[7 of 7] Activation Consultation 6.0 – Program Recap

Hi and welcome to another episode of the Outsource Accelerator Podcast. My name is Derek Gallimore and this is episode number 70. Today, this is a continuation of the Outsource Accelerator Activation Consultation Program. Today we are reviewing module six of the program and this is the sixth of six modules. That’s pretty hard to say. But this module is basically wrapping up the knowledge that we have absorbed throughout the program and applying it to the overall company structure. And then again getting you through a mental exercise to really expand your mind and really look at the full potential of outsourcing. The outsource activation consultation program is available from us. Okay, it’s a fantastic consultation program that is aimed at exactly you. Whether you are a business owner an SME or a bigger sized company or a startup whether you are a COO within a company or you know you just have an interest in the outsourcing sector. This is exactly for you. This is to take you and your knowledge and your company from knowing little about outsourcing to a position where you are fully informed and you know how to take advantage of outsourcing and how to implement it into your business. If you are already outsourcing it will accelerate your learning and your knowledge and no doubt it will open a lot of doors of knowledge but also opportunity in outsourcing for you to add rocket fuel to your business and your current operations. Of course, a part of the course we’ll discuss this next week is about all of the additional services. So, you know we go through six modules within the consultation program and this is to get you from little or no knowledge up to an expert level awareness or comprehension of outsourcing. The benefits of outsourcing are absolutely huge and cannot be understated. So, we are actually covering this consultation program within this series of podcasts. And it’s because I believe there is enough information here to get everyone started on their outsourcing journey. If everyone starts their outsourcing journey today then I feel I have done my job. The consultation program, the actual paid program is available on the website. This isn’t a hard sell but if you want to dig deeper if you want results fast and if you want bespoke advice and guidance specific to your business then the consultation program is for you. Of course, there is so many more additional services that come as a part of the consultation program. There are one on one sessions we review your org chart, your process map, your strategic plans. You know we walk through the world of outsourcing with you. Not only that there are expert interviews there are virtual tours and of course we introduce you to a network of key figures within the Philippines’ outsourcing world. So that if you want to get started you already have a network on the ground. Of course, if you want to get started then Outsource Accelerator is here to help you integrate outsourcing into your business. I do want to stress that we don’t get paid if you outsource. I really encourage everyone to outsource. For some people it might not suit them. The time might not be right. That is fine. It’s important for you to realize that we at Outsource Accelerator are completely independent. We’re not brokers, we’re not getting commissions from any outsourcing body. We do make money from the outsource consultation programs. Of course, I recommend that everyone takes it but also, I’m sharing as much information as possible because I really feel that outsourcing is a win-win and it is absolute rocket fuel and if you only just realize the opportunities and outsourcing for your business and harness some of it and start the journey then I am super excited and it’s been a good day at the office for me.

So anyway, let’s get started. This is module six of the Outsource Activation course. And today we have four topics. The topics are recapping and looking at our outsourcing journey through the consultation program. Topic 2 is about expanding your mind. Topic 3 is an entrepreneur’s journey and then topic 4 which we actually mainly cover next week is about the industry expert interviews it’s about the virtual tours. It’s about the actual physical Manila tour. It is about the key network that we offer you. So, all of these additional resources.

So, topic one. Let’s recap what we have covered in this consultation program and over these prior six modules. The modules are split into five sections, those sections that analyze, engage, transition, operate and expand. Okay. We actually have a pretty funky infographic for this so I encourage you to go to the show notes if you want to see it. And of course, it’s available for you in the consultation program but you know this is a loop. So, we take on this journey where initially it’s about analyzing the opportunities but also analyzing your own internal business. You then engage we tell you how to engage with service providers and then it’s about transitioning to an outsourcing model transitioning your business, yourself, your knowledge and also transitioning the new outsourcing team. And then it’s about operating the outsourcing model. And then of course about the exciting expansion opportunities. So, within analyzing we looked at process mapping. We looked at what to outsource and we look at staffing requirements. Within the engagement phase, we looked at identifying providers we look at selecting different providers the types of different service offerings. And then also key items to look out for and negotiate for when you’re looking for a new partner and you’re looking through the contracts and the SLAs. The transition stage we discuss training and onboarding of your Filipino team the operate stage we look at managing your Filipino team and of course the KPIs, the metrics and the gamification. And then module 5 is about expansion and taking advantage of the outsourcing opportunities. We discussed that obviously last week in the podcast if you want to go and check that out too. But it’s there’s unbridled opportunity and unlimited potential to expand our business exponentially with outsourcing.

Now moving on to topic two it’s about expanding your mind. So, I have reiterated a number of times throughout this consultation program that you know we get a lot of very successful very savvy very astute very commercial business owners. Even senior managers coming through this program that don’t realize that outsourcing a lot of it is about them learning the skills and adopting the skills they need to run a fantastic outsourcing team. It’s also about reframing how they see that business is done and expanding their mind. So, in this topic two of the sixth module, it’s focusing more on the expansion of your mind. This is going into the freaky kind of zone where I really want to push you out of your comfort zone. It’s more of a mental exercise where I want you to imagine now this is beyond blue ocean thinking and let your imagination go wild. This is an extension of the moonshot exercise that we did in the earlier module and it’s about really just dreaming. What can you possibly do with a virtual and remote workforce? To add a little bit of fuel to this flame, I want you to picture this if you had access to an army of white collar soldiers. I kind of made that up there. But an army of people that could execute a number of white collar tasks for you an army. You know put no limit on it 10,000 people a hundred thousand people if they were free.

You have 100,000 people working for you in an office and they are free. What activities could you set them to do so that eventually you would not only dominate your competitive marketplace but dominate everything in the world. You know go crazy. What new businesses would you build? What new markets would you move into? What new products would you create? Would you spend a lot of time researching things? Would you start inventing things. Would you just look to do your exact same business but ensure you are the biggest in your market in every market? What do you want to do? Would you start working on that hobby business that you’d always wanted to work on if you just had enough time if you just had enough resources. Would you start to launch that new project that you’ve had mothballed for months or years? Would you look to build out the version 2 of your product? And you believe that the version 2 could make you significantly more money. Or would you actually just set your team’s focus on how you can cut your costs and improve your operations so that you are only required to spend one hour a week on your business while the profits are increased by 30 percent and revenues are comfortably increased by 20 percent per year. These are all hypotheticals. I’m just trying to give you some ideas but I want you to expand your mind and dream of the possibilities. Okay. The framework I have set for you is what if you have one hundred thousand white collar educated workers at your disposal for free. What craziness would you create in the next year? Now that you’ve considered those things. I want you to focus on one or two of them and look to see what can be implemented in the next year for not that much money. This is the essence of outsourcing and why I am such a fan. Outsourcing is fine if it’s just about replicating your operations for cheaper. But really the most exciting is when you look to expand beyond the walls of your business beyond the market of your business into new markets into new products to outcompete out strategize. But then go beyond that. The blue ocean thinking and just kill it. Maybe you want to start new businesses. Maybe you want to start your own outsourcing business. Maybe you want to start a staff leasing business within your business sector. There is so many opportunities and it is where the rewards really start to exponentially expand.

Those of you that are taking this consultation program or those of you that are listening to the series of these podcasts. You know this is only module 6. You’ve maybe zoomed through this and you’re maybe not on this journey yet. You know maybe haven’t set up your office you maybe haven’t settled down with all the processes and procedures that’s fine that will actually take time. But I want to set your sights on these opportunities. And it’s almost like dangling the carrot in front of you don’t walk before you can run. I want you to take your time. Build a solid team build solid operations. See that you have mastered outsourcing and see the returns and the savings you can make and then move into the expansion and the blue ocean thinking. But you know it’s really exciting as a mental exercise to explore this now to expand your mind and to think of it think about it from the perspective of the opportunities you have if you’re able to mobilize an army workforce working for you on your side. The opportunities are just crazy.

Then topic 3 is about the entrepreneur’s journey. So, doubtless you know in the SME space a lot of the people we deal with are the entrepreneurs and business owners themselves. Now entrepreneurs I’m not sure how many of you out there are entrepreneurs yourself but they are a specific breed of people. You know I am I claim to be an entrepreneur and myself and I really believe that it takes a certain personality. And it’s not necessarily the most balanced of personalities. We are pretty driven pretty committed people. We actually get excited by novelty and challenges and that can lead us slightly astray sometimes when we take on too much. Or as soon as things start getting easy and going well then, we take on a whole heap of new challenges that push us over the edge again and into levels of stress and concern but you know that is the entrepreneur’s journey. So anyway, so we see a lot of entrepreneurs coming through our doors. We see a lot of entrepreneurs coming into the Philippines and entering into outsourcing. And you know God bless them. They’re probably the first people that do embrace outsourcing because entrepreneurs are the anti-establishment types. They are the bold ones that take risks when most people aren’t looking at these things. So, they embrace outsourcing commonly. And of course, I’m trying to encourage and assist people on that journey. But what I want to talk about now is the entrepreneur’s journey that people go on when they start outsourcing. Outsourcing is a little bit scary. If you haven’t done it it’s not necessarily scary. But there’s a lot of unknowns when coming to a new market. Eventually though the entrepreneurs and business owners they do start they gingerly start with one staff member and you know maybe sometimes it doesn’t even work out. Maybe sometimes it takes a lot longer to set up than they think maybe sometimes the BPO isn’t right for them and they have to do a couple of switches but eventually it works out and eventually the system gets smoothed out. And again of course the entrepreneur is trained himself to be an ideal client so that he then learns he or she then learns how to get the most out of their team. So that’s the beginning of the journey. You know and this is where I believe we have kind of won because everything here is now self-motivated and it has a certain momentum about it. So, to speed this journey along you know the entrepreneur at the start is apprehensive. They might try with one or two freelancers and they work out great. They then eventually formalized things a little bit more. They go and get services from a BPO where they might get one or two full time workers. Next thing you know they might visit the country or just generally they see the fantastic output that their team is producing for them and then the sky’s the limit. Suddenly you know they’ve gone from one, two people and then they want to build a team over the next 12 months up to five 10 20. And the reason for that is because they kind of get a sense of this blue ocean thinking you know they get a sense of they potentially have access to unlimited abundant highly skilled stuff for virtually very little money. So, you know they put on their expansion hat and before you know it they want to tenfold their business. They want to get a hundred staff sitting in a room you know within 12 months. This is the massive growth period. This of course has its own growing pains and concerns. And you never want to rush these things and then of course there is you know creeks and cracks in the armor. But eventually that settles down and the next stage then is that the entrepreneur has enough with the protected environment that the BPO office. And the entrepreneur then moves looks to move out and incorporate on their own. They do eventually do this. It is a lot more work than they imagine. And you know it takes a lot longer than mention and it costs more than they imagine. If they move out of the BPO environment before they have 10 or 20 or 30 seats full then generally it is a very expensive exercise and they realize that they should have stayed in the BPO far longer or at least until they have 30 40 50 seats which justifies the cost of the move. But anyway, the move was done and of course entrepreneurs you know they have a lot of energy and enthusiasm. So, they go into things a little bit prematurely. The next stage then is that they’ve got this big office. They have still got the bug of outsourcing. They have spare capacity and they are still fast growing their team. Now the next stage very commonly because of their newfound infatuation with outsourcing and you know I say it’s a little bit like crack. People try it. At the first they are a little bit scared then maybe they don’t like it. But then before you know they are hooked and that into the world of outsourcing this is what I see so commonly. Then once they have the office the next thing you know they are setting up their own BPO. It’s a bit like a religious zeal as soon as they see the benefits of outsourcing. They want to share and offer it to everyone else that they know. So, before you know it you know foreigners here with business backend operations here open BPO is that is the beginning of the next journey for them. But it exemplifies for me the opportunities that people find when they open their eyes to outsourcing. You know it’s very common. I see it very, very commonly that I know that is busy with one business comes to the Philippines. They start outsourcing back office and then they realize actually that they have access to resources so they can not only run their business they could also open a BPO and they can also start a number of other businesses. So, it becomes almost like a kleptomaniac’s paradise because they can just collect businesses grow businesses and the risks and investment are relatively mitigated because of the access to abundant resources. So, you know that again is more conceptual nature. That is topic 3. That’s the entrepreneur’s journey. I explore that with you in the consultation program because it is such a common pathway that many people take. I encourage people to start their journey with outsourcing. I suppose it reflects on my intimate experience with outsourcing in that I have seen many people go through this journey. This is why I share this journey with you. In that journey people make mistakes, in that journey people succeed, in that journey there’s a little bit of disappointment but there’s a whole heap of success and there’s a whole heap of excitement. So, I don’t want to ruin the fun for you but we are here. I am here to help you along that journey and to help you avoid the pitfalls and to help you earlier take advantage of the advantages within outsourcing. So of course, we dive into that a little bit more within the consultation program.

There is activity 14 in this module as well which is about a five-minute business plan where you explore your mind expansion that you did in topic 2. And you know we get you to map out a few of these final ideas that you’ve come up with. You know it’s about reviewing those moonshot ideas that you did in module 5 and looking at the product expansion suggestions and all of those lists that you’ve created. It’s about condensing your favorite your most viable ideas but still your moonshot ideas and creating a five-minute business plan from this. This brings those ideas and this mind expansion from just frivolous ideas into reality even if it just means that you’ve written out a business plan and it doesn’t mean that you need to do it. It doesn’t mean that it is a viable but it means that you brought it from a thought inside your head into some sort of mapped out procedure. And that is the beginning of the opportunity of that journey and it is one that is supported and can be fueled by the opportunities that outsourcing bring. So that’s a cool little activity. And that really brings us to the end of the module 6 which is the summary for the outsource activation consultation program.

Next week we review all of the additional resources that you get from the full consultation program. OK. There are incredible resources and you know this isn’t just about didactic learning and it’s not just about reading the PDF and it’s not just about watching the videos. It is actually about the interactive learning and the one on one engagement you have with myself at Outsource Accelerator and our team here. But also, the mastermind that you get involved in and also the key contacts that you’re introduced to. So, we outline that next week. So, I hope that you join us.

If you do want to know anything else about this episode. If you want any of the show notes if you want to know about the consultation package if you want to know any of the activities I discussed in here then go to the show notes. You can find these show notes at outsourceaccelerator.com/70. And of course, if you want to know anything about the consultation program just go to our Website. And that is at outsourceaccelerator.com. And there is enough information there about the consultation program. All of the activities all of the benefits of the program and of course the very reasonable pricing for the program. So, go and check it out if you want to ask us anything ask us anything at all or even just have a chat to me and please to e-mail me. And that is at [email protected]. See you next time.