This book is not about simple tactics that allow you to outsource a few tasks here and there. It’s about building an engine, my friend. An engine that will turn your four-cylinder business into a twin-turbo race car.
Does that mean my methods can’t be tailored to better fit your specific needs? Of course not. But in order to customize my strategies, you first have to learn and use the strategies. For now, it’s important that you follow through on every activity. You’ll be 100 percent student, and I’ll be 100 percent virtual teacher. That’s something I don’t take lightly. I promise not to waste your time with useless information, unnecessary repetition, or cheap anecdotes; there’s nothing I hate more than a fluffy book with little meat.
Things to Keep in Mind
Here’s a simple concept I’d like you to keep in mind as you begin or continue your journey towards virtual freedom:
Rome wasn’t built in a day—it also took more than one person to build it!
It’s a learning process and a building process to stop struggling to do it all on your own. As you become more fluent in the virtual business lifestyle, some concepts and ideas will fall easily into place. Others will need to be customized to your needs.
When you’re done reading this book, you’ll have the blueprint you need to go from a stressed-out, overworked business owner to someone who is refocused and highly energized about all the new freedom you’ve amassed. You’ll enjoy the prospect of building your business again instead of just running it.
Remember when you first opened your doors to customers? The energy you felt getting to work every day? The buzz you got from talking about your business to everyone and anyone you met?
I’m going to restore all of that original enthusiasm and help you prepare for the next ten years of blossoming into the most successful entrepreneur you can be. And it will all result from the strategy of building and utilizing a virtual team to help you run, support, and grow your business.
Shall we begin?
Finding and Hiring Your Virtual Staff
There aren’t too many differences between finding and hiring virtual workers and doing the same with employees that will be based in your office. However, the differences that do exist are important to understand.
There’s a lot to cover in this section, and we’ll focus particularly on the following topics:
• understanding the myth of the super-VA (and busting it!)
• how creating your “3 Lists to Freedom” will change everything
• the different types of virtual workers and how they can help you
• how and where to find the right virtual staff
• ten interview questions you need to ask when hiring
Before you dive in, let’s get a general overview of the game and learn about the ins and outs of the playing field.
Just like in sports, we need to begin with the fundamentals. Once you understand these principles, you can tailor your approach to streamline the process. And this is a process—one that should be followed step by step.
Here are the basic rules of the game:
1. Your virtual workers are people, not a program. Though communication with your virtual staff takes place via e-mail and web-based audio and/or video chat services like Skype, VAs still deserve the same respect you would give any human being. It’s in your best interest to understand each worker’s communication customs and to be aware of his or her cultural holidays and traditions.
2. Put quality in, get quality out. The quality of work you receive from virtual employees is proportional to the quality of the instructions they receive. Are your instructions clear and concise? Or are you giving them a jumbled mess of instructions and hoping they can connect the dots?
3. One size does not fit all. All VAs have strengths and weaknesses, but they may not want to tell you that. They want to please you and will try to figure out ways to do whatever you want. This is a double-edged sword. Take care to match the right VA to each of your needs. We’ll go into this in a lot more detail.
4. Super-VAs don’t exist. There is no one virtual assistant anywhere on the planet who can handle everything you need help with in your business. Think about it: When your roof is leaking, you don’t ask your electrician to pop around and fix it. You call a roofing expert to come over and do the necessary repairs. This is one of the biggest myths in virtual staffing so I will discuss this in more detail below, but bottom line: hire for the role, not for the task.
Now that you know the rules of the game, we can get to work!
Reality Check: The Myth of the Super-VA
The idea of a super-VA is the big kahuna—the one mistake that I see entrepreneurs who are getting started with outsourcing make over and over again. Read these words carefully: there’s no such thing as a super-VA. It drives me crazy when an entrepreneur sets out to find that one special VA who can do all of the work in his or her business. I can’t tell you how many requests we receive at Virtual Staff Finder from entrepreneurs who are looking for VAs who can handle all of the following tasks and more:
• update blog posts
• manage social media
• edit video
• transcribe audio
• create custom images and icons
• design and develop websites
• respond to customer support tickets
• research and recruit affiliates
• do Amazon shopping for birthday gifts for loved ones
There’s nothing wrong with trying to outsource a scattered group of tasks and projects, but a single VA is not your answer. As a business owner, I can relate to the multiple hats entrepreneurs need to wear in order to get things done. However, filling your business with more entrepreneurial types who also think that they can do it all is the last thing you should do. Your focus needs to shift from finding a super-VA to identifying the specific roles your business needs to fill.
Remember, empire-building equals team-building—and you have to identify the positions your team needs before you begin recruiting the players.
Introducing the General Virtual Assistant (GVA)
I’ve had the pleasure of speaking on stage and working with business owners from all around the world on the subject of virtual staffing and outsourcing. No matter where I am or who I’m working with, my basic message remains the same: Every entrepreneur needs a GVA!
Even though the super-VA doesn’t exist, the general virtual assistant is about as close to one as you can get. They can’t wear all of the different VA hats out there, but GVAs will help you run your life and maximize your productivity by freeing you of time-draining, repetitive tasks that no business owner should be handling. Your GVA is your sidekick. Batman had Robin. Sherlock Holmes had Watson. Hardy had Laurel. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen.
Working with a GVA is the first step to realizing the power of virtual staffing. Your GVA