Sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day to run your handmade craft business, but my little secret unlocks more than 10 hours a month for you to use!
As much as I want to be, I’m not Wonder Women. I can’t do it all. And actually, I don’t…
I don’t run my online business by myself. And you won’t want to either once I share this simple strategy I’ve used over the last few years to help grow my handmade business to new heights (without losing a wink of sleep). So, what is this big secret?
I hired a Virtual Assistant.
Why I Hired a VA
When I first started out, as with many small business owners, I thought I had to be going all the time.
I treated this like a full-time job, my baby, so I had to spend every waking moment working on it, growing it, and finalizing every little detail… right?
I was so wrong.
Instead of growing my craft business, I was spending my days half-awake, agonizing over every little detail. I was stressed beyond belief with just the day-to-day aspect of my business, I never had the chance to launch my big growth ideas.
It can be so easy to get caught up in the minutia of running a business, we lose the big picture of scaling and growing.
But, once I outsourced those daily drudgery tasks to a trusted virtual assistant, my entire world changed. My time opened up, and it felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders — and I want to show you how YOU can do just that!
Imagine if you could outsource 1-2 hours per day. Those 1-2 hours you can block off for some much needed personal time, extra sleep, or even a nice brainstorming session for your business. Whatever you are doing for those 1-2 hours a day transfers to 30-60 hours per month!
What could you do with 60 extra hours a month?
Even if you hired a VA for just 2 hours a week, you are saving up to 10 hours per month.
Ladies, this is exactly how we can find more hours in a day!
How Does My VA Help
Those daily monotonous tasks we fill our days up with can honestly be done by someone else.
Simple things that we think we need to do on our own like:
>Filtering Emails & Answering Customer Service Emails
>Editing / Proofreading Emails & Written Content
>Calendar Management & Data Entry
>Transcription of Video and Audio Files
>Blog Writing & Publishing
>Website & Inventory Updates
>Placing Supplier Orders & Creating Invoices
>Social Media Management
>Scheduling Posts
>Creating Graphics
>Writing Captions
>Engagement
And, this is just to name a few! There are dozens of more tasks that may apply to you that a VA can help with. All it takes is a few minutes to really brainstorm what you need.
How to Find a VA
Follow these simple steps below to discover what you need in a Virtual Assistant (and how to hire one).
Step One – Brainstorming: ask yourself the following questions and write them down
What is one hour of your time worth?
What can you afford?
What is your zone of genius?
These questions will help guide you on who you choose and why you want to choose them. You want to find a VA who’ll compliment your zone of genius and provides a great return on investment.
Step Two – Tasks List: write all the little tasks needed for your business within these timeframes
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Once everything is listed, go through that list and star the repetitive tasks and tasks you simply don’t like doing. These will be what you outsource to your future VA.
Step Three – Workflow Creation: take those tasks and write how you want them done
Step-by-Step Instructions
Even the Simplest of Tasks
Providing clear and concise communication creates an efficient work environment for both you and your new assistant.
Step Four – Write Up a Gig: create a descriptive listing for each task needed
Include the Values, Hours, Time Zone, & Growth Availability
Ask for a Portfolio, Not a Resume
Once created, post the listings on freelancer sites such as Upwork, Fiverr, HireMyMom, Micalaquinn, or reach out to your other small business friends!
Step Five – Time to Hire: schedule calls to find your top candidates and go for a test run
Schedule a “Discovery Call”
Pick 2-3 Favorites and Provide a Test Task/Trial Week
This final interview step is for both you and your future VA. You must be able to work cohesively together for the relationship to last. Ask questions like, “What is your availability?”, “How do you like to communicate?”, and “Do you have previous experience?” to get a feel for your compatibility together. Then, choose who you liked the best and HIRE!
If you want to know more secret strategies like this to grow your Handmade Business, Join the waitlist for the Handmade Hero Hamlet — where I tell it all!
