Virtual Freedom - BenBella Books

Virtual FreedomHow to Work with VirtualStaff to Buy More Time,Become More Productive,and Build Your Dream BusinessChris DuckerBenBella BooksDallas, TX

Copyright 2014 by Chris C. DuckerAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced inany manner whatsoever without written permission except in the caseof brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.BenBella Books, Inc.10300 N. Central Expressway, Suite #530 Dallas, TX 75231www.benbellabooks.com Send feedback to feedback@benbellabooks.comPrinted in the United States of America10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataDucker, Chris.Virtual freedom : how to work with virtual staff to buy more time,become more productive, and build your dream business / by ChrisDucker.pages cmIncludes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-1-939529-74-9 (trade paper : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1939529-75-6 (electronic) 1. Virtual reality in management. 2. Virtualwork teams—Management. I. Title.HD30.2122.D83 2014658.4’022—dc232013039792Editing by Amy Hochstein Copyediting by Shannon KellyProofreading by Amy Zarkos and James FraleighIndexing by Jigsaw IndexingCover design by Bradford Foltz Jacket design by Sarah DombrowskyText design and composition by Silver Feather DesignPrinted by Bang PrintingDistributed by Perseus Distribution www.perseusdistribution.comTo place orders through Perseus Distribution:Tel: 800-343-4499 Fax: 800-351-5073E-mail: orderentry@perseusbooks.comSignificant discounts for bulk sales are available. Please contact GlennYeffeth at glenn@benbellabooks.com or 214-750-3628.

section oneFinding andHiring Your Virtual StaffThere aren’t too many differences between finding and hiringvirtual workers and doing the same with employees thatwill be based in your office. However, the differences thatdo exist are important to understand.There’s a lot to cover in this section, and we’ll focus particularly on the following topics: understanding the myth of the super-VA (andbusting it!)how creating your “3 Lists to Freedom” willchange everythingthe different types of virtual workers and howthey can help youhow and where to find the right virtual stafften interview questions you need to ask whenhiringBefore you dive in, let’s get a general overview of the gameand learn about the ins and outs of the playing field.13

v i rt ual f reed omThe FundamentalsJust like in sports, we need to begin with the fundamentals.Once you understand these principles, you can tailor yourapproach to streamline the process. And this is a process—one that should be followed step by step.Here are the basic rules of the game:1. Your virtual workers are people, not aprogram. Though communication with yourvirtual staff takes place via e-mail and webbased audio and/or video chat services like Skype, VAs still deserve the same respect you wouldgive any human being. It’s in your best interestto understand each worker’s communicationcustoms and to be aware of his or her culturalholidays and traditions.2. Put quality in, get quality out. The quality ofwork you receive from virtual employees is proportional to the quality of the instructions theyreceive. Are your instructions clear and concise?Or are you giving them a jumbled mess of instructions and hoping they can connect the dots?3. One size does not fit all. All VAs have strengthsand weaknesses, but they may not want to tellyou that. They want to please you and will try tofigure out ways to do whatever you want. Thisis a double-edged sword. Take care to match theright VA to each of your needs. We’ll go into thisin a lot more detail.14

findin g an d h i ri n g y our v i rt ua l s ta ff4. Super-VAs don’t exist. There is no one virtual assistant anywhere on the planet who canhandle everything you need help with in yourbusiness. Think about it: When your roof isleaking, you don’t ask your electrician to poparound and fix it. You call a roofing expert tocome over and do the necessary repairs. Thisis one of the biggest myths in virtual staffingso I will discuss this in more detail below, butbottom line: hire for the role, not for the task.Now that you know the rules of the game, we can getto work!Reality Check: The Myth of the Super-VAThe idea of a super-VA is the big kahuna—the one mistake that I see entrepreneurs who are getting started withoutsourcing make over and over again. Read these wordscarefully: there’s no such thing as a super-VA. It drives mecrazy when an entrepreneur sets out to find that one special VA who can do all of the work in his or her business. Ican’t tell you how many requests we receive at Virtual StaffFinder from entrepreneurs who are looking for VAs whocan handle all of the following tasks and more: update blog postsmanage social mediaedit videotranscribe audio15

v i rt ual f reed om create custom images and iconsdesign and develop websitesrespond to customer support ticketsresearch and recruit affiliatesdo Amazon shopping for birthday gifts forloved onesThere’s nothing wrong with trying to outsource a scatteredgroup of tasks and projects, but a single VA is not your answer. As a business owner, I can relate to the multiple hatsentrepreneurs need to wear in order to get things done. However, filling your business with more entrepreneurial typeswho also think that they can do it all is the last thing youshould do. Your focus needs to shift from finding a super-VAto identifying the specific roles your business needs to fill.Remember, empire-building equals team-building—and you have to identify the positions your team needs before you begin recruiting the players.Introducing theGeneral Virtual Assistant (GVA)I’ve had the pleasure of speaking on stage and working withbusiness owners from all around the world on the subjectof virtual staffing and outsourcing. No matter where I am orwho I’m working with, my basic message remains the same:Every entrepreneur needs a GVA!Even though the super-VA doesn’t exist, the general virtual assistant is about as close to one as you can get. Theycan’t wear all of the different VA hats out there, but GVAswill help you run your life and maximize your productivity16

f in di n g a nd h i ri n g y o ur v i rt ua l s ta ffby freeing you of time-draining, repetitive tasks that no business owner should be handling. Your GVA is your sidekick.Batman had Robin. Sherlock Holmes had Watson. Hardyhad Laurel. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen.Working with a GVA is the first step to realizing thepower of virtual staffing. Your GVA will immediately beginsaving you time and allowing you to work on your businessinstead of being trapped working in it.Are you struggling to stay up to date with or roll out thefollowing types of tasks on a regular basis? researching competitors’ websites for lists of products and pricescompiling a list of local events that you couldsponsor or where you could exhibitcombing your blog’s analytics to find out whichpages or blog posts are receiving the most traffickeeping your social media channels updatedand interesting for followersgetting featured in local, national, and industryrelated presstranscribing your online videos and podcastepisodes to use as future e-books and in infographics to promote your products and serviceskeeping your calendar updated so you don’tmiss an important golf date with your top clientDelegating these small tasks begins freeing up extra time foryou each day. Ten minutes here and thirty minutes there canadd up quickly. Delegating also gets rid of all those unresolved items you’re carrying around in your head. As David17

v i rt ual f reed omAllen points out in his book Getting Things Done: The Art ofStress-Free Productivity, this is one of the critical factors thatwill allow you to focus.“Your conscious mind, like a computer screen, is a focusing tool, not a storage place,” he writes. “You can thinkabout only two or three things at once. But the incompleteitems are being stored in the short-term memory space. Andas with RAM (random access memory), there’s limited capacity; there’s only so much ‘stuff’ you can store in thereand still have that part of your brain functioning at a highlevel. Most people walk around with their RAM bursting atthe seams.”It’s crazy how many things you’re probably juggling inyour head right now. But it’s stuff that needs to get done,right? So it has to go somewhere. This is where your superhero syndrome begins to kick in, leading you into thinkingthat working harder is the solution. But again, the real solution is not longer hours—it’s leverage.As entrepreneurs, time is our most valuable commodity(MVC). Money will come and go, but once you’ve invested your time into something, that time is gone forever. Itstands to reason that if there are any actions we can take asbusiness owners to free up more time in our daily routines,we should take them.Hiring and working with a GVA will help you do just that.Think of your GVA as a personal assistant (PA). Aside frombringing you a cup of coffee or picking up your dry cleaning, GVAs can do all the same tasks that an old-fashioned,in-office PA could handle.Here are just a few of the tasks a GVA can take off your18

findin g an d h i ri n g y our v i rt ua l s ta ffplate so you have more space in your mind and in yourworkday: perform online researchmake online purchases (have the GVA use aprepaid credit card with a small amount youcan fund and monitor each month)update your calendarmake a dinner reservationdraft your latest blog post or upload your YouTube videossend your spouse a giftor, if you’re single, send e-mails to potentialdates on Match.com or eHarmony—yes, really!update your Facebook status with prewritten postsorder more business cardscollate a list of articles from online news sourcesand e-mail you with a weekly updatesend a follow-up e-mail or letter to new contactsyou just met at that conference you attendedbook your biannual dental cleanings and thenupdate them on your calendarYou’ll see that this list is just the beginning of how a GVAcan help you achieve freedom on a day-to-day basis. Furthermore, the GVA role is just one of many different typesof virtual workers that are out there and ready to be put onyour team. The question is, what else can you get virtual assistants to do for you?You’re about to find out, thanks to a very simple, quick,and effective exercise.19

v i rt ual f reed o mCreating Your 3 Lists to FreedomYour first step toward freedom in any situation is to beginidentifying exactly which tasks you want freedom from—andthe types of workers you’ll need to handle those tasks. This iswhy at my speaking engagements, in podcast interviews, andeven in traditional press appearances on the subject of virtualstaffing, I always include my 3 Lists to Freedom exercise. It’sincredibly eye-opening, and it gives everyone a customizedlist of activities to work from as we move along.Before you start putting together your three lists, let’sconsider all of the activities you’ll need to incorporate. First,take a moment to think about all of the activities your business needs just to maintain itself—these are the day-to-daytasks such as customer service. Next, consider all of the activities needed to grow your business; this might includecontent creation , for example. Then, go through and highlight the items that you enjoy doing personally. Now you’reready to create your 3 Lists to Freedom.1. Tasks You Don’t Like DoingThis is any task that makes you cringe or procrastinate. Anything can be on this list—except for selling. Selling needs tobe one of your top priorities because it’s the lifeblood of anybusiness, and no one should know your product or servicebetter than you.Do you routinely reply to customer service e-mails, perhaps answering the most basic of inquiries? Are you stilllaying out and formatting your own blog posts? Does thisstuff drive you nuts? Put those types of things on this list.20