There has been a huge movement in the developed world of professionals who are Green or Sea Changers. Many of these are professionals who are able to work remotely, giving them the option to move to beautiful, more remote areas. Either green and peaceful, or close to the sea.
These people were typically well educated and wanting more out of life. Starting maybe 20 years ago, they came to see that they were able to work remotely and still deliver a good service. Examples included designers of all sorts, writers and of course, software developers.
So, why the death of sea changers? Well, because they could work remotely meant others could as well. Including those in low cost countries with well-educated work forces. And it doesn’t matter whether you are 500 kilometers away or 5,000 when you’re working online. This outsourcing overseas has exploded in the last 5 years via great web services like Elance and oDesk.
So, these refugees from the big smoke are going to feel increasing resistance to the level of fees they charge. The low-cost countries will soon drive down the prices to levels where it is no longer profitable for someone in a first world country to work remotely.
And yes, this article will get many business people saying “we tried overseas suppliers; it didn’t work”. For many people it hasn’t, but that’s because there is an art to overseas outsourcing, it is not something you can just dabble in. Nor is your selection of suppliers just about price. That said, many of us who buy these services get huge value already, and many more are buying each year.
The writing is on the wall if you are someone used to charging $100 an hour for a service that someone with the same qualifications working for clients in leading first world countries charges just $30 for. For many, it will mean returning to the big smoke, getting close to their clients and leveraging the services of the overseas workers to increase the value of their offering.
This will have a big impact on real estate prices in those towns. But also, it is the end of the dream for younger sea changers. Have to leave the nice spots to the retirees!
Read more about Lead Generation here.