Hiring a Virtual Assistant Part 1 of a 2 Part Blog by Chloe Adler

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Chloe Adler as she shares with us “Hiring a Virtual Assistant Part 1 of a 2 Part Blog.” Enjoy!

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I hired my first virtual assistant about two weeks ago and it went so well that I have now hired two more. And that was my immediate goal.

I needed three virtual assistants, for three different jobs. If you think you can’t afford it – think again!

The first person I hired for $3 per hour. And though she only works 5-8 hours a week, I now have those 8 hours a week of my life back!

However, you can spend whatever amount works for you. You can hire someone from anywhere in the world – which I’ll talk more about in part 2 next month.

I was talking to Rachael Herron about this the other day, yes a plug for an amazing woman, and her question to me was “What would I use a virtual assistant for?”

That’s the focus of the first blog in this two- blog series.

What would I use a virtual assistant for?

Ask yourself: What do I do on a regular basis that I cannot bill for? And among those things, if I made the time, what could I train someone else to do?

Here’s an example: You’re a doctor and the only time you earn $$$ (can bill and get paid) is when you’re actually seeing a patient. That’s the only time you’re getting PAID for.

Everything else is non-billable hours. This may include billing insurance companies, writing up patient treatment plans, inputting patient’s information, scheduling, reminding patients of their appointments, etc.

If you’re a full-time writer, earning your living from your writing, this would include anything you do that’s not writing or editing.

Make a List

So, I recommend you make a list of everything that you’re doing that is not making you money, any non-billable hours. Then on that list, look at which tasks can be done by someone else.

As an example, my list is this: Data entry, social media maintenance, graphic art design, and most recently, client phone calls and scheduling.

If you’re like me, this list sounds daunting and overwhelming. How do I do delegate?

Well, there’s a step-by-step process that I learned from an amazing Jen Lehner webinar/class. (And no, I don’t earn anything for recommending her class so you know I have no ulterior motives).

I’m going to lay out a simplified process, but I do recommend her class for in-depth information.

Your first step is to make that list and put everything on it. You don’t have to offload every single thing, especially at once, but do list everything so you can look at all of it objectively.

The #1 most important thing

The next step is to decide what the #1 most important thing to offload will be.

STEP ONE

The way I picked out what to do first is by looking at what I hated doing the most, which also happened to be the most time consuming.

Thinking about training someone can be daunting. I believed, “It will take me longer to train them than to do it myself.” For that I want to give you something you can do right now to prepare.

STEP TWO

There’s an awesome FREE program: Loom. You can use Loom to record your desktop and your voice. I recommend that the next time you are performing a task you are considering offloading that you tape it with Loom and label it. It’s super easy and takes no extra time at all to do! That’s step two. 🙂

So now go make your list and remember to record when you’re performing those tasks yourself! Then check back in next month for the rest of the steps!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For the past undisclosed amount of years, Chloe Adler has thoroughly bucked the system. She lives in foggy Northern California with her dead fish Larry and a bouncy bunny rabbit named Fred. After selling her rock collection, she amassed enough money to buy and move into a small motor home where she developed a strange fondness for striped socks.

Prior to her infamous writing career, Chloe was an overachiever, amassing a slew of unimpressive letters after her name. The trouble is that the five people who know what the letters mean, don’t really care.

When she’s not writing, she can be found picking trash up off the beaches, offering rides to the homeless, and roasting her own coffee beans.

Chloe has completed her first paranormal romance series, Distant Edge, which is a genre mishmash guaranteed to rotate heads. If you sign up for her newsletter, not only will you find out more, you’ll also make her jump up and down with joy for at least 3.5 seconds. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Connect with Chloe Adler

Site: www.ChloeAdler.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChloeAdlerAuthor/
Twitter: @ChloeAdlerWrite