Outsourcers are a great alternative to conventional hiring of staff and are usually a lot more cost-effective; mostly because outsourcing comes without the problems that you can encounter when hiring staff. It offers businesses much more flexibility and when working on specific projects, it can give entrepreneurs access to the correct people with the specific skill set that they need to complete whatever project you are working on. In this blog post, I am going to give you the inside track on the top 10 websites to find outsources/outsourcing companies.

What is outsourcing?

Outsourcing is the process by which a company hires another company (or person) to be responsible for a certain task/activity. For example, you can outsource content creation or search engine marketing.

Things to consider when using outsourcers

Quality

Obviously we all want the best quality, but this clearly is dependant on your budget. There are some good freelancers out there. It goes without saying that invariably you will get better quality with a larger budget.

To get the best from any freelancer, you use you need to ensure that you give good direction and have clear specific instructions.

Often you have to try out a few people, occasionally you strike gold with the first person but, like anything, outsourcing can be a bit hit and miss. If you want to ensure that you get quality work done on every single task that you need to outsource then you need to choose an outsourcing company that offers a vetted and highly qualified personal assistant online which is tailored to your needs.

Location

This is something to consider if face to face contact is important to you with your freelancer. If the project is predominately written work and not purely design based it is best to avoid going overseas to India and other Asian countries. This is due to the fact that most freelancers from theses countries do not have English as a first language. This may end up costing you more time in the long run as errors can be made in the written work that require correcting so making the lower cost counter productive and ending up costing you more.

Cost

Usually outsourcing provides a more cost effective way to get various areas of a project completed and allow you to concentrate on other areas of your core business.  Freelancers generally work either on an hourly basis or by project.  Always ensure that you confirm how the pricing and payment structure will be upfront, to avoid any surprises.

Delivery Time

Ensure that you confirm when tasks will be delivered.  Good communication is the key here. Make sure that your freelancer communicates well and keeps you updated with the tasks that are due and when they will be completed.

Communication

How do they communicate with you?  What’s their response time?  Especially when using a freelancer overseas you need to factor in time zones, also how responsive are they to your emails? Do they respond quickly to questions?  Without good communication, it makes working on the project very difficult as most freelancers will not communicate face to face. To ensure effective and timely communication you need to hire vetted professionals. Usually, virtual assistant companies offer trained and qualified people that can assist with many aspects of your project. 

Best outsourcing companies and websites:

1.    Fiverr: Five dollars? No problem…

If you are working on a relatively small budget or a small project Fiverr should be top of your list of outsourcing websites. As the name implies, the payments go up in increments of five Dollars. So, if you have only a small budget this is a great place to start. There are great freelancers on this site from Graphic designers, Video creators to Web developers. Businesses find that Fiverr is great for working on images in particular. The site itself is also very user friendly and registration is free.

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2.    Upwork

Formerly known as oDesk. With over five hundred thousand businesses choosing Upwork, it is one of the most popular outsourcing sites out there. With Upwork there is great transparency for businesses to review each freelancer on there before deciding on who to hire. There are also 3 levels of service to choose from to suit the level of service you require. Payment can be made by the hour or fixed. As Elance has now moved over to Upwork, it will have even more freelancers available.

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3. 1840 & Company

1840 & Company is recognized as a top outsourcing and staff augmentation provider, offering a unique blend of traditional outsourcing models and dedicated freelancer support. Catering to businesses of all sizes, from startups to established enterprises, 1840 & Company is ideal for those seeking to scale rapidly and efficiently. Their expertise spans key functions such as customer support, IT development, marketing, finance, and HR. Utilizing their advanced Global Talent Cloud, 1840 & Company efficiently sources, vets, and deploys top-tier professionals tailored to specific business needs. This approach ensures that companies receive the precise talent required to drive success while benefiting from a cost-effective and seamless solution to staffing and operational challenges.

4.    PeoplePerHour

Offering a plethora of services and easy to use, PeoplePerHour is also a great site.

PeoplePerHour offers services from Design to development. You can easily track the progress of the project you have submitted, too.

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5.    99designs

99Designs is a popular choice for Graphic design projects offering services from Logo design to web design, along with others. Businesses simply submit their Logo design ideas and the freelance designers compete for your business and submit their ideas giving you the choice of designs before you make your choice and payment. You still maintain the flexibility to request changes and communicate with the designers prior to making your choice on design.

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6.    Freelancer

Freelancer is the worlds’ largest outsourcing site and it has been active for 15 years now. You can hire Freelance programmers, Web developers, data entry and has 17,000,000 registered users with nearly 10,000,000 projects posted. There is usually a quick turnaround for proposals you receive for projects you send, which if you are working to a time constraint, is very beneficial. This is a great site for smaller project work too. Payment for the projects is either at milestones or on completion of the project.

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7.    Zirtual

This is a great site for those searching for a Virtual assistant.  We all know how time-consuming planning meetings, booking tickets for travel etc, can be, so hiring a VA frees up a lot of your time. This outsourcing site can set you up with an assistant to check your emails or search for keywords for you thus enabling you to concentrate and work on other key areas of your business. There is a monthly fee to use the services on Zirtual.

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8. ServiceScape

ServiceScape is an excellent platform for those seeking top-tier editorial and creative services. Specializing in editing, writing, translation, and graphic design, ServiceScape connects businesses and individuals with highly skilled professionals. What sets ServiceScape apart is its rigorous vetting process, ensuring that only the most qualified experts are available for hire. Whether you’re an academic needing thorough editing, a business seeking polished marketing materials, or an author looking for creative support, ServiceScape offers tailored services to meet your specific needs. The platform provides detailed profiles, client reviews, and transparent pricing, making it easy to find the perfect freelancer for your project. With over 20 years of experience and a robust selection of professionals, ServiceScape is a reliable choice for outsourcing your creative and editorial tasks.

9.    Guru

Guru has a very large database of freelancers in areas ranging from Graphic design to Programming.

This is an easy site to use to outsource your projects and there are lots of different areas to choose from. You can also post a project to this site free of charge which eliminates the risk of paying money for a sub-standard piece of work.

One of the interesting differences in this site is the fact that Guru sends you a list of freelancers for you to choose from once you have sent in your proposal. This gives you the chance to choose the best fit for you and the project you have submitted. Guru also runs a loyalty cash incentive and with every purchase gives you 2% back in loyalty cash to use towards future projects.

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10.    Clarity

Just in case there is anyone reading this who has not already started their own business, I have put Clarity on the list. This site gives you access to lots of experts that can give advice on every aspect of a start up from how to raise funds to how to use social media to get you started. Loads of people offer good advice and it does not cost a load of cash that you may not have.

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11.    SolutionsInn

SolutionInn is another platform for finding capable freelancers. You can browse through their selection of freelancers by checking out their different categories – Finance, writing, IT programming, software development, and more – and you can also search by skills and filter your results by your preferred hourly rate.

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12. Lilach Bullock

Finally, it would be remiss not to namecheck myself – after all, outsourcing is what I do:) As my site explains, I specialise in offering the sort of services that are typical of those you’d find on an outsourcing website. If you’re looking for efficient and high-quality content creation, I’m a one-stop-shop for getting your brand out there and seen by the right people. 

I would love any feedback on the outsourcing sites I have mentioned or others that you have used that have also been useful. Leave your comments below and please share:)