What IF you could free up as much as 20% of your time for responsibilities and core business needs that truly matter? Would you do it? Would you make the investment?

“What tasks do you have to do yourself and what could you have others do? Tasks that have low value for your customers and are time-consuming — such as bookkeeping or administrative tasks — are ideal tasks to outsource.” Jordan Cohen

For some entrepreneurs partnering with a virtual assistant is unfamiliar territory and you may not fully comprehend the wide scope of work that can be efficiently outsourced to help free up your time.  You may create mental roadblocks or perceived hurdles to prevent yourself from seeking assistance with your business. These alleged barriers can be easily overcome with a little in depth thought and evaluation to conquer your objections. Delegating is a key management strategy that will benefit you and your company. 

1. I need control: It may also difficult to give up control of something you have always done and believe only you can do and do it best.  This self-limiting thought process does not allow you the time or full productivity to dedicate to the core of your business. You may be buried and merely just busy doing more menial activities that are NOT the best value of your time. Delegating to a virtual assistant is a learning process for some but I have found that once you begin delegating, it becomes more second nature and such a stress relief to hand off projects. It is certainly more cost efficient as there are no taxes, health benefits, office space, insurances, office supplies or equipment.  Your costs are only project based and that is it!! Delegating is a move to expansion, increased productivity, better time management, enhanced work life balance and a little more time in your day to focus on what is important, rather than on what needs to be done.

2. I can do it faster: This may be initially true, but after clear instructions, detailed outcomes, a few tips, your virtual assistant will become proficient at your task or project. They may even have more efficient tools and systems to manage your request. If this is an ongoing task, think about how much time you will free up by outsourcing it. It is the job of the virtual assistant to be expedient, efficient and provide quality work. We do this every day, for ourselves and our clients.

3. I can only rely on myself for the best results: Unfortunately, this does not represent a growth mentality. Your virtual assistant is an established business owner who understands delegating and accountability. Our goal is 100% satisfaction – our business and reputation depends on it. Every task or project is meticulously managed, double checked and triple checked to ensure you are happy with the output. We encourage your feedback and suggestions for our mutual success. As you know, we are only human and errors to do happen, but they are rectified.

4. I don’t know what to delegate: Examine your core competencies, what are you best at or what represents your fundamental business acumen.   These are your high payoff activities that only you can do. Anything that is low value or does not generate revenue can be successfully delegated. A simple exercise would be to track all of your daily tasks and projects for one week. Note the time spent, any interruptions, what was accomplished, which items generated revenue and how many things on your To Do list still remain. Upon review, you will be able to more clearly define what you should do, delegate or dump.

5. Remote business operations can’t possible work: Oh but they do. For many of the day to day business tasks, a virtual assistant is your savvy, technological partner to help drive your organizational success. VAs must be able to utilize a variety of cloud based tools, computer software and applications to communicate and manage each and every task that is delegated. We are constantly reading and educating ourselves on a daily basis. We must remain current and ready to tackle any business objective. If we don’t have the skillset, someone on our team or within our industry is will to help.  Virtual Assistants are your vested partner.

“Investments pay off over time – and that is what delegation does.” Kevin Eikenberry

A greater fear to consider is how much are you holding on to that is stopping you from focusing on the core of your business? What isn’t getting done? How many hours do you put in on a weekly basis?

Embrace delegation, don’t run from it. It is a low cost high payoff tool to help you scale your company and focus on the core of your business – what ONLY YOU can do.

In a recent article Harvard Business Review article: “The Skills Most Entrepreneurs Lack” by Bill Bonnstetter, he discussed a study which showed that entrepreneurs are lacking in self-management and planning and organization.

“Entrepreneurial-minded people are not proficient in managing themselves and their time. Often they need assistance managing everyday tasks and should hire or delegate them to someone who has mastered this skill. Similar to self-management, if entrepreneurs spent time planning and organizing every task or meeting, they would never get anything else done. Once again, hiring someone to keep their calendar, organize meetings and events, keep the office de-cluttered, and help keep them on schedule can put them at an advantage.“

Think long and hard about the value of your time and your daily To Do list. What should you begin delegating today?

The best way to figure out how to utilize a VA in your life, however, is to take 3 days of your life and for every task that you do, stop for a moment and ask yourself, “Can someone else do this for me and if so, can it be done online?”. You’ll find there are a tremendous amount of tasks that can be accomplished by a VA in this manner. An extremely valuable added bonus with this exercises is that once you start thinking in this manner, you’ll also gain a stronger appreciation for your time and value it more. This may be the most important lesson that you can learn!  Stefan Pylarinos