Why Outsource? I’m sure all of you must have heard of Thomas Friedman’s famous “The World is Flat” book. I find it strange when I still see people working 20 hour days (literally!) trying to keep up with all of the different threads in their event plans. Its strange because they can actually get the same work done in a better way (through specialized professionals) without having to have complete control over every single aspect of their launch. You can get a personal assistant to manage your schedules and appointments. You can get a sales person to get to resellers or sponsors. You can hire a SEO expert to optimize your event page and website. You can get writers to send out your blog posts or email campaigns. All you have to do is the high-level strategic work and people management.

oDesk as an outsourcing platform: I understand that its difficult to rely on other people for the work when the success of your events depend on it to be completed on time and quality. Thats why, some of outsourcing platforms have incredible ways in which you can monitor the work that is being done by your contractor live - as it happens. Also, you can choose to only pay for the work that is accepted and according to your requirements. One such website is oDesk.com. They have these little controls in place to make sure you don’t have to spend an extra cent without getting the right value from it. All you have to do is set up an account and put up a job opening. Interested service providers will contact you by bidding for the project. You can pick and choose or interview them as you like. You can also search their database for good matches and invite them to place a bid…

This post has been included in our “Event Launch Guidelines” training program. Click for more information.