As virtual support professionals we don’t always give ourselves permission to expand. We think we have to do it all… often because the way we have our business set up requires for us to be the one to do everything.
When I opened my VA business almost 6 years ago now, I hit the learning curve with full gusto. Creating an almost impossible pace in which to sustain a healthy work/life balance. I was up early and to bed late. After all, I had to get the work done AND I was kinda in the learn as you go, so there wasn’t much room for down time. Unfortunately, once I passed the learning curve and begin to move into a bit of mastery, completed the Online Business Manager Certification Training and began working as an OBM I kept that same pace. Somehow I had convinced myself that working 12 – 14 hours a day was the only way I would be able to keep up with everything. That was a lie! But there did come a point when I needed help, I would love to tell you that I jumped right out there and grabbed it when I needed it, but that is not the truth. The truth is I hit burnout… big time. It almost cost me my business as well as my relationship with all of YOU! I almost quit… so my words of wisdom from this experience is simply: Avoid Burnout and Hire Early!!
I know what you are thinking… “I can’t afford to hire anyone”, “I don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s work”, “I don’t have time to train anyone I can barely run and pee now”, “I don’t know anyone to hire”…
Okay so you may not be thinking that, but those are the thoughts I was having when I hit burnout and realized my only hope was to hire someone.
Hey Tiffany “Avoid burnout and hire early!” If only someone had told me that I could, that I should, that it was the best next step… maybe they did and I just didn’t listen (that is always possible.. I am a bit headstrong), had I done so though it would have saved me so much time, money and precious hours of sleep!
I know that the prospect of hiring your own assistant can be a bit scary, even seem impossible. But if you want to truly serve your clients at the highest level and continue to generate a revenue that supports your personal goals, you may need to hire someone to help implement the tasks that you have out grown or that can easily be processed and accomplished by a new person. For me these where all of the recurring tasks that my clients needed each week. Tasks that truly took no thought and just simply needed to be done the same way every week ie: sending reminders for programs or posting recordings.
You would be amazed at what 10 hrs a month of recurring tasks off your plate could create for you… sanity and/or sleep, time with your family, a new client, higher quality work in other areas, etc… Once these tasks come off your plate (and get out of your mind, so you don’t have to carry the burden of there execution) you are able to regain your focus. Do the work that is truly needed by you and only you, create balance back in your life and allow yourself to enjoy the feeling of building your business while assist in building your clients.
When I hired my first person to work with me… truly I had hit that stage of burnout that you either fight or flee… and although everything in me wanted to flee, I chose to fight. My first step was to get my own VA and train her. How did I do this… well I looked around my life and I basically thought “who is in my life right now that
a) has a much higher potential then they are offering themselves?
b) that I want to spend a lot more time with than I do right now?
c) is super detailed and inquisitive (because I am so lacking in detail I knew I needed this person to be able to save my butt with details)?”
Lo and behold the person was right there already in my life. Can I just say, hiring her was one of the very best decisions I made for my business. She now has her own full practice VA business and is still to this day mine and now Tina’s right hand.
Sure it was a slow start… I think I only paid her like $200 a month when we got started as I didn’t have a lot to offer.. but those where the first 10 hours to my freedom!
So this is me saying : HEY (INSERT YOUR NAME HERE) “avoid burnout and hire early!”
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