You see it on Pinterest, in your Facebook group discussions, on Twitter. You’ve read posts on LinkedIn, in major publications:

The solution to getting everything done in your business is to hire a Virtual Assistant (freelance contractor).

The promise is simple. You will find more time to work IN your business. You will experience more flexibility to implement new services. And you will discover more freedom to create products your customers will love. When you delegate tasks to your Virtual Assistant, success follows.

But like all things worth having in life, the more effort you put into it, the better your results.  Hiring the right VA is not as easy as waving a magic wand. If you do it right though, you will feel like Cinderella when her fairy Godmother shows up.

The steps to finding your VA start with deciding what you want/need to delegate. Expecting to discover what tasks a VA can complete for you is a common hiring mistake.

You wouldn’t go to a podiatrist for a stomach ache. Just because he’s a doctor doesn’t mean he is the best choice to cure your stomach ache. It would be a waste of money and time. And you would still have a stomach ache.

The same principle holds true when hiring a VA.

When you start searching for freelance, virtual assistance, you will discover many different specialties:

Bookkeepers
Website designers
Social Media Marketing
Calendar Management
Writers
Data Entry
Content Editors
Call answering
Marketing
Branding
Graphics Designers
Customer Service
Project Management
Online Research
Presentation Preparation
Market Research
Email Marketing
SEO
App Development
And more ….

The list is extensive. You can find help with so many aspects of your business.  Like picking the wrong doctor for your stomach ache, picking the wrong freelance assistant is a waste of time and money. If you hire an SEO expert and expect them to answer customer calls, you will be disappointed.

So the question remains,

The key is to determine what tasks you should delegate. In a nutshell, delegate the tasks that don’t generate income.

Hand over tasks that Annoy you. You know the tasks I’m talking about – the tasks that you avoid doing because they put you in a bad mood. Bookkeeping is a necessary part of having my own business, but it aggravates me. I am perfectly capable, the program is easy, but I get annoyed by the time I spend on it.  

Delegate tasks that feel like a Burden. It may be designing graphics for your blog, data entry, answering customer calls. The tasks that feel like a burden drain your energy. 

Assign tasks that Confuse you to your VA who specializes in that task.  If you aren’t an expert in website updates, hire someone who is. Don’t spend the time and energy figuring out how to edit HTML code, there are people out there who are good at it and love it.

Give away the tasks that you Dread. These are easy to identify. The tasks you dread always end up incomplete at the end of the day.  After several days you know you cannot delay completing the task. But knowing you didn’t complete it for several days compounds the dread you feel.

I could go on and on. But you get the idea.

How do you identify the specific tasks? Download this FREE resource:

The  Big Business Breakthrough will walk you through, step by step, how to hire a virtual assistant. Start with the Task Selector Worksheet. This process will help you identify the best tasks to assign to your VA. 

After working through the Task Selector Worksheet, many entrepreneurs find they need help with tasks in a few different categories.  You may discover that your ideal delegated tasks are bookkeeping, graphic design and website support. Finding a general VA who is can handle all these tasks well will be difficult.

Start with one of the tasks you identified with the Task Selector Worksheet. When you are comfortable with the process and satisfied your VA is completing tasks efficiently, add another contractor to support your other needs.

Or find a VA experienced with hiring and managing subcontractors. Look for a VA who is willing to find and manage other freelancers – a business manager of sorts.   

A package like MISSION CONTROL is a good example.

If your business is struggling to push through to the next level, it is time to explore hiring a Virtual Assistant. Read the the Big Business Breakthrough and contact me with your questions.