The theme this month is Time Management Systems for Virtual Pros.
Have you ever heard the expression “working IN your business rather than ON your business”? I’m convinced the person who coined that phrase was talking about technical work.
You know what I mean. It’s those things that just have to get done so you can build your brand and get paid, but which probably aren’t in your list of favorite things to do. Things like setting up a website, creating payment links, and installing new landing pages.
If you’re letting tasks such as these bog you down and waste your time, then you are most certainly working IN your business. That’s not the path to growth and higher profits, so let’s take these things out of your hands so that you can do more of what you love to do.
Welcome to a new Systems Sunday! The theme this month is Time Management Systems for Virtual Pros. I am Lisa Wells, your Virtual Assistant Trainer.
Have you ever heard the expression “working in your business rather than on your business”? I’m convinced the person who coined that phrase was talking about technical work.
You know what I mean. It’s those things that just have to get done so you can build your brand and get paid, but which probably aren’t on your list of favorite things to do. Things like setting up a website, creating payment links, and installing new landing pages.
If you’re letting tasks such as these bog you down and waste your time, then you are most certainly working in your business. That’s not the path to growth and higher profits, so let’s take these things out of your hands so that you can do more of what you love to do.
This week we are covering Time Trap #2: Technical Support
Step One: Make a List
Brainstorm a big list of all the things you do every day that involve some kind of tech work. It might be creating a new mailing list, or tracking down a missing affiliate link, or uploading videos to YouTube.
It might help to keep a piece of paper and pencil near at hand as you go through your day. Then each time a task such as this takes you away from your money-making work, jot it down. Include how much time it took you as well, and by the end of the week, you’ll have a really good idea of just how much time you’re wasting on these tasks.
Step Two: Calculate Your Own Value
How much is your time really worth? Do you know? Sure, you know what you earn for every hour you work with a client, but that’s not a good gauge of your true worth.
To find out, head over to Melissa Ingold’s free calculator. In just a few simple steps, you’ll know exactly what each hour of your time is really worth, and you’ll be able to quickly see which tasks you should be outsourcing, just based on cost alone.
Step Three: Outsource
Now that you know what your time is worth, and you have a list of tasks that suck your time and aren’t adding dollars to your pocket, it’s time to move those tasks off of your to-do list and onto someone else’s.
Now before you go thinking that you can’t afford to outsource yet, keep these points in mind:
Skilled VAs will often spend far less time completing a task than you will, so the cost will likely be lower than you think. You might spend three hours wading through the documentation for your list management system just trying to integrate it with your website, while a VA who is familiar with the software can have it done in less than five minutes.
Isn’t that worth outsourcing?
The time you’re not spending on technical tasks can be spent working with clients instead. Or working with JV partners; or creating new content or service packages. You’re not going to just fritter away those hours watching YouTube videos, so don’t think of outsourcing as an expense, but rather as a way to make more money.
Alright. Here is everybody’s favorite one. How to delegate when you have no one to delegate to. Here is a huge one.
Everybody owns technology. Everybody. Whether it’s the email client software you use, such as Outlook or Gmail, or your customer relationship manager, like Infusionsoft, or team/project management software like Asana, which is free. These are incredibly powerful tools. But being an Infusionsoft Certified Partner where I look at client campaigns all day long, I can tell you that most people use about 10% of the capability of their technology. I use Outlook and one day I decided to attend an Outlook Shortcuts Revealed webinar and OMG I had no idea all the things I could do with my Outlook.
If you want to start freeing some stuff up, go and learn some of the intermediate to advanced tools of technology that you already own that you are already using.
And then the last thing that I want to talk about, if you need an extra pair of hands, a great way to get that is to buddy up with somebody. Get with a colleague and work on their business for a while. For a couple of hours, you work on your business together.
If you enjoyed this episode and want to take it further, grab my Business Building Action Kit – Time Management for Virtual Pros. These action kits contain a full done-for-you action plan to give you guidance, resources, and keep you on track with checklists and worksheets.
You can find a link to the product below or visit my VA Business Builder Boutique and click on Shop.
Join me next week when I’ll tell you how to solve Time Trap #3: Continuing Education.
See you then!
Catch up on other Time Management episodes + resources mentioned in the video:
Did you enjoy this episode and want to put it into action? Grab this kit!
Time Management for Virtual Pros
$25.00
I know that many of you want to find ways to get more done so you can spend more time with your family while still managing a thriving business. That’s a struggle that all service providers face, and the most successful of you will find and embrace the strategies that help you be more productive and better manage your time.
So let’s talk about that for a minute. What happens when you don’t manage your time well? When you just kind of “go with the flow” or “fly by the seat of your pants”?
Well, first, your business won’t grow. You won’t be able to bring on the number of clients you want or need to maintain your income. You’ll probably be pretty stressed, trying to do too much in the time you have available. You may feel burned out or exhausted because you’re working long hours week after week without any downtime.
And you may even give up on your business dream altogether, thinking it’s just too hard or too much work.
Sound familiar? Well here’s the thing: You don’t have to work that many hours. You don’t have to be “on” 24 hours a day. You can—and definitely should—be taking time off to hang out with your kids / fur-kids and do fun stuff outside of work.
And your income does not have to suffer—not if you properly manage your time.
In this complete kit, I give you the step-by-steps as well as some tools, resources, and powerful strategies to put into practice today.
What you Get with Your Kit:
- 13-Page Guide giving you the solutions to the most common time wasters
- “21 Idea Blueprint” giving you twenty-one ideas
- 4-week done-for-you calendar
- Comprehensive action checklist
- Resource Directory with links to tools and resources
- Worksheet – Use this Worksheet to make sure you are taking consistent action to manage your time
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