Things to do before hiring me (or anyone, really!)
Most of the time when I speak to prospective clients, they are nervous because they've never really worked with another person before. Their business has been their baby and they've been involved in every little detail of running it. Passing off even a small portion of the responsibilities feels extremely risky and like more work than it may be worth. But deep down they know that asking for a little help and passing off some of the administrative tasks will help them focus on their core business, enabling more growth in the future.
So, if all of that applies to you, here are some tips to help you take the leap into hiring any kind of virtual assistant or other kind of contractor who will be working with you.
1) Spend some time thinking about your processes. How do you run your business? How do you on-board new clients? How do you follow-up with prospective clients? How do you invoice? How do you keep track of your income and expenses? What are you using to manage your schedule? Think about all these questions and then WRITE DOWN THE ANSWERS. It doesn't have to be fancy, but knowing your own business processes and being able to communicate them to the person you're going to hire will help move the process along more quickly. If you need some guidance on answering these questions, I have a great (free!) resource I can share with you from a Business Process Pro that I guarantee will help you feel more confident!
2) Do a quick survey of your software tools that you're using. If you're using free versions and plan to add a contributor, you may need to upgrade to a premium version. Check out your options ahead of time. Decide which upgrades may be worth it and which ones you'll need to skip for now. I have some knowledge of a bunch of different tools, but ultimately, the decision about what you want to use for your business and how I can help you manage those tools are up to you.
3) Protect yourself! Before getting ready to hire me, think about getting a non-disclosure agreement drafted up. When working with any type of Virtual Assistant, you'll want to be able to hand off lots of information to that person without worrying about it. It's not an insult to ask someone to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement.
4) Take 5 minutes and fill out my questionnaire OR just free journal about the tasks that are causing you the most stress at the moment. Many times, writing them out can relieve the burden of holding them all in your head. Then, when we talk, I can begin to immediately strategize next steps.
Hopefully now you feel more ready to invest in your growing business.