasks, and more. Women tend to be more people oriented then number oriented. But, to do well in business, you need to be good at both even if you are always better at the people side of the business (without even trying.) As a warning, I would suggest against relying on outsourced staff that you hire for analytical work. They can easily pull the wool over your eyes and deceive you if you are not completely in control every step of the way and if you don’t understand the equations they are working with.

(7) Being in control
As mothers, women understand they need to be in control of their toddler. The minute you take your eye off them is the same minute they try to swallow something poisonous or jump off the porch only to await a ten foot fall into the bushes. Business is similar to babysitting. Most people you hire are not going to be smart or reliable. The minute you stop watching them or lose absolute control over them, you are finished. As a business person, you need to always be in control. I will not say that women are better or worse than men at being in control, but Chinese women excel at watching every move their assistants make which is why women are more powerful in China than in many other countries. If you are not in absolute control and able to simultaneously watch everyone who is working for you — you are through. So, think of it as glorified babysitting.