- Multiplied our profits and productivity
- Gained more time for ourselves and our business
- Achieved our dream lifestyles and helped others to do the same.
Make training easier by documenting everything
There are a number of ways you can go about training your virtual assistant. A quick and easy way would be to just use free or paid training materials available online. But if you have tasks that are specific to your business, or you just want some jobs done in a specific way, documenting your process using video is the easiest, and by far, the best way to do it.
Writing things down takes longer and can be misinterpreted. If you record what you’re doing on video while explaining your process, you only need to do it once and your done. And if ever you want to write things down, you can always have you video transcribed or consult that video for your process.
Sharing your genius doesn’t diminish it, it multiplies it.
One reason why some people refuse to outsource is because they’re afraid that their VA will steal their ideas or processes. And they’re shocked that they can’t grow their business!
When you think that way, you’re doing a disservice to your clients, yourself and your employees. When you don’t share your genius, you’re putting your ego over the needs of your clients. This makes you a bad business owner because you’re more preoccupied with hiding your skills than giving your clients your best work.
It’s a disservice to you because you’re operating under the illusion that there’s nobody better than you. So you’re the only one who can do this job. And if you think that way, you’re never going to grow as a person or as a business owner. Having people who can do your job better than you is a good thing! If you treat your VAs well and keep them happy, you don’t need to worry about them stealing your stuff. The great thing about Filpino virtual assistants is that they can be loyal to a fault. As long you treat them with respect, stealing from you is the last thing they would do.
Finally, refusing to share your knowledge undervalues your relationship with your employees. It shows that you don’t trust them. It shows that you don’t believe that they’re capable. It shows that you don’t trust yourself to hire trustworthy and capable people.
What happens when you do share your genius? You multiply yourself! You can do more for your clients and for yourself.
If the task is repetitive, it’s not worth doing it yourself.
When you have to do the same task over and over again, it’s a waste of your time and talent. These are the jobs that take up most of your time and brainpower. Why spend most of your resources on this when you can do something more challenging? Something that helps your business, something that helps you become a better business owner.
It’s not bad if you want to do some things yourself. But if you want to grow, you’ve got to delegate at least some of these tasks to your virtual assistant. Train your VA to do it exactly to your standards so your magic isn’t lost and your clients stay happy. Use that time to develop yourself and your business. Open new product or service lines, network more, learn more or build new businesses. Whatever it is, your time is better spent doing more than doing the same thing over and over again.
If you want your VA to focus on your business, hire them full-time
It’s understandable if you want to start with hiring just part-time workers. But the thing with part-time workers is that they will almost always find other work. They do this so they can make enough to support themselves.
What happens when they have to work for other people? They’re easily distracted. Your Filipino VA can’t give you their 100% because they’re also worrying about their other job or looking for another job.
There’s always something to do in your business, so your VA will never run out of things to do. And hiring a Filipino virtual assistant full-time isn’t that expensive; a small investment compared to the productivity and loyalty you’ll get from your VA in the long run.
Different jobs require different personalities
Certain jobs require certain personality types. You want your writers and graphic artists to be creative and think out of the box. For administrative VAs, you want them to pay attention to detail and really follow the rules. When a VA’s personality is well suited for the job, they’re more likely to succeed and be happy at their work.
This is exactly the reason why we have a feature that allows virtual assistants to upload their DISC personality test results. Because when hiring a VA it’s not just about their skill or experience. How well you guys will work together down the line depends on your personalities getting along.
Get to know your employees. You’ll never know where their genius lies
Their profile or resume can only tell you so much. If you want to know more about your virtual assistant, you need to take the time to know them. Ask them questions. Not just about their work but also what their plans and ambitions. In my own team alone, I’m surprised to find a lot of my VAs are going back to school and taking courses on their spare time. And I’m not the only one who has seen this. Jill Sessa and many business owners like her, who took the time to talk to their VAs, are surprised to discover that their team are so much more talented that they expected.
Some people worry that their VAs might get too ambitious and start to take over. But I say, ambition is a good thing. Ambition drives them to do better and do more. And these are skills that you can use in your business now or sometime in the future. When you take the time to talk to your employees about their own ambitions, you’ll see a ton of untapped resources for your own business.
Put everything on the cloud, it makes things easier.
If you want to get any work done when you outsource, you’ll need to use the cloud and online services. But giving their virtual assistant access to all these accounts scare a lot of business owners. This is understandable. This isn’t just your information. It often also includes your clients information and so much more.
Giving access doesn’t mean you need to give up control. The great thing about online services is that it also gives you control on who has access to what. So when hiring a VA, only give them access to the things they need. And don’t forget to revoke access when they leave.
Start with something simple. Start with something you know what to do.
When you outsource, you shouldn’t expect that things will be perfect right off the bat. Even the most experienced freelancer will make mistakes. That’s why training and having the patience to train your VA is extremely important.
To minimize mistakes, always start outsourcing what you know. Start with just one task. Make sure your VA understands what they’re doing and give regular feedback. Encourage them to ask questions. They’re not always going to get it the 1st time, the 2nd time, or even the 3rd time. But what’s more important is that they should be improving each and every time.
And the thing with training, the more you train your VA, the more you understand how they learn. Teaching them will become easier and they will learn faster. Eventually, you’ll only need to teach your VA a task once and they will get it.
The more you give, the more you get.
Outsourcing is more than just a business practice, it’s an investment. Yes, you’re getting work and in exchange your virtual assistants are getting a salary. With outsourcing, you will reap so much more than you sow.
So once you start enjoying the gains you had with outsourcing, giving a bit more will go a long way in keeping your employees happy, motivated and productive. That’s why we encourage the 13th month bonus or giving your VA raise once they’ve proven their loyalty. These are small things compared to the time and money your virtual assistant has given your business. And you can’t put a price on loyalty. When you have a loyal, hardworking, and competent virtual assistant working for you, there’s nothing you can’t do.
Jill has shown that when you’re generous with your time and talent, the universe gives it back to you tenfold. The key is to be smart about it. She shared a bit of her time and talent to her virtual assistants so she can give so much more to her clients. Not only is she living her dream life, she’s also giving everyone around her the dream life as well. She’s giving her clients the quality service they expect. She’s giving her employees a better life and opportunities to improve themselves.
And that’s the beauty of outsourcing done right. In Jill’s words, it’s a win-win-win situation. With so little, you’re helping so many people and yourself at the same time.
If you want to see more stories of outsourcing done right, check out our case studies with Adam, Daniel and Ethan.
Check out Onlinejobs.ph for yourself. Sign up for an account today and experience what hassle-free outsourcing is really like we have over half a million jobseeker profiles and growing!
You can also learn more about how to get started on hiring Rockstar Virtual Assistants.
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