Success as a small business owner doesn’t always come easy, and those of us out there doing it know how much time, dedication and sacrifice it really takes to thrive. We’re used to taking risks and fighting to make those risks pay off. This unyielding drive can be a powerful force behind the success of a small business.
With success comes more — more work, more money, more calls, more meetings, more paperwork, more email, more to learn. To handle the “more,” some of us have become accustomed to teaching ourselves how to do it all, and frequently burn the candle at both ends to make it happen.
Although this technique may work for a little while, this is a dangerous path to take because it simply cannot be sustained. I know this for a fact because this is the path that almost led me to throw up my hands in defeat.
My Story
A few years ago, I was juggling an established and feverishly growing virtual assistant business, a baby with another on the way, and a huge chunk of ambition. There was so much I wanted to do, to learn, to achieve. It was a catch-22, though. I only had so much time, but time was exactly what I needed to do everything it took to work with my clients, manage and grow my business, advance my knowledge, take care of my family, take care of myself, etc.
Like most hard-working small business owners, I cut back on what I considered the non-essentials in order to make more time for work. For me, this meant cutting back on sleep (as if that’s a non-essential!). I worked almost around the clock to make sure I was meeting all of my responsibilities and had room to explore new opportunities, while of course, taking care of my family.
But after a few months of this, I started to slip. My work started to suffer, my perspective got cloudy, my motivation and determination started to shake. I was near exhaustion from running full speed ahead, but not making any progress. And on top of that my health was suffering from it. Then I got sick. Horribly, horribly sick. I had been a healthy, pregnant mom, but now the health I had taken for granted AND the health of my baby was suddenly at risk. It was one heck of a wake-up call.
Fast-forward a few months. Happily, everything turned out perfectly — healthy baby, healthy mom. And I got the extra bonus of learning quite a few lessons in the process. Coming through the situation, the most poignant lesson I learned is probably the simplest one: We don’t have to do it all on our own. It’s OK to ask for help; it’s OK to admit that you don’t know something; it’s OK to say “when.”
That started a new chapter of my life as a business owner. It started a process of trial and error that would eventually take me more than a year to figure out. But I was determined to rebuild my business, my perspective and my priorities, and I knew there was only one way I could do it and prevent the disaster that happened before from happening again: I was going to build a virtual team.
The Process
As a virtual assistant, I had a very realistic perspective when it came to delegation and outsourcing. I already understood the benefits because I described them to my clients and potential clients time and time again. That was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out how to find the right people — the right virtual assistants — to form my own team.
I tried a handful of tactics, searched in a number of places, asked a lot of questions, read a lot of books and articles, crossed out and rewrote a lot of notes, tried out a few relationships, tested hundreds of online tools, and eventually … it clicked. I reached the perfect formula for finding the perfect virtual assistants for my needs.
I have since expanded my team using the same principles and formula I discovered through trial and error. And although I will perpetually consider us a work in progress (as all teams are, in my opinion), we have a pretty productive and ENJOYABLE team environment that is growing every day. My business is thriving, my personal goals are being met and exceeded, I’m taking advantage of a handful of exciting new opportunities, and — perhaps the best part — I’m sleeping!
The End Result
Once clients and colleagues started to hear about my team, I was asked what my secret was, how was I able to build such a great team of virtual assistants? Other business owners who hired and worked with VAs before told me how frustrated they were with the process and how they simply didn’t think a virtual working relationship would ever work for them.
At first, I didn’t think there was much I could do to help because my process was focused entirely on MY needs and MY situation. But I started thinking. Was there a way I could take apart the process, remove the elements specific to me and rebuild it so anyone — any business owner, entrepreneur, professional — could go through this “system,” plug in their specific information and end up with the same result?
Of course that was a challenge I couldn’t let go. And I figured out a way to do it, use all of my research, analysis and trial and error to take the process and turn it into an easy to follow step-by-step system. The end result is a system that ANY entrepreneur can take, apply their own needs and end up with a blinking arrow pointing them directly to their “perfect” virtual assistant (well, it may not be quite that tacky, but you know what I mean!).
In my typical overly-organized format, I outlined the 7 steps of the process, developed checklists, cheat sheets, worksheets, video demos, and resource documents to make this whole thing EASY. I created a system that suits every learning style including a PDF ebook, interactive e-learning format and MP3s.
Of course, I’m a bit biased, but the feedback I’ve received thus far has confirmed what I hoped was true: this is THE system to find the RIGHT VA and learn how to delegate effectively and finally break through the overwhelm, the lack of productivity, and the stress.
You can read on more about the “How to Find Your Perfect Virtual Assistant” system yourself, and if you’re hitting the productivity wall like I was, I encourage you to give it a try. In fact, I am so sure this system will help you finally find the VA of your dreams, that I guarantee your satisfaction. Not happy? No problem. You have 30 days after your purchase to return the system, no questions asked.
I am also offering a very special offer to SBIG readers. After you order, reply to your receipt email to let me know you’re a reader of my blog, and you will get a free 30-minute Skype-to-Skype call or chat (your choice) about the system. You can ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give you a handful of tips to get you off on the right foot.
I’m looking forward to chatting and helping you finally turn the corner and break through to a new level of success.
Image credit: benipop
