DOWNLOAD my eBook on how to get started working w/ VA’s
DOWNLOAD your Skills / Fun Matrix
DOWNLOAD your Time Audit template
Powered by freelancers all over the world, FreeeUp’s Nathan Hirsch turned virtual assistance into a $5 million dollar business. Hirsch, who started off selling textbooks out of his college dorm, is a virtual matchmaker to countless of entrepreneurs- he can connect you to the perfect virtual assistant in just hours.
Overwhelmed by his own hectic schedule, Hirsch found himself struggling to keep up with his rapidly growing company. Through virtual assistants, he found the relief that he needed. From accountants to web developers, Hirsch is taking advantage of his business as much as his clients, having a staff of fifteen virtual assistants throughout the globe that keep his company up and running.
FreeeUp has connected hundreds of entrepreneurs with their perfect VA through their intensive hiring system. Hirsch and his team go through thousands of applicants and select only the top candidates for the tasks at hand; from administrative work, to customer service, to bookkeeping, these VAs take the time out of the time consuming aspects of in-person hiring and onboarding, while providing talented freelancers for any situation.
With thorough communication and feedback, these virtual assistants can start their tasks within a few days on the job. Best of all, virtual assistants’ flexibility and various skills can adapt to whatever your company needs, creating consistent workers while taking out the intensive training. Whether your company needs one, or ten virtual assistants, Hirsch’s platform is sure to ease the difficulties of entrepreneurship.
How To’s:
How to determine if you need a VA, and which tasks can be outsourced
- Get away from your computer, business, and other distractions
- Find a peaceful location where you do most of your effective thinking
- Map out everything that you do on a day-to-day, week-to-week, to month-to-month basis
- Put in a list, in the order of easiest to hardest
- Identify a task(s) from the list which you hate, don’t really like doing, wouldn’t want to do anymore
- Create your idea of a perfect worker- whether it be based on price range, time availability, location, skill set, etc.
+SwagSam Tip: For a week or two, do a time audit. Every half hour, write down what you’re doing, and categorize it in a big picture stand point.
You’ve made your VA request, now what?
During the interview….
- Be prepared with any questions you may have for the candidate
- Ex.: Their proficiency in a specific software
- Look for red flags: be aware of any possible reason why this person is not a good fit for you
- Keep in mind that even the best VAs in the world are not the best fit for every single client in the world
- HIRING PACKET: https://freeeup.com/online-hiring-resources/
Once you’ve selected your VA…
- Set expectations. Once you find the right candidate, put in any preferences/pet peeves you may have so the VA knows what you expect of them. Communication is key; speak to them about what you like, what you don’t like, if you care about tasks being done a certain way.
- Give them the opportunity to ask questions, as well as the opportunity to back out if they cannot meet the expectations you put forth.
- Onboarding: identify the most common tasks associated with their position, and create templates for them to use.
- Ex.: For customer service, show them the usual e-mails the company receives (order inquiries, tracking numbers, returns, etc.)
- Give the VA the option of tweaking the templates you have given them for a more personalized interaction.
- Or, you can have the VA write drafts of what they think would be an appropriate response, you look it over, and start the templates from there.
+SwagSam Tip: Take the time to map out these templates to maximize productivity. The success of the prework depends on the success of the VA. These templates are also the framework for the future VAs you will have, so it can save you a lot of time in the future.
- Set up meetings for feedback. Let VAs know if they’re doing a good job, and show them areas where they can improve. After they receive the feedback, give them a chance to do better, and see if they progress.
- Take the time to build trust. Don’t expect your VA to do their task without any guidance or reaffirmation. Set small tasks and evaluate how well they did. If they excel at the small tasks, gradually move onto bigger and bigger tasks.
Time Stamps:
00:28: Nathan’s background, previous projects
3:35: What is FreeeUP? How does it work?
5:45: How to determine if you need a VA, and which tasks to give them
7:28: Nathan’s advice on successfully maximizing your time as an entrepreneur
9:15: Trello (link)
10:01: Skype (download) & Slack (download)
10:46: Common tasks for VA’s- what tasks should you assign them?
12:00: VA’s for customer service: is it a good idea?
13:30: Finding the perfect VA: tips and guides (FreeeUp info packet)
14:00: Setting expectations for your VA, onboarding and starting out
15:30: VA’s need feedback too
18:30: Assigning smalls tasks to build trust
20:10: Nathan’s VA Team: from accountants to web developers
22:40: Building out the VA team for your business
24:23: How to start using FreeeUp (FreeeUp.com, Youtube channel & blog)
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