Jeanette was a typical go-getter who wanted it all. Mother to three children, owner of a thriving consulting firm to Fortune 500 companies, chairman of her industry association and wife to a successful doctor. Jeanette had goals, dreams and visions of a billion dollar company but there was just one problem.

Jeanette was chronically exhausted and couldn’t grow her business to the next level.

Her days started around 5:30 am and ended around midnight. Between client meetings, homework and school activities for the kids, and fitting in time to balance her check book, Jeanette barely had time to shower and brush her teeth, let alone eat a balanced meal or exercise. She was desperately trying to balance all of her priorities but always ended up feeling torn, depressed and like a failure. Inevitably, some area of her life was crashing and burning.

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No one wants to hear about someone else feeling icky so I’ll spare you the details of my last week’s bout with the stomach flu (let’s just say I’m not a few pounds lighter and VERY happy to be back to work on my business!).

But, I DO want to share a revelation I had while lying on the couch recovering.

The revelation is that despite having four virtual assistants, my husband, my mom and my brother working with me in my business, I am STILL doing too much of the stuff I shouldn’t be.

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For a few months now I’ve been musing over what’s happened at my chiropractor’s office. He has finally lost me as a client and I thought I’d capture the “lesson learned” so we all know exactly what to do if you want to chase clients away.

I should first say that I was an absolute raving fan. This guy is very personable, had completely reasonable prices and I believed his values were truly aligned with making a difference. He also had a great office staff that kept him on time and organized.

Within a two month period I probably referred him to over 20 people. So what went wrong?

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Often, when I am meeting a new client for the first time, the first thing they ask is, “What can you, as a virtual assistant, help me with?” While that question does not have a single answer (since everyone’s business is different), there are some mainstream ways in which a virtual assistant can assist you in your business.

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For years I intentionally kept my business growth on a tight leash. My mind was swimming with big ideas, but I put them on the back burner because I didn’t want to write checks my body couldn’t cash. I was under the mistaken impression that short of cloning myself no one else could do what I could do… and since I’m a bit of a control freak … that meant I couldn’t take on projects that I didn’t have time to perform myself.

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As a wrap up to this series on hiring help I thought I would share with you some of my favorite resources.

I always start a search for help by asking people I know who they would recommend. When I’m looking for someone to work for me locally then I let everyone I know what type of person I’m looking for and the tasks I need done. Every time I’ve done this I’ve had good success. I’ve never run a “Help Wanted Ad.”

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The type of tasks you should delegate will become obvious quickly. Below is a list of commonly delegated tasks. I bet you can add a few to this list!

Necessary Tasks You May Want to Delegate
1. Secretarial services
2. Research
3. Word processing
4. Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations
5. Data processing/database management
6. Desktop publishing
7. Web design and maintenance

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In Part I of this series I shared five critical elements of setting up a good working relationship with your support team — getting things off on the right foot. Now I’ll share my secrets for building and strengthening the relationship over time.

6. Pay on time! If the terms say pay within 10 days — why not pay in five? Your support team is the lifeblood of your business — what better way to let them know you appreciate and value their contribution?
7. Put away the fine-tooth comb. If you’ve done a good job of hiring a team member, you don’t need to fuss over how many hours for this or that. If you don’t trust them, you shouldn’t have hired them.

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1. You can focus on building your business and making money

2. You can find someone who complements your style and actually helps you generate energy

3. You can work from any location. Contact is maintained through phone, fax and/or e-mail

4. You can delegate time-consuming responsibilities that are necessary but don’t necessarily generate income

5. You can find highly trained personnel to meet your specific needs and who know how to do the work (webmaster, bookkeeper, graphic artist, desk-top publisher)

6. You hire someone only for what you need or want done, whether it is personal or professional, as you need it or want it done

7. You can hire someone whose strengths can be used to balance your limitations

8. You have more time to pursue activities that energize you and feed your spirit, as well as your pocketbook

9. You don’t have to do it all or do it all alone

10. You’ll be glad you did!

To your continued success!

Want to know what I DON’T do in my business so that I can focus on making a high 6-figure income?
For starters, I don’t answer emails sent in from my site. I don’t update my website myself anymore (this one was hard for me to give up because I love fiddling with my site!). I don’t pay bills, run to get the mail, do my own scheduling or do my bookkeeping.

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