In the October 1994 Issue of Wired, Gary Wolfe said in an article, article about Mosiac (the worlds first GUI web browser) and the coming internet revolution.
Startup blog asks this:
What kind of pleasure is your startup bringing to its people?
BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are the buzz word in business for good reason. In the good news for us small entrepreneurs is that access is no longer limited big players. The internet has made it possible to have a global work force from launch date, and the same cost advantages that multinationals have had since they started exporting labour to China and other parts of Asia since the 1960’s. Anyone can do it now.
Before you worry about the ethics of ‘off shoring’ there’s some stuff we should know. Exporting labour overseas is ethically sound. It is beneficial both to the recipients and the providers of such work (us). The average computer programmer earns around $1000 a month in India. In the USA and Australia it’s more like $7000 a month. Unethical? Not really. The $1000 a month versus the average in India of $85 gives new information workers in India and very high standard of living.
When we inject money into developing economies we are increasing the living standards not just for our employees, but for their economy in general. In addition we have the option to pay them above market rates to create strong loyalty. We have the option treat our people well and create important cultural exchanges and relationships.
Other peoples time is what we must leverage for startup success. A simple business fact time immemorial. Only now we have both currency advantage and access. The issue of moving jobs overseas is a crock. We live in a global age, an internet economy. We all buy goods everyday from overseas. Geographical barriers simply wont exist shortly. So we should just get on board. Protectionist attitudes are outdated. No one is sending kids down mines with digital offshoring. If local people are getting put out of jobs, then they’ve been earning too much for what they’ve been doing anyway. Their outplacement is inevitable.
Startup Blog says:
Another interview I did with Fiona Boyd the uber successful on-line entrepreneur who built and sold www.artshub.com.au about ‘Unlearning’. A concept which we need to embrace when leaving the corporate world to start up land. Enjoy.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwvP-bxaO7U]
Fiona has a great site with interviews and ideas on niche content. www.nichecontentmillionaire.com The title says it all – and she’s done it. Check it out.
Steve.