Creating your own virtual (and even in-person) team
is a crucial step to doubling and tripling your income. For example,
when I hired my first virtual assistant, Kathy, I quickly doubled
my income (I think I was initially so scared I wouldn't be able to
pay her monthly fee that I gave myself a kick-in-the-pants and created
more business!).
Last year I hired a second virtual assistant, Kristy,
and have since skyrocketed my income to as much as $85,250.02 in a
single month.
But hiring a virtual assistant will ONLY pay off
if you know how to use their time to help YOU create multiple streams
of income.
Which means you must be ready to both ASK for and
RECEIVE support. The more you ask for and receive support, the more
you liberate yourself to focus on your Unique Brilliance™
If asking for and receiving support feels new or
uncomfortable for you then this is where you'll find your biggest
business breakthrough is. Think of it this way: the more comfortable
you are asking for and receiving support, the more you are valuing
yourself. And the more you value yourself, the more money, time and
freedom will begin to show up for you to enjoy!
Hiring a virtual assistant is not a cost, it's an
investment in YOU, how much you believe in yourself and in the level
of success you'll achieve. This isn't just wishful thinking, it's
a fact that has been proven by entrepreneurs who have figured out
that adding support is pivotal to their core success strategies.
Here are 3 important tips to help you get
the most from your supporting relationships:
Tip #1 Give your assistant every task that drains
your energy (yes, even the ones you think are "too small"
to hand over!)
I started out by handing over all my email to Kathy. Believe me, that
took a huge leap of faith on my part! Now she receives and answers
all email that comes through my website. Any she can't answer she
batches up and forwards to me once a day.
My virtual team handles posting audio mp3 files,
posting transcripts, shopping cart maintenance, email and newsletter
proofing and broadcasting, paying my sub-contractors (the transcriptionist
for example and yes, I trust them with my credit card), processing
monthly coaching client charges, website updates and more.
Tip #2 Allow your assistant to support high-touch
marketing
I love sending out cards but didn't like dealing with stamps, envelopes
and address labels. So I signed up for Send Out Cards. Then I spent
an hour picking out a few dozen card designs and saving them in my
favorites folder (a handy feature Send Out Cards offers).
Now, to send out a card, I simply type the message
in an email to my assistant, direct her to choose a card from my favorites
(she loves it when I tell her "pick one with flowers that is
really upbeat"), tell her who it's for and she takes care of
the rest. I never even have to log on to Send Out Cards. I now send
out MORE cards than I used to, I feel good about keeping connected
to my clients and I love how easy it is to accomplish this important
client relationship task!
Tip #3 Look at your assistants as in investment,
not as an expense
If you keep the idea of hiring an assistant regulated to the expense
category of your business it's too easy to delay hiring one, then
cut corners in what you give them to do.
Instead, write down the three main tasks you'll
focus on when you are no longer buried under email, newsletter writing/editing,
etc. For example: what business building activity can you invest in
if you have three more hours each week? You could easily offer a group,
offer a new teleseminar series, write an article or accept another
two clients couldn't you?
What if you had five extra hours a week? What about
ten? Are you starting to see how lucrative hiring an assistant can
be? I also hope you're seeing that you can start small, get comfortable
with asking for and receiving support, then move up from there as
you begin to see the results.
I'm clear that my "job" is to market,
lead teleseminars, coach clients and create new streams of income.
When I find myself doing tasks that are not in my "job description"
I send it over to my team. The payoff has helped me leapfrog my business
and triple my income this year. Now, THAT is a high payoff investment
that I'm glad I've made!
