Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker is a practical, helpful, and well-written book for an entrepreneur like me about outsourcing my workload to “virtual assistants”.
Chris approaches the issue from a pragmatic perspective. He feels strongly about entrepreneurs getting this right partly because of his own past struggle with what he calls “Superhero Syndrome”. Mr. Ducker also communicates his strong belief about the personhood and human dignity of outsourced virtual workers whether in-country, overseas, or local.Great Timing
I read Virtual Freedom at a good time in my growth curve as an entrepreneur. I had just been getting to the point where I needed to hire some help with the more time-intensive parts of the video production process (like editing). I’ve also been seeking assistance with some of the elements of running a business in which I’m not really very strong (like copywriting). I attended the One-Day Business Breakthrough (1DayBB) live event in San Diego, California in April 2015 co-hosted by Chris Ducker and Pat Flynn. Virtual Freedom was the next book I read after returning home. 🙂 Thank you, Chris, for the complimentary copy! I downloaded the Audible version soon after I got home.
The book is broken into seven sections:
- Finding and Hiring your Virtual Staff
- Training your Virtual Staff
- Managing your Virtual Staff
- Pros and Cons of Staying Local or Going Overseas
- Virtual Team-Building
- The Case for Content
- Getting Started
Lists to Freedom
Before beginning the process of explaining how to find higher virtual assistants, Chris tells his readers to draw up their “three lists to freedom.” This involves writing down everything needed to run your business. First you highlight everything you enjoy doing. Then you divide the remaining tasks into three lists:
- Things you don’t like doing
- Things you can’t do
- Things you shouldn’t do
These are the tasks you will be outsourcing.
One caveat…
…that Mr. Ducker includes is that the entrepreneur has to leave sales on his own list of things to do since sales are the lifeblood of any business. I can attest to the truth of this business assertion with my own learning curve moving from the world of public education to video entrepreneur. Several times early in my business I found my funnel had run nearly or completely dry because I was focused on the project work of making videos rather than keeping an eye and hand on the business work of making sales. Ouch! 🙁
One of the other things that the book gives me some perspective on is how my own business fits into this outsourcing/virtual work world. In many ways, the video services that I offer are a form of outsourcing. Although I have met most of my clients face-to-face, in most cases (except for the filming) my work is done remotely. My deliverables are usually in the form of online videos, video courses, or other web-based assets.
A few more takeaways from Virtual Freedom:
- Be super clear on what you want to accomplish with your VA.
- The first step of training is training myself. I need to have my expectations set realistically. Outsourcing my workload is much smoother when I give clear directions and offer opportunities to ask questions.
- Give time deadlines on how much time people should have for particular projects. Especially if it’s a new project and they have to figure out how to do it.
- Don’t be a “virtual vulture”. Plan in regular reports from your virtual staff so that you are informed on progress on important projects.
- Planning and mapping how you’re different team members will interact with one another to make project happen without your direct involvement is an important part of building your team.
- Be sure to develop relationships with your staff to develop a sense of loyalty and belonging.
- In Section 6 on content creation, Chris gives several examples of workflows to incorporate different virtual employees.
Conclusion
If you’d like some guidance on how to outsource your workload, pick up a copy of Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker. If you’d like to discuss your outsourcing journey, connect with me on Facebook or Twitter.
