#104 You're an entrepreneur if? Outsourcing is not a dirty word - Blog

?If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, you?re putting yourself out of business.? ?Lee Kaun Yew, Former Prime Minister of Singapore

In at least two episodes of ?Shark Tank?, the popular ABC show in which entrepreneurs get a chance to pitch their business idea to and receive funding from investors, there were stubborn business owners who refused to manufacture their products where costs were lowest for the desired quality.? Each entrepreneur had a solid business with customers and significant revenues, but his company was not profitable in large part because production costs were so high.? The sharks, who immediately realized this, suggested that the entrepreneurs produce their goods in China, where costs would be much cheaper and thus profits much higher.? However, both owners were adamant about continuing to manufacture in the United States and to create jobs, an admirable but naive decision that will likely shut them down altogether.? Ironically, while trying to create more jobs in the country they love, they will likely add to the high unemployment rate.? The investors, who were originally excited about the businesses, ultimately lost interest because of the owner?s reluctance to outsource.

The episodes were quite emotional.? In fact, one of the owners was on the verge of tears because he so strongly believed in what he was doing for his country.? His conviction prevented him from taking the sharks? advice. ?In a final attempt to make a deal, a shark tried to get one of the owners to understand that he could have more of an impact on his community plagued by high unemployment if his business is successful.? The shark?s efforts were futile.? The owner was a standpatter though rattled, realizing that he could be making the biggest mistake of his life.? As a frustrated television viewer and business owner, I certainly thought he was.

Since our economy has taken a turn for the worse, outsourcing has become a dirty word.? It is tantamount to traitor or anti-American.? What true American wouldn?t want to create jobs here at home, right?? The United States, where outsourcing was once a popular trend and great for business, suddenly threw globalism by the waste side and adopted an ideology of isolationism.? Television sitcoms like ?Outsourced? in which an American corporation outsources its call center to India don?t help the matter.? In an uncommon display of political harmony, both the Republican and Democratic parties agree that keeping jobs in America is a top priority to grow our economy and to get it back to more prosperous times. But ignoring politics and using common sense, the campaign against outsourcing does more harm than good when it comes to economic development.

This is a simple lesson: The benefits of outsourcing outweigh any negatives as described by its opponents.? Besides, you must do what?s best for your business.? Whether it?s to a contractor in your same office complex or to Singapore, outsourcing is good for business.? Any functionality that is not core to your business should be outsourced at the best cost.? In the majority of cases, trying to produce everything that your business needs is unrealistic and highly inefficient.? If you have believed the negative hype about outsourcing, quickly disabuse yourself of it and implement the process into your business strategy.? While you subscribe to the propaganda and refuse to even consider it, your competitors are outsourcing and working hard to put you out of business. And, you don?t need to be a high-profile shark to understand this reality.

Kevin D. Johnson, founder and president of Johnson Media, has over 12 years of experience leading his company as a successful marketing and communications company that serves many of the most notable FORTUNE 100 businesses today.

meghan mccain wilson chandler bristol motor speedway puerto rico prometheus grand canyon skywalk tonga