Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you’ve either tasted or read about the latest drink from Starbucks that has our nation in a tizzy!
It seems as though every other Facebook post either mentions the way it changes flavors or has listed the nutrition facts. Regardless of your feeling surrounding the unicorn frappucino, one this is true unicorns are mythical creatures.
I think our fascination with unicorns is due to trends making a full circle. I’m pretty sure it was illegal to be a teenage girl in the early 90’s and not own at least one unicorn figurine… I know I did! And now, fast forward to 2017 and I can’t buy a t-shirt for my daughters without a unicorn on it.
So what does a unicorn have to do with hiring a Virtual Assistant? The answer may not be what you’d expect.
My business pairs high growth entrepreneurs with highly talented Virtual Assistants. Notice I said “highly talented”, not “qualified in every area of business”.
As business owners, we want our VA to harbor each and every quality we need, want and feel is vital to getting the job done. The trouble lies in the fact that, no matter how hard we search, that person doesn’t exist. I’ve built a team of over 70 VAs and not one is able to cover the gamut of what my clients need. Many come close, but I feel as though we are doing a disservice to ourselves and business owners by setting unrealistic expectations.
Does this mean you may need to hire multiple VAs? Possibly.
Does this mean that your VA won’t be skilled in every area of online business? Most likely, not.
So what does this have to do with the now famous Starbucks drink? Think about it.
Everyone was so eager to try this Unicorn Frappuccino. They couldn’t find it, so they went to multiple Starbucks stores trying to find it. Once they tasted the magical drink, they found out that it wasn’t even good for them. A venti has over 70 grams of sugar. So much so, that it didn’t even taste good. It wasn’t at all what they were expecting. It was way too sweet, way more than they could handle. And they ended up not liking it and extremely disappointed because it was not at all what they expected.
The same thing happens when a client is looking for a VA that can do it all. The person they thought to be their unicorn was actually nothing like they expected and ushers in disappointment and frustration. I’m a business owner and I know for certain that I don’t have extra time to waste on disappointment and frustration. Instead, I have chosen to set realistic expectations, which had benefited me in the long run.
When customers were given the drink heard round the world, they quickly found out that from the magic dust on top, past the swirls and to the bottom of the cup, It was bad for them. I’m sure many were thinking that they should have just added an extra pump of raspberry to their vanilla frappuccino, been called an innovator and went on with their day.
We live in an age where everything new is #trending.
We see and hear the latest and greatest things. We let people build up what we need, the next shiny object we can’t live without. We speak in codes and hashtags, all because someone told us we should.
I’m all for trends, hashtags, and improvements, but sometimes, you have to remember that not everything new is good for you.
You don’t have to get the new shiny, amazing thing that’s trending on social media. You don’t have to hire a new OBM or Digital Marketer, just because it’s the trendy thing to do. It’s probably not your best option anyway.
I would rather hire a team member that I can trust and is reliable than to set everyone up for failure because my expectations were completely unrealistic.
What are you looking for in an assistant? Are your expectations realistic?
We all have a dream list, but instead of focusing ONLY on the dreams, focus on what will be effective for your business NOW.
I truly believe that writing down your goals and expectations are vital to your business, so I created this guide for you. It’s a free PDF ready for you to list out your current focus, your realistic expectations, where you’d like to be in one year and again in five years and lastly, what your dream team to looks like.
Instead of wishing for a unicorn that really isn’t what we need, let’s keep our current focus and partner with the ones we can trust.
