I can do it all myself... right?
Wrong.
It blows my mind that small business owners still think they should be doing 100% of their work or that the only way to get help is by hiring an employee.
My business coach once explained to me a concept he heard from a speaker at his ~million dollar business retreat~. He said that a business owner's time is worth, on average, $400 an hour when he/she focuses on the tasks that grow the business, such as networking and closing deals. However, too many owners are still doing the tasks that are worth $20 an hour, $50 an hour, $100 an hour. These tasks include email management, social media, bookkeeping, and other general administrative tasks. Every hour that they spend on these lower level tasks, they miss out on $300 or more.
Now let's say a business owner spends fifteen hours a week on $20 work. That totals $300. If that owner had spent that time on the $400 an hour work, he/she would have generated $6,000 in those fifteen hours. That's a difference of $5,600 in a week.
This is where outsourcing comes in. Every lower level task, or even simply tasks that you as a business owner do not enjoy, should be outsourced. Specifically, outsourced to a virtual assistant.
Virtual assistants are independent contractors who provide services while operating outside of the client's office. A "VA" works a custom amount of hours based on the client's needs, compared to an employee who would require a set schedule of twenty to forty hours a week plus benefits. Contrary to an employee, hiring a VA creates a partnership between owner and service provider instead of a superior/subordinate relationship and a mutual respect for one another's work. While it may seem odd that virtual assistants often charge more per hour than an employee, the savings you'll witness (thanks to hiring out less hours and being able to focus on the $400/hour work) more than outweigh the few dollars per hour difference.
Outsourcing to a virtual assistant is a fantastic opportunity for business owners who are misusing their time, are swamped with too many tasks, don't enjoy certain tasks, or feel that they aren't experienced enough in certain areas of work. At the end of the day, hiring a virtual assistant will save you loads of money, allowing you to continue growing your customer base and saving time for real life outside of the office.
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