Inside the Outsourcing Industry

Cheryl and I attended the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals conference in Las Vegas. Cheryl is the CEO of Global Outsourcing, Inc., which is a new company providing financial services to mid-sized growth companies.

When we arrived in the gambling capital of the USA, we realized the conference was 30 miles outside the city at Loew's in Henderson. We stayed one night at the Venetian Hotel and took in the Blue Man Group, a startling piece of oddball entertainment. Believe it or not, we did not play one slot machine. Neither of us are gamblers. We like a sure thing and the outsourcing business is that. It's growing and moving into every aspect of business.

It was Cheryl's idea to start Global Outsourcing to provide finance and accounting services to mid-sized companies that want to free themselves from these tedious tasks. Cheryl is an attorney and CPA and is constantly on the outlook for opportunities and trends. While outsourcing has been around forever, it is taking new shape.

We learned a lot at the conference which was attended by representatives from major corporations, all of which outsource some of their departments, such as payroll and IT. One of the things we learned was that our name is too generic, as Global Outsourcing is the name of the industry itself. We have since decided to use our tagline as our name: GO Global, which has been trademarked by our company.

Company names, as are website domain names, are tough to come by these days. There's almost no name--Greek, Latin, French--that hasn't been taken. For days, I walked around with names swirling in my head -- eVolve, Ascend, Panoply, Rhionne -- and all were taken. I realize now why people use their children's names or initials or a combination thereof to name their businesses. Finally, we decided to stay with GO Global because prospective clients need to understand right away what our business is about; otherwise we will lose their attention.

We decided to name our roster of services Panopy Pro, so when we create brochures and marketing pieces, we can apply this name as a way of labeling or remembering our program and make it stand out. In marketing, it's all about presentation, use of words and design, and repetition to create recognition and brand appeal.

I will tell you more later about the evolution of GO Global. It is going to be an exciting adventure. Just one more thing. We are opening our first business process outsourcing (BPO) in Guatemala. It is so close to Miami and beginning to emerge the way Costa Rica and Panama have. Central America is the next frontier for outsourcing.