It’s 5:30 am Eastern Time. As soon as I open my computer and turn on Skype, I’m greeted by a morning flurry of smileys, good mornings and sometimes silliness – all from part of my virtual team that’s already into the full swing of their workday either in Argentina, South Africa or the Philippines. In the same way you might pop your head into an office, we instant message, catch up on the weekend and get on to the projects at hand.
Don’t be fooled, I’m not some kind of management mogul, I’m just a solopreneur that has seen the light and experienced the power of virtual teams. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I have an MBA in multi-functional work teams. But believe me, you don’t need one if you just follow the advice Chris Ducker gives in his new book Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business.
I received a review copy recently and thought it would be a perfect book to share with you, just in case you’re freaking out thinking you have too much to do and not enough time to get it all done.
What a Virtual Team Is and Isn’t
The most important part of the book is the beginning where Ducker (@chrisducker) clearly defines virtual assistants, virtual teams and the general mindset of outsourcing a virtual staff.
The biggest mistake business owners make, according to Ducker, is thinking that they can find and hire what he calls a “Super VA;” that person that can update blog posts, do social media, follow up with clients, transcribe, etc. This is impossible and will lead to maximum stress and frustration for YOU as the business owner as well as for the unlucky VA that thought he or she could do it all and do it well.
This massive mistake alone is the biggest reason you want to read this book. And, luckily for you, Virtual Freedom will not only keep you from making these kinds of mistakes, it will educate you, inspire you and give you the incentive you need to take your business to the next level.
Virtual Freedom Will Show You How to Buy More Time
Unless you’re in the manufacturing world, you may not be familiar with the concept of “man-hours.” All this means is that every task requires a certain amount of time to complete. If you are the one to do EVERYTHING yourself, then you’ll be spending all your time working on projects and infrastructure to manage your business – and NO time building and growing your business.
This is how a virtual team actually allows you to buy time. You are literally expanding the hours you have in a day by assigning tasks to your virtual team. Don’t worry. Virtual Freedom provides the step-by-step guidance to help you get there.
Ducker has divided the book up into seven sections:
- Finding and hiring your virtual staff
- Training your virtual staff
- Managing your virtual staff
- Staying local or going overseas
- Building your virtual team
- Content development
- Getting started
As you can see, he’s got the whole process covered from beginning to end. In fact, every chapter and section is loaded with great advice. I can say that with certainty since I’ve had many of the experiences Ducker is talking about.
One section that threw me for a loop, however, was the content development section. At first, I wasn’t exactly sure what content development had to do with virtual teams. As I thought about it, however, I realized that so many business owners struggle with creating content and they often look to a VA as a sort of magic bullet. So, this section is important.
In fact, as you read through it, you’ll see how the other sections come into play in helping you successfully use a virtual team to help you develop great content.
In addition to all kinds of insider secrets, Ducker shares many, many tools and resources that you can use to find, hire, train, manage and build your team. If you’ve been wondering how it’s done – Virtual Freedom will show you.
The Successful Business Owners’ Secret
If you’re reading this thinking, “I can’t afford to hire someone” – SNAP OUT OF IT. I’m telling you, if I can afford to get help – so can you.
In fact, ask any successful small business owner and they will tell you that their business grew when they finally let go of their “DIY disease.” Hiring a virtual team will not just make you money – it will save you money.
Believe me – I know – and I’m the DIYMarketer! About two years ago I started using a shopping cart for my business. It was costing me $129 per month. Of course, I would learn to use it myself. Three months and $330 later, I hadn’t had time to figure it out. Finally, I relented and went looking for some help. I hired Rhonda to set it up. She charged me…..are you ready for this…$50. It took her less than two hours to completely set up and populate the system.
Normally, you’d think a sales and marketing book would give you tips to make money. But sometimes a book comes along that not only helps you save money – it helps you make money.
Ducker is right on track with this and is doing a huge service to struggling small business owners. Virtual Freedom is a book that will take you from stressed to successful if you follow its advice.
The post Read Virtual Freedom and Unleash More Time and Money for Your Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Source: Small Business Trends
Read Virtual Freedom and Unleash More Time and Money for Your Business
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