If you’ve decided that hiring subcontractors would benefit your business, you need to start building a list right away. A list will help lessen the demand of too much work and help with your overflow or with projects that require skills you don’t have.
It’s important to take great care of your list and make sure you evaluate it regularly, so you’ll know who you can depend on who you should avoid. This also lets you know if they’re looking for work or leaving the business.
Creating a Subcontractor List
1. Ask your colleagues for advice and recommendations. They can tell you what worked best for them to help you decide whether you need people with the same skills you have or complementary skills. Either way a subcontractor should add something extra to your project.
2. There are groups where you can find people with skills that can help you with projects and increase your business. For example, if you need a web designer, join a web design forum or Yahoo group and look for members who are willing to subcontract. You can also find skilled people listed in virtual assistant subcontractor’s directories.
3. A subcontractor’s performance and ability affects your reputation. While you can look for people who are new to the business for really cheap subcontracting, try finding more experienced subcontractors. The benefits to you and your company outweigh the cost.
4. Give each potential member of your list a trial run to see if they’re a good fit. This way you’ll learn whether or not the subcontractor has the skill set and level that you’re looking for. It will save you time and money hiring or outsourcing work to subcontractors or a virtual assistant team that works well with you.
5. Stay in contact with each subcontractor through e-mail or social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin. You’ll keep up with how they’re doing and ensure they’ll think of you if someone asks for a referral.
6. Offering work or a project to your subcontractors occasionally will maintain the work relationship. Also, let them know they can contact you if they have any concerns or questions. Good communication is imperative for a successful relationship.
7. Let your subcontractors know about any new changes or updates with your business so they can keep track of you as well. Inform them ahead of time about any new upcoming projects. Give a specific date or they could take someone else’s offer before yours especially if they have multiple clients.
8. It’s important to add people to your list with different skill sets because you can accept a wider variety of tasks from clients. For example, if you suddenly find yourself in need of someone to perform a specific task such as web designing, you should have a second person on your list in case your first choice is already booked.
9. Every person on your list should sign a contract. This is a protection for you, so that they don’t take on work directly from your clients. A written agreement should be drawn up and signed prior to the start of any projects. You can do a standard agreement that takes into account individual project specifications.
10. Always be on the lookout for new people that you can add to your subcontractor list. Check virtual assistant organizations or use an intermediary service.
Building a list of subcontractors makes it convenient when you suddenly find yourself with too much work and not enough time to finish it all. A list will allow you to find the best subcontractors quickly and handle more projects and new clients with ease.
The right people on your virtual assistant team will help your business grow because you won’t have to turn away projects from great clients. Building a list of the best subcontractors means you won’t have to frantically try to find someone with the skills you need if you take on too many projects.
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