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Why Are You Doing Everything Yourself?
It's not that they don't understand the value of those efforts,
or they don't want to make the time. It's that they're simply
trying to do too much by themselves. They're so busy running
their business that they're not working ON their business.
Are You Spending All Your Time on the Little Stuff? Owning your own business requires wearing a lot of hats. But it
seems that when many people leave their jobs to 'go solo,' they
think they must work completely solo as well. They insist on
doing everything themselves -- even tasks they know darn well
they're not good at.
They try in vain to design their own Web sites and brochures,
write their own sales copy, process their own orders, manage
their own mailing list, personally respond to every customer call
and e-mail, ship their own products, and more. Pretty soon
they're running around like that proverbial headless chicken.
What eventually happens is their love for their work -- the
reason they started their own business in the first place --
drowns in a flood of administrative trivia. Suddenly one morning
they wake up feeling burnt out and without that positive,
creative energy they used to have.
When this happened to me a few years ago, I was lucky to learn
about virtual assistants (VAs). VAs are freelancers who take care
of all that 'busy work' for entrepreneurs like us. Because VAs
are independent themselves, they work on an as-needed basis from
their own homes or offices, saving you the cost and hassle of
hiring a regular office assistant.
I now have two VAs -- Liz, who lives in Boston, and June, who
lives in Georgia. And I can't live without them!
What Could YOU Delegate to a VA? During next week, keep a log of all your activities. Then sit
down and review it. Decide which activities are truly ones that
only you can do and which you can delegate.
For example, here are some of the tasks I delegate to my VAs:
And I don't stop there. Liz and June have also been happy to help
me with personal stuff like researching vacations, purchasing
client gifts, and reminding me of birthdays and other important
dates. Thanks to these two amazing gals, I save my time and
energy only for my 'genius work.'
Worried You Don't Have the Budget? The good news is you're not hiring your VA full time. A VA only
charges you for the hours she actually works. Although VA rates
may be more than you'd pay an administrative employee (usually
$30-50 per hour), you don't have the added expenses of employee
benefits, office space, and equipment. You're also getting
someone who has years of experience, who loves what she does, who
already has her own desk, chair, computer, software, fax, phone,
stapler, and pens, and who's ready to leap in and start work as
soon as you are. Keep in mind that having a VA will IMMENSELY free up your time to
focus on the stuff that matters: marketing and growing your
business, developing bold new product ideas and income streams,
and servicing your larger clients. You'll think much bigger and
will have much more creative energy.
Look for a VA That Matches Your Needs If you're looking for a long-term partner who is committed to
helping you succeed (and I was), look for someone who's graduated
from a VA training program such as AssistU (www.AssistU.com).
That's where I found both Liz and June, and I highly recommend
it. Another resource is the International Virtual Assistants
Association. (www.ivaa.org)
Don't wait until it's too late! Most of my clients put off hiring
a VA until they 'hit the wall.' Things like overdue bills, a
messy office, late projects, and unreturned phone calls add up
until their business almost collapses.
Take action NOW and at least learn more about getting some help.
It will be a big relief, I promise!
(c) 2003 Alexandria K. Brown
ALEXANDRIA K. BROWN , 'The E-zine Queen,' is author of the award-winning manual, 'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.' To learn more about this step-by-step Guide, and to sign up for FREE biweekly how-to articles, visit http://www.boostbizezine.com/
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