If you’ve talked to me at all in the last few months (whether it be online or in person) you should know by now that I can’t say enough things about my Virtual Assistant, Emily.
I’ve dubbed her one my the best investments I’ve ever made in my biz (for so many reasons I will share next week!), and today I want to explain my thought process behind hiring a VA and if you should, too!
Before looking into hiring a VA, I want you to do a little brain dump. I love brain dumps, y’all! My mind is CONSTANTLY racing and I feel like I have 73029 tabs open in my brain alllll at once!! Oh the brain of an entrepreneur:) Brain dumps help me clear all those tabs (at least for a little while) – if you’ve never done one, I think you’re gonna love it!
Brain Dump Everything You Do For Your Business
I mean it. Write down EVERYTHING.
You can write down headers like – Initial Inquiries, Emails, Client Projects, Biz tasks (tax prep, bookkeeping, etc), Social Media Management, Blogging, etc..
And then break them down even further. For example, under Initial Inquiries I would write down:
“Respond to Initial Inquiries – Add Inquiry to 2017 spreadsheet – Add Inquiry to Honeybook” – – – that’s a 3 step process for one task!
Another example would be Blogging:
“Blog Plan for February – Write Blog Post – Tag All Vendors Necessary – Create Pinterest Graphic – Add Images to Post – Schedule Blog Post in WordPress – Schedule 3 posts in Facebook – Add images to PLANN for Instagram” – – – 7 steps for one task, whew!
This is going to take you a little while, but it is NECESSARY. Trust me.
You’re workflow is vital to your business. And I know you KNOW your workflow, but think about this: What if something happens? God forbid, what if you can’t do it? You’re sick. You’re family is sick. You have a life-threatening emergency that just can’t be put on hold.
Who is going to run your business if you can’t? COULD someone run your business? Have you WRITTEN DOWN your workflow so that someone COULD step in & do it if you can’t?!
SIDE-NOTE: Of course, there will always be thinks that only YOU can do – but there are absolutely aspects of your business thats someone COULD do, if they only knew how. What’s going to happen when you’re too sick to work? Heaven forbid you go through a terrible sickness or family emergency where you need to truly step away. I can’t stress this enough: Even if you DON’T hire a VA, having your systems WRITTEN DOWN will allow for someone (your husband, a friend, another boss lady) to step in and take over tasks to keep your business running. I decided to bring Emily on after my first miscarriage. I knew I couldn’t do it alone anymore. I knew I wanted someone in my corner who could help keep my business running if/when I needed space.
After you Brain Dump everything for you business, break it into categories:
- Things I love to do
- Things I really don’t like doing
- Things only I can do
- Things that are a necessity for my business (taxes, bookkeeping, etc.)
- Things I want to be doing but I’m not (dreams, goals, plans for the future)
For me, this meant physically writing out my Brain Dump, then highlighting each category. I was able to visually see what I love doing, what I don’t love & what has to get done regardless of if I love it or not!!:) (Yes, some things will fall under multiple categories – for example, you may really hate bookkeeping but it’s a necessity).
This list will give you a clear understanding of what you NEED to do vs. what you WANT to do. It will also help you see what ONLY YOU can do and what you can TEACH someone else to do! Be realistic with what only you can do, and be open to what you can teach someone to do. For example, only I can do the floral design component for Dear Sweetheart Events – but I can teach someone how to onboard my clients (respond to inquiries, send contracts via Honeybook, etc.).
Do you have a Virtual Assistant? Did you walk through this process when thinking about hiring someone?
Next week, I’ll share more about HOW I hired my Virtual Assistant!
xo! kat
Image by SC Stock Shop
