A Twenty Something's Business as Mission Journey :: Outsourcing IT
The purpose of this note is to share observations, reflections and lessons learned as we visit and interact with different BAM practitioners. We hope this sharing will spark your imagination, intercession and action to grow in wisdom and understanding and love and good deeds!Sector: Outsourcing IT services for re-sale of household products for consumption Market: Primary – Western online consumers Structure: Foreign representative office of a foreign registered for–profit organization. Presently are three representative offices in-country. As rep offices they are not allowed to make money. This particular office employs two local staff; one full-time and one half-time employee. The corporate office provides financial subsidy for 1 ½ staff and office rent at this location. Three rep offices do all the IT work (data entry, repricing) for the business. Corporate office in the US and includes general manager, storage warehouses and shipping resources. They receive and sort donated products, provide overall administration and business direction and also shipping services. Supported by approximately 20 employees who volunteer 10-20 hours per week.
Champion: Corporate founder is a pastor/cross-cultural worker with small amount of business background. Came to country in 2000 and during second year of language study developed this concept. Makes decisions for 3 rep offices and home office location. Facilitates home office, retail site and 3 rep sites as GM. This rep office champion is a cross-cultural worker with seminary training and pastoral experience. Grew up interacting with small food service business. Has passion and vision to see indigenous churches planted among this least-reached people group.
Business formation: Founder looked for a legitimate reason to be in a community. Successfully opened the first branch in 2003, hired one staff, got it up and running but as business grew, he was forced to move back to the US to facilitate and manage the business growth. Business concept was to encourage churches to donate product and then resell them on the internet. Response was greater than anticipated! Goal now is to provide others with platform to work in business at other locations. This branch was the second rep office to open and began in 2005. Because the business was not yet generating sufficient funds, the first year of this rep office was without corporate subsidy – so the branch manager raised the funds. This branch was set up specifically to complement a church planting effort among a minority people in a least-reached area. Manager found office space close to their community and their first employee was from the minority people group. However, present employees are from the majority people. Third rep office opened in 2007.
Vision: Corporate vision is to facilitate placing cross-cultural workers in least-reached communities through creating a viable platform that subsidizes the creation and sustaining of representative offices. This branch office vision is to bless the community through competitive pricing, product research and cultural exchange. Initial idea was to bless and be part of transformation through employing some minority people. However, this is not always feasible due to the minority people being out-competed by the majority. The office gives them a presence in the community and allows them to be involved in their least-reached community by facilitating and funding cultural exchange programs. These programs give them more contacts in the communities. Since the rep office manager was already living in-community before establishing this rep office, they do not need the office to be a catalyst for more relationships, so the primary purpose of the office right now is to give the manager a reason to be in-community and do heart work. Corporate office manages IT work-load (divided between rep offices), sets work standard for visa provided expat workers (rep office managers) at 27 hours/week and sets overall vision and direction. Rep office managers have freedom to use educational platform to create other business and outreach opportunities.
Story: Each rep office has its own story. Original rep office started by founder emphasized training and equipping local pastors. This rep office is primarily to establish presence in the community but also has successfully done educational initiatives with a local minority school – including sponsoring a summer English camp. The third office is also working with a minority people and seeking to leverage the educational emphasis to work with libraries and schools among the minority people group.
Lessons learned: Rep office manager shared the challenges of cultural bookkeeping and contract issues (including salary issues with donor support), the difficulty in employing minority people in a majority world (and the relational fall-out that happens when staff leave), operational inconsistencies with internet/software and the present challenge of local like-minded staff being on the same page theologically as the Rep Office manager. Results: Successfully received two expat work visas and a legitimate reason for living and working in- community.
Their long-term presence in community has facilitated a lot of relationship building and outreach. Rep office has successfully sponsored two summer English camps that have blessed a community school and opened up many ministry opportunities. Presently provides jobs (1-1/2) for local believers (majority people). Have done small amount of training of employees and integrating transformational issues. Provides flexible work schedule for rep office manager to allow him to stay active in ministry efforts
Observations: Verbally stated profit motive of founder is to make 1 cent profit. Along with needing to specify a minimum weekly work amount indicate a more non-profit work culture. Seems to be some accountability as to how much IT work each rep office does and some accounting as to what income each office generates. However, other overall impression is that this is all about platform and flexibility to do things outside the office.
Challenge at the rep office level is that the IT work is mind-numbing – data entry. Low skill level and training required, but an office of one staff and a manager is its own unique management challenge.
Market is more competitive than originally imagined. Even with donated product, volunteer staff on both sides of the ocean and low cost IT labor, platform unable to financially subsidize the third office. Not sure how sustainable it will be if the model does not seek out other market areas. Limited work has been done to train current staff and help inspire them to work with minority people group (possible opportunity).
Rep office manager had little training or experience in the business sector at hand or in running an office. At this particular rep office location, there does not seem to be much push to use this platform to create more contacts and bless the local community (already have wide web of relationships)
The consensus among those on this BAM Journey is to not refer to this initiative as a BAM company. This is due to the lack of integration of business and ministry on the job, and goals that didn’t include employment of its people and profit-making goals. It is better described as a tentmaking venture that facilitates presence for church planting in these communities. This categorization does not aim to undermine its strategy or ability to do kingdom work, but to clarify the definition of a BAM company.
Labels: A Twenty Something's Business as Mission Journey, Case Studies
