This article was featured this week in the Courier Mail and relates to the growing trend of overseas outsourcing of staff.

For the original article, including comments from readers, please visit http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,26295359-5012426,00.html.

Personal assistants on the other side of the world are doing paperwork and administration for as little as $2 an hour for Australian small businesses, The Courier-Mail reports.

Overseas outsourcing is being taken to a new level over the internet, with businesses turning to online contractors to perform everything from IT to bookkeeping and accounting.

But the trend towards outsourcing, once the domain of big businesses such as banks, has alarmed unions and academics who fear it will slow wages growth and cost local jobs.

"Australian workers should be concerned by any moves to offshore jobs to cut labour costs, not only because it means fewer job opportunities at home but it undermines wages and conditions here," an Australian Council of Trade Unions spokesman said.

Eric of Sydney "There are also question marks over whether quality control can be maintained through offshoring, and businesses need to be open with their customers that work is being performed outside of Australia."

Mike O'Hagan, who founded MiniMovers but now runs a small business as an international business speaker and mentor, says he has employed a personal assistant living in the Philippines through website odesk.com for the past year, at first paying $US2 ($2.21) an hour but recently raising that wage to $US6 an hour.

The PA handles personal correspondence, his calendar and other administrative duties and stays in contact via email.

"That is eight times her local rate of pay," Mr O'Hagan said. "That's equal to about $4000 in Australia. She's one happy little Vegemite.

"This is a job that I would have never employed an Australian to do. Being a worldwide business, I need a worldwide workforce.

"This is a massive change throughout the world. The world is just one big economy all connected together and that's a good thing, not a bad thing."

But the ACTU strongly disagrees: "It is totally misleading for any businesses to pretend that they are offshoring to help people in developing countries. They should be honest that the only reason they are doing it is to boost their profits."

More than 1500 Australians have signed on for work through oDesk, of 378,000 hopefuls worldwide.

Switchselect.com.au comparison website CEO Leon Hayes says he has sourced contractors through oDesk.

"To the people who are complaining: be proactive. Turn negative thoughts into positive and stop worrying about where your next job might come from and start your own small business," Mr Hayes said.

His most recent job was done by a contractor in India for $US200. He says the same work would have cost him $5000 in Australia.

Mr Hayes pays writers between $US3 and $US4 an hour to collect news and rewrite it for his website.

"It has taken a year to find a group of six people to work very hard and deliver on time and on budget and we couldn't find that in Australia," he said.

"I do employ an Australian writer who has worked for The Age and other places, but she is $45 an hour.

"I don't think it is morally wrong to outsource because it's efficient and it gives the people actually applying through oDesk, and who have gone and bought themselves a cheap computer and put themselves through XYZ course, a job."

Sunshine Coast-based www.imarket yoo.com marketing consultancy owner Luke Selway says he uses online outsourcing to mop up excess work or for technical jobs outside his expertise.

"From a small business perspective, any strategy to bring down costs, especially in this economic day and age . . . is quite useful," Mr Selway said.

However, others raise concerns.

Author and Griffith University department of employment relations Associate Professor Bob Russell said global outsourcing might not be as cheap as it looks for employers in the long-term.

"There are security issues and trust issues so the costs of supervising this kind of work is much higher when it is outsourced," Prof. Russell said.

"Companies would have to hire internal supervisors just to monitor outsourced workers. How unproductive is that?"

For the full article, written by Dan Kaufman and published on the Sydney Morning Herald technology site, please visit http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/10/1065676145670.html.

With China's economy soon to become the second largest in the world it might be worth considering whether you can factor that market into your business plans.  The world has never seen the industrialistion of a country on the scale of China before so it is hard to comprehend just how China is going to affect us in the future or how big the opportunities could be. 

China managed to last year avoid the global financial crisis and instead its economy grew last quarter at an annual rate of 8.9% with retail sales rising 15.4%.  Chinese students account for the highest percentage of foreign students who come to Australia to be educated - with education being Australia's third biggest export.  With over 1.3 billion people living in China (20% of the world's population) and their economy set to become the second largest in the world, it is also rapidly growing a large percentage of wealthy consumers who are keen to part with their cash. 

Take some time to consider just how you can take advantage of this growing market and work it into your marketing plan.  Is your product or service one that a newly industrialised country could use?  The chinese will be looking for things that can improve their standard of living and health.  Do some research to see what is proving popular over there and get in quickly.  Remember that when dealing with a foreign market you need to be aware of how the cultural differences can affect business. 

For more information on dealing with China contact David Thomas at www.thinkglobal.com.au - an expert in the market.

We can all admit it. At some point or other, in our business, we’ve made a mistake. Perhaps even two. But how did you solve it?

I remember recently that my PC broke down. Right in the middle of a work-filled, jam-packed, busy day where everyone wanted everything – and now!

After recovering from my mild heart attack, I went into survival mode. I knew that I had to get a document out to a client before a 5pm deadline, but with a PC that wouldn’t even turn on at midday I knew the chances were slim to none.

Time to take action! I called the client and admitted what had happened. I explained that there was unfortunately nothing that I could do as I didn’t have a backup computer and her file was not saved elsewhere. Even if I got a replacement computer, I would have to reinstall the special software that she required me to use and then start from scratch. There was no way that I would be able to get the document to my client by the 5pm deadline.

Amazingly, my client was fine with what I had said. Yes, it had inconvenienced her, but she respected me as I called her and came forward in explaining my situation before she had to chase me. She empathized that sometimes you can’t rely on technology and sensing the tension in my voice, she told me not to worry and to relax.

Phew!

I offered to waive the fee for my work done and that I would go out and get a replacement computer straight away and then proceed to get the job done. I apologized for everything and ensured that I would have the new document back to her within a day. 

She was more than happy with this and even insisted on paying me for the work I had done.

And so I did what I had said and followed up on my promise of completing the job by the next day. And I didn’t charge her for the work (even though it took me a long time and she insisted!) as I had made that promise to her. 

A month or so later, I had a phone call from a gentleman that she had referred on to me. He said that he had heard wonderful things about my business and me and wanted me to work for him.

Well how about that? See how easy it is to turn a negative into a positive? I could have let the world crumble around me, hidden from my client and waited for her to contact me and then stumbled through an excuse. Instead, I took the initiative and called her, told her the truth as to what had happened, and then offered to compensate her for the inconvenience. I then followed-through on my promise to her.

Because of that, our working relationship is stronger than ever and I hope to keep her as a happy client for a very long time.  I have proven to her that I am a women of my word and that client satisfaction is of the utmost importance. 

So how do you manage your problems? Do you stick your head in the sand or do you take action? I welcome your thoughts.