Is Hiring a Virtual
Assistant
Right for You?
© 2006 - 2009 Kendall SummerHawk
Creating your own virtual (and even in-person) team is a crucial step to doubling and tripling your income. For example, when I hired my first virtual assistant, Kathy, I quickly doubled my income (I think I was initially so scared I wouldn't be able to pay her monthly fee that I gave myself a kick-in-the-pants and created more business!).
Last year I hired a second virtual assistant, Kristy, and have since skyrocketed my income to as much as $85,250.02 in a single month.
But hiring a virtual assistant will ONLY pay off if you know how to use their time to help YOU create multiple streams of income.
Which means you must be ready to both ASK for and RECEIVE support. The more you ask for and receive support, the more you liberate yourself to focus on your Unique Brilliance™ (a concept you'll hear me talk about in my upcoming FREE teleseminar series. Go here for more information about these free calls coming up June 28th and July 2nd—you'll be glad you did!).
If asking for and receiving support feels new or uncomfortable for you then this is where you'll find your biggest business breakthrough is. Think of it this way: the more comfortable you are asking for and receiving support, the more you are valuing yourself. And the more you value yourself, the more money, time and freedom will begin to show up for you to enjoy!
Hiring a virtual assistant is not a cost, it's an investment in YOU, how much you believe in yourself and in the level of success you'll achieve. This isn't just wishful thinking, it's a fact that has been proven by entrepreneurs who have figured out that adding support is pivotal to their core success strategies.
Here are 3 important tips to help you get the most from your supporting relationships:
Tip #1 Give your assistant every task that drains
your energy (yes, even the ones you think are "too small" to hand over!)
I started out by handing over all my email to Kathy. Believe me, that
took a huge leap of faith on my part! Now she receives and answers
all email that comes through my website. Any she can't answer she
batches up and forwards to me once a day.
My virtual team handles posting audio mp3 files, posting transcripts, shopping cart maintenance, email and newsletter proofing and broadcasting, paying my sub-contractors (the transcriptionist for example and yes, I trust them with my credit card), processing monthly coaching client charges, website updates and more.
Tip #2 Allow your assistant to support high-touch
marketing
I love sending out cards but didn't like dealing with stamps, envelopes
and address labels. So I signed up for Send Out Cards. Then I spent
an hour picking out a few dozen card designs and saving them in my
favorites folder (a handy feature Send Out Cards offers).
Now, to send out a card, I simply type the message in an email to my assistant, direct her to choose a card from my favorites (she loves it when I tell her "pick one with flowers that is really upbeat"), tell her who it's for and she takes care of the rest. I never even have to log on to Send Out Cards. I now send out MORE cards than I used to, I feel good about keeping connected to my clients and I love how easy it is to accomplish this important client relationship task!
Tip #3 Look at your assistants as in investment,
not as an expense
If you keep the idea of hiring an assistant regulated to the expense
category of your business it's too easy to delay hiring one, then
cut corners in what you give them to do.
Instead, write down the three main tasks you'll focus on when you are no longer buried under email, newsletter writing/editing, etc. For example: what business building activity can you invest in if you have three more hours each week? You could easily offer a group, offer a new teleseminar series, write an article or accept another two clients couldn't you?
What if you had five extra hours a week? What about ten? Are you starting to see how lucrative hiring an assistant can be? I also hope you're seeing that you can start small, get comfortable with asking for and receiving support, then move up from there as you begin to see the results.
I'm clear that my "job" is to market, lead teleseminars, coach clients and create new streams of income. When I find myself doing tasks that are not in my "job description" I send it over to my team. The payoff has helped me leapfrog my business and triple my income this year. Now, THAT is a high payoff investment that I'm glad I've made!
About the author:
Kendall SummerHawk, the "Horse Whisperer for Business" delivers smart, savvy ways entrepreneurs can turn their hectic business into a smooth-running, fun, 6-figure money-making dream. To learn more about her book, Brilliance Unbridled, and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.kendallsummerhawk.com
NOTE: You are welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end). I would also appreciate a copy of your reprint sent to kendall@kendallsummerhawk.com