Virtual Freedom - Chris Ducker

Virtual Freedomby Chris Ducker

Finding and Hiring Your Virtual Staff

1. Your virtual workers are people, not a program.

▶ V irtual Staffs st i l l deserve the same respect you would g ive anyhuman being .

▶ Important to understand each worker ’s communicat ion customsand to be aware of h is or her cu ltural ho l idays and tradit ions .

THE FUNDAMENTALS

2. Put quality in, get quality out.

▶ The qual i ty of work you rece ive from virtual employees isproport ional to the qual i ty of the instruct ions they rece ive . Ensureyour instruct ions c lear and conc ise .

Finding and Hiring Your Virtual Staff

3. One size does not fit all.

▶ Take care to match the r ight VA to each of your needs .

THE FUNDAMENTALS

4. Super-VAs don’t exist.

▶ There is no one v irtual assistant anywhere on the p lanet who canhandle everything you need help with in your business .

▶ Your focus needs to shift from f inding a super-VA to ident ify ingthe spec if i c ro les your business needs to f i l l .

*Remember , empire-bui ld ing equals team-bui ld ing— and you have toident ify the posit ions your team needs before you begin recruit ingthe p layers .

Creating Your 3 Lists to Freedom1. Tasks you don't like doing

▶ Th is is any task that makes you cr inge or procrast inate .▶ Anything can be on this l ist—except for se l l ing (toppr ior ity) .

2. Tasks you don't know how to do

Are there tasks you’re currentlydoing that could

be completed faster by someoneelse?

Are there projects you’rehandling that could be

wrapped up in a better, moreprofessional way?

Are you trying to cut costs bydabbling far outside

your areas of expertise?

Creating Your 3 Lists to Freedom3. Tasks You Feel You Shouldn’t Be Doing

▶ Th is l ist he lps you see how you want to be running yourbusiness in the future .

Which tasks should you simply never touch —meaning you could eliminate them from your

schedule entirely, making way for moreimportant tasks?

Which low-level tasks could beeasily given to a virtual assistant

as part-time work?

Which tasks are you handlingthat could be taken over by a

professional who knowsexactly what he or she is

doing?

Which tasks are stoppingyou from really focusing onthe strategic growth of your

business?

Creating Your 3 Lists to FreedomAn example of how the list might look:

List #1Don't Like Doing

✎ Checking E-mail✎ Managing Social Media✎ Handling Basic Inquiries✎ Researching TravelOptions

List #2Can't Do

✎ Developing website✎ Editing Podcast Websites✎ Designing Logos & Graphics✎ Bookkeeping & Accounts

List #3Shouldn't Do

✎ Updating Facebook Page✎ Handling Tier 1 Support✎ Transcribing Online Video✎ Managing Company Blog

Note: This is standard stuff and generic to entrepreneurs everywhere in today’sbusiness world. Your lists should be focused on you and your specific needs as abusiness owner.

GETTING-STARTED

two solid reasons whyyour virtual staffing empire could crumble

ONE.You build around one strong person instead

of building a team with specific roles.

Never put your company in a position where it wouldbe completely destroyed if you lost someone.

Each role within your organization should be clearlydefined, and you should know exactly what youwould do if someone decided to quit or if you

needed to let someone go.

TWO.You fail to properly train your team.

Training is the foundation of yoursuccess with virtual assistants.

UNDERSTANDING

THE TWODIFFERENT TYPES OF

OUTSOURCING.

PROJECT-BASEDOUTSOURCING

used when a business needs just one task or one project completed.

This might be a simple task like creating a logo or installing anauto-responder form on a website, or it could be a more detailedproject like creating an e-commerce site or a mobile app.

ROLE-BASEDOUTSOURCING

involves finding someone to fill a particular role within yourbusiness on a part-time or full-time basis.

In role-based outsourcing, the VA becomes a member of yourteam. In order for this to make financial sense, you’ll need to haveenough work to justify paying someone regularly to perform thesetasks.

Each task you outsource is an opportunity to

▲ Learn how to properly communicate the work youwant to delegate.

Save any correspondence or media that could be used to trainfuture VAs. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.

▲ Find a VA you might want to work with in thefuture on a part-time or full-time basis.

Some of the best working relationships will arise out of workingon smaller tasks together. Keep an eye out for promising talentthat you’d like to bring on board in the future.

VIRTUALFREEDOM