Rural America OnShore sourcing brings jobs back home

Some of the best business models rise from the ash heap of failure. Christopher Hytry Derrington founded Rural America OnShore Sourcing with three partners and Sundeep Dronawat after seeing poor results from several offshore outsourcing projects. Since opening in December 2008, Rural America has made location a non-issue for Americans needing outsourced work.

Offshore outsourcing is an irresistible cost-saver for many U.S. companies. But the lower wages paid to foreign workers are offset by communication and time barriers. "You're paying people to help you do business," said Marty Gardocki, Rural America's Vice President. He has contracted outsourcing in the past, and observed that the blended offshore rate - the actual cost of offshore services - is comparable to what Rural America charges.
    
While visiting family in rural Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Hytry, now Rural America’s CEO, noticed the area's workforce dynamics. A wealth of qualified, experienced rural workers had no place to go. He had an idea: what if a company could bring the jobs to them?

Rural America opens sales offices in larger cities. Companies come with the projects they need to outsource. Rural America sends the work to the pool of talent, which is limited only by access to broadband. The same technology that allows tasks to be shipped overseas frees businesses to use workers outside major metropolitan areas where high living costs necessitate a higher wage. Rural America pays wages that are fair for the employee's region, but still allow client savings.

Rural America is currently recruiting talent in 12 states, expanding to 25 states by end of 2010, and all 50 states by end of 2011.

As a minority-owned company, Rural America has preferred status for bids and proposals at the federal, state, and local levels, and can pass that savings on to customers. It extends traditional outsourcing by offering project teams as well as individual workers. From the beginning, their vision has been for a national business, operating in many sectors. In a welcome reversal of fortune, Rural America has already attracted overseas clients looking for American labor.

Currently, Rural America's leadership team floats between Business Development Centers in Cincinnati, Louisville, and Two Rivers, Wisconsin. They plan to open offices in eight new states in 2010. But Gardocki is proud to make Cincinnati Rural America’s home. He describes our area's entrepreneurial community as "a nice embryonic kernel," ideal for his company's start-up.

"People are attracted to the opportunity. The demand for our services are real - We developed the means to deliver on those opportunities."

Writer: Elena Stevenson
Source: Marty Gardocki, Vice President, Rural America OnShore Sourcing