Partnerships
Crowdsourcing design work with 99designs.com (a review)
If you are planning to start a new small business or have a small business that requires some design services, you may be tempted to try out one of the newer crowdsourcing websites. The first time a customer asked for my advice about these sites, I had no idea. As a manager in a larger organization, I have never used these types of services but decided to check them out. I asked my network of contacts and found a handful of individuals that provided their real-world experiences.
4 Tips to remember when Outsourcing to China and beyond
I have spoken and written about outsourcing to China for a couple of years now. Although China does require special handling, many of the high level recommendations are the same as regardless of where you decide to outsource. So here is a summary style high level overview of some of the important considerations: Ask Why: Ask yourself exactly why you are outsourcing. It is because you want to reduce your costs, access specialized skills or as a risk management exercise? Understanding exactly why you want to outsource should be your first question.
Negotiating with a "bad" counterpart
Most of our negotiations with vendors should be amicable and balanced. Once in a while though, you come across a vendor that simply does not want to partner and only sees you as an additional revenue stream. For these rare cases, you sometimes may need to resort to extra-ordinary measures to regain control of the situation. Take a Step Back In most situations, if a vendor “feels” that they have won the business even before the official terms are negotiated, they may decide to take a hardline stance.