Remote Experts Help Launch a New Business
Inspired by Tim Ferriss's book, 4-Hour Workweek, elancer Jesse Krieger set a challenge for himself: Launch a new business relying exclusively on the help of remote experts. Here's Jesse's story:
“A few months ago, I read about Elance in the 4-Hour Workweek and was blown away," Jesse said. “The idea of having a business staffed entirely by workers via the internet and not having to deal with an office environment was motivating.”
Soon after Jesse discovered Elance, his new venture was born - The USB Superstore. The idea for The USB Superstore was to sell customized USB and Flash drive products to include company logos and preloaded information. “These are memorable corporate gifts that increase brand exposure and recognition,” Jesse explained.
“Elancers built and administered the site, prepared marketing content, campaigns and sales materials, and even took care of my business accounting and legal needs,” Jesse explained.
“Literally everything for this site was done on Elance. I hired coders and programmers, graphic designers, copywriters and even someone to spearhead lead generation and telemarketing for my outreach efforts.”
Jesse inspiration to try a new approach at building a business brought him success. Want to start your own business from the ground up with the help of remote employees? Check out Jesse’s tips for success:
1. Use the Elance platform
“Use everything Elance has to offer,” Jessie said. “I used it all when managing my remote workforce; from setting milestones and negotiating work scope agreements to using the private message boards with posted files. It was very helpful to have all these features in one place.”
2. Be accessible
“I stay in touch with my remote employees via the private message board – which is forwarded to my Blackberry. This makes it easy for me to respond to questions instantly.”
3. Have fun with it
“In my opinion business is fun and working with talented teams across the world is exciting and convenient. Essentially any idea you have now can be realized with providers on the Elance platform. There’s no excuse not to try out that idea you’ve been kicking around in the back of your mind. Go for it!”
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Oct 30, 2008 5:21pm
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Jessie I also read the book 2x and I am using elance for my new website and plan on using some of the services so I can work and play all around the world. |
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Nov 2, 2008 6:24pm
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It's amazing how much is going on that we don't know about...I too read the 4 Hour Workweek and while i won't be using the pick-up lines Tim Ferriss suggests (not required at this juncture! ) i have already established contact with a great e-Lancer who is a) helping me put a Workshop together which is designed to emp0ower ordinary people to be outstanding b)helping with the format of the book which will underpin the workshop and c) writing the web-site material! All via a no-cost chat session. My wife is starting up an on-line recruitment business finding people who want to work in remote locations or those requiring "resilience" (e.g. Iraq, Kazakhstan, Iran,) - guess how she's going to identify clients, candidates, her CRM,? Through the service providers on the net. Elance will be writing her marketing materials, doing some telemarketing etc. It's mind-blowing how much one can efficiently achieve at the start-up phase which is so closely linked to actual cost and not a big on-going expense which rolls in month after month like fog...... |
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Nov 4, 2008 8:42am
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Congratulations Jesse on your success. And thanks for taking the time to share. Your tips are bang-on - especially number 3 (Having fun with it). The 4-Hour Workweek also opened my eyes to the possibilities of regaining my time. I had always been wrapped up in trying to do everything myself. I couldn't have been more wrong. My short experience to date with Elance has been nothing short of amazing. I now have the freedom to focus solely on growing my business - something I love to "play" at. I let the experts that I partner with on Elance focus on the ever-so-important details - something they love to "play" at. By doing this my focus, energy and motivation has shot through the roof. Best of luck with all your future business endeavors. |
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Nov 5, 2008 6:31am
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Well done, what did it cost you though to get your website up? |
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