Search

Home > Amazing FBA > #340 Hire a virtual assistant (for your existing day job)
Podcast: Amazing FBA
Episode:

#340 Hire a virtual assistant (for your existing day job)
Category: Business
Duration: 00:35:26
Publish Date: 2019-07-19 17:32:24
Description: Hire a virtual assistant (for your existing day job) Preparing to Hire a virtual assistant Measure before you Hire Before you hire a virtual assistant, use an app like toggl.com to measure your time usage Be realistic and ruthlessly honest! Define outcomes! Business as a whole Next year Next ¼ How this tasks feeds those goals - or whether it does actually not contribute to desired goals Eliminate before you delegate! If you wouldn’t be willing to pay someone $4 (£3.20) per hour to do a job, why are you doing it at all? Before you hire a virtual assistant, ask: Does this task need doing? If it does, can you make it more efficient? Typical you can hire a virtual assistant to perform Finances Be VERY VERY  clear exactly what purpose accounts fulfil Corporate tax return Companies house VAT quarterly UK Management accounting Gross profit for product Management accounts. Also clarify EXACTLY what records you need and what you DON’T need. Typical tasks Take receipts photo and upload then VA’s job is to assign to a Xero transaction - category and cost centre. But the feed uploads the transactions - about 40 a month - scan for duplicates How many hours- 8 hours for 2 months’ worth - feels intuitive Possible other tasks Sales Outbound calls - need training - good ROI with right person. Inbound  calls. Again need training but good ROI with right person. Emails Inbound and outbound X a day Customer service? Sales enquiries - survey or email Research This is an EXCELLENT test task. It will do little harm to the business if done badly (usually). Done well, it should help you get to tasks you keep putting off that could grow the business. Websites Amendments for website - web developers will usually do a way quicker job that you unless you have web dev expertise. Receivables Chasing up late payers - another great way to get an ROI Put together a “bundle” of tasks  Scan the business for other outsourceable tasks to get to a bundle of 10 hours a week Super-competent admin - head screwed on. Where to hire a virtual assistant from Freeeup.com (Affiliate link) Use American or Philippino - think about timezones America (lower 48)  -8 to -5 hours behind UK Philippines 7 hours ahead Fiverr.com Good for micro tasks - another good way to test potential hires. Upwork Good for hiring for specific projects. I've found good Eastern Europeans here (Serbia, Romania for example) Clarify what kind of virtual assistant you're needing to hire Criteria Personality type Eg fast learner Articulate Able to manage upwards (esp in Philippines this is important) (e.g., if you ask something dumb, they will question "Did you mean that?") Skill sets Experience Selection Review  Look at CV/background Ratings on Upwork/Fiverr Interview Get a feel for: Quick on uptake Level of spoken English Ability to think on feet Hire 3 people for a project or even a task- set Test tasks Test  Research is really great first task Book keeping is okay if you give small amount and check CRM - onboard and train first QUICK ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE NOW Action 1 capture and clarify tasks What needs doing? If possible measure your time usage eg with Toggl.com What doesn’t get done...? Especially ...that could bring in cash Action 2 define business objectives by area Eg CRM - to generate warm leads to phone or email Inbound emails -  convert lukewarm to warm or customers Outbound calls - convert warm/hot leads to customers Look at or even make KPIs - currently achieving? Action 3 Eliminate tasks that don't contribute Where are you wasting your time? What is so low a priority it should just not be done (at least for now)? Action 4 Look at usual suspect places Upwork - Eastern Europe Worth checking Freeeup esp. if e-commerce related (affiliate link) Fiverr.com Look locally - talk to your network Sometimes local is best
Total Play: 0