Most solo and small business owners dream of having their own Virtual Assistant (VA). They will lament at how it’s a catch-22 situation – they need the VA, but need to be earning enough to afford a VA. Another common statement is “I’d love a VA… if only I could afford one”.
The benefits of having your own VA are numerous. They include freeing up your time and energy, doing those tasks you hate doing and helping you to cut your ‘to do’ list in half. This is all well and good… but what if you REALLY can’t afford to hire a VA?
#1: Work out how much it will cost to hire a Virtual Assistant
The first step is to actually work out how much it would cost to hire a VA. Most business owners who wish they had the funds to hire one… don’t actually know how much it is to hire a VA! Find out what hourly rate they charge and/or whether they charge a set block of time per month. What are the minimum hours and how do they charge for partial hours? Get all the facts down on paper.
#2: What will you outsource to a Virtual Assistant?
Another important thing you need to ascertain is what you want to hire a VA for. Make a list of those jobs that take up your time, the mundane things that need doing on a regular basis, those that you hate doing and those you put off. Get clear about how much work you would have for a VA and how many hours you’d need one for. It’s worth remembering that a VA may well get those tasks done quicker than you – especially if you don’t like doing them or don’t have the right expertise and knowledge to whizz through them.
#3: Set the intention
Now you know what you’ll outsource and how much it will cost to hire a VA, you can set the intention to have that extra money in place for a VA. This is where most businesses will stop AND get stuck at. They will look to manifest the extra money they need or take on extra work to cover this cost.
If you’re sticking here because you’re a person who believes in the power of manifestation and Law of Attraction etc., you’re actually doing yourself a disservice – you’re not completing the final step of the manifestation process – you’re not acting as if you already have it.
So, if you’d like to fully honour the Law of Attraction and/or if you’re more of a ‘go getter’ type of person, continue the process through the next two steps and ramp up that intent!
#4: Work out how much it will cost you NOT to hire a Virtual Assistant
Asking this question can seem a bit flippant, especially if you genuinely worry about where the finances are coming from, but it is an essential step. It’s like anything you really want – you cannot appreciate how much you want it, until it connects to a pain point in you.
Work out the maths. How much exactly do you need to have in place before you hire a VA? Now work out a new equation – take your hourly rate and times it by the number of hours you currently spend on that previous list of tasks. Surprised by that figure? Label that figure as “figure 1”. Now take that same number of hours and divide it by the VA’s hourly rate – and call this “figure 2”.
#5: Take a leap and trust yourself
In the previous step figure 2 is how much it will cost you to hire a VA – BUT, figure 1 is how much money you could be making, if you used that time on money generating activities.
Are you ready to trust yourself? If you have the belief in yourself, your abilities and your business, you will put in the action – by hiring that VA and making damn sure you spend the time you’ve gained on money generating activities such as calling leads, networking and launching a new product.
Bottom line is you can stay in overwhelm mode, stressing out every time you look at your ‘to do’ list and wishing you had help – or you can decide to let go of the fear, trust in yourself and your business potential, and go out there and make it happen – the choice is yours.
What are your thoughts around hiring a VA? Have you been holding yourself back with fears around money or trusting someone else? What was your figure 1 – how much money are those activities costing you? Why not share your thoughts and experiences in the comments box below!
Images © Maksym Yemetyanov & verdateo – featured image ‘mybaitshop’ /Dollar Photo Club
