How to Decide What to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant - Priority VA

How to Decide What to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant

 

Trying to decide what to outsource to a virtual assistant is similar to walking into a buffet. There are so many things to choose from and you don’t know where to start! Rather than walking away feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to start or picking a few things here and there, we’d like to give you a little guidance when it comes to outsourcing.

Our team at Priority VA meets with entrepreneurs daily and the most common question we hear is: “How do I know what to outsource first?”. It’s a good question to ask and one that reminds us that people are aware of “the need” to outsource, but unclear on “the what”.

Rather than further complicate the topic, we’ve refined a system to help busy entrepreneurs determine what they should delegate first. Follow these three steps that will help you decide what to outsource to your virtual assistant.

Write Everything Down

Your journey to delegation begins with documenting how you spend your day. As soon as you open your computer, write down each task you do throughout the day. This exercise allows you to take inventory of your day and as a result, you’ll be able to see where you spend a majority of your time. Do this for 1 week. Once you’ve documented your daily activities, it’s time to determine which tasks require your attention and which tasks you can outsource.

Put Every Task Into a Category

Every task within your business will fall into 4 categories.

  • Things I don’t know how to do
  • Things I hate to do
  • Things I don’t have time to do
  • Things only I can do

Using the list of tasks you took time to document, fill the aforementioned categories with each task you completed throughout the day. Ask yourself questions like:

  • Is this something I know how to do?
  • Is this something I hate doing?
  • Did I have time to do this?
  • Can someone else do this?

Taking time to assess everything from “Do I hate doing this?” to “Can someone else do this?” will help you determine if a task truly needs your attention.

For example: If you host a weekly podcast, chances are you shouldn’t be the one to reach out to potential guests, research and prepare interview questions and topics, or write the show notes. A Virtual Assistant can manage those pieces for you. However, a VA can’t record the podcast episode for you.

This exercise determines where you should focus your energy and where you can empower a VA to manage specific details of your business.

Everyone Works In Their Zone of Genius

By following the exercises previously mentioned, the biggest benefit to your business comes when everyone on your team begins to work in their zone of genius. We all have special gifts and talents. It’s okay that you don’t like creating LeadPages or know how to create a sales funnel in Infusionsoft by Keap. That’s where a Virtual Assistant comes in.

Rather than spending countless hours fumbling through programs you don’t understand and quite frankly don’t care to understand, outsource those pieces of your business to someone who’s equipped to complete the tasks for you. Start by outsourcing what you don’t know how to do, what you hate to do, and finally, what you don’t have time to do.  As a result of outsourcing, you get to work in YOUR zone of genius, doing what you love, and generating income to grow your business.

Are you ready to outsource? Do you have questions about what outsourcing will look like in your business? We’d love to chat with you. Contact us here to find out how we can support your outsourcing needs.

1 Comment

  1. Asha Olivia

    Thanks for this genius piece on the four buckets as the first step on what to outsource!

    Reply

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