I hear this frequently. Here’s the thing. If you keep using that as an excuse, you will likely never be able to afford one. Why? Because there is only so much you can do to grow your business alone. There are not enough hours in the day for you to complete all of the “busy work” and focus enough time on revenue-generating activities.
By making a few tweaks in your daily habits and activities, and choosing to use your time wisely, you can easily afford a virtual assistant. Unless you already have a booming business and you don’t need or necessarily want more income, you can’t just delegate work to a virtual assistant and then sit back and do nothing. You have to step up your game and put in the effort to connect with more ideal clients. The desire to succeed and the commitment to taking action is all that’s needed.
I’ll explain exactly how you can afford a virtual assistant in just a moment, but first I want to ask you something. How much stuff do you have on your to-do list or your wish list that is just not getting done?
What are the consequences of not getting these tasks completed? What opportunities are you missing out on?
Which Situation Describes You?
- Are you overwhelmed because there are not enough hours in the day to do everything yourself and do it well?
- Do you procrastinate on projects and tasks because you don’t know what to do or where to start?
- Do you focus so much time on trying to get administrative and techie tasks done that you spend no time on revenue-generating activities that bring in or lead to more money?
If any of those situations sound familiar… well, how is that working out for you so far?
If you completed the exercises in my last article How to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant, look at your list of tasks that can be delegated and the list of tasks/projects you procrastinate on, that just never get done.
Are you an expert in all of these areas? Do you enjoy doing all of these tasks? Are these tasks that you can bill clients for or that will directly lead to you making more money? For most of you, probably not! Even if you do enjoy those tasks, it doesn’t mean it’s a wise use of your time to do them.
The Simple Formula for Affording a Virtual Assistant
There are probably tasks that you are spending 3-4 hours on that a virtual assistant could get done in 1-2 hours. You can’t bill clients for those 3-4 hours, so you aren’t making any money at all during this time.
Get out your pen and a piece of paper. How much do you value your time at on an hourly basis? Write it down.
As an example, let’s say you value your time at $100/hour (although as a coach it should be MUCH, MUCH higher than that). If you are wasting 3 hours on administrative or techie tasks, you are losing $300 because that’s 3 hours that you can’t bill clients for.
If it takes a Virtual Assistant 1 hour to complete those same tasks and she charges $50/hour, you could be paying the Virtual Assistant $50 for that work while you are spending your 3 hours on revenue-generating activities and working with clients, billing for $300 or more.
Let’s pause for a moment while you work that out for yourself, because you may not believe me yet.
Your value per hour $_____
Typically, how much of your day do you spend on administration and techie work? ____ hours.
Your value per hour $_____ x _____ hours (the number of hours you are spending on non-billable tasks such as administration and techie work) = $______.
That is how much more you could be making per day if you choose to spend that time on revenue-generating activities instead. Is this starting to make sense yet? Do you see the potential here?
Tell me again, how exactly is this costing you more money to hire a virtual assistant? Using my example of $100 per hour (low rate) for a coach/consultant and $50 per hour for a virtual assistant, by hiring a virtual assistant for those tasks that are tying up 3 hours of your precious time and choosing to use your time wisely to find and sign on new leads, you are actually making $250 ($300 – $50 = $250) instead of nothing.
What Exactly Are Revenue-Generating Activities?
Revenue-generating activities are any activities that lead to you getting a new client or directly bringing in income. Here are some examples:
- Calling leads
- Scheduling speaking engagements /opportunities
- Scheduling workshops
- Networking
- Following up with past clients, potential clients, people you met at networking events, etc.
- Scheduling consultations/discovery sessions/strategy sessions
- Asking for referrals
- Launching a new product or offer (if you have an established list to market to)
- Initiating or developing a joint venture relationship
- Sending a warm letter
It is often recommended by business coaches to do 1-3 revenue-generating activities first thing every day, before you do anything else, before you check your email, before you go anywhere near social media, before you get sucked in by the “busy” work that you allow to distract you from doing the activities that you would prefer to avoid. (I get it. It happens to me too!)
So next time you spin your story about how you can’t afford a virtual assistant, remember it’s up to you – and no one but you – to change that.
If you’re ready to get out of that overwhelm and start making more money, click here to set up a Complimentary Discovery Session. I currently have openings for 2 motivated clients.
What is your biggest takeaway from this article? How much money do you think you may be losing per day by doing all of the “busy work” yourself? Please share below!
Hey Lisa, We'll be working together when I get back from Oz. See you in London. (if you have room for another client, that is..how arrogant of me. Thanks
looking forward to seeing you in London.
I'll make room if I have to, but I'll probably have a project or two wrapping up by then, so I don't think it will be a problem anyway! Yes, the next London, ON event is coming up quickly, isn't it? Can't wait!
I like the tip about completing 1-3 revenue-generating activities before doing anything else. That takes discipline and is a good reminder. Thanks.
I like the formula. It makes it clear that hiring a VA makes a lot of sense and is a good investment.
Henry
——–
Henry Matlock
“The Writer Re-Igniter”
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Great article. I would even saw that portions of those revenue-generating activities could be outsourced as well. If implementation of your marketing and follow-up strategies aren’t already automated, consider hiring a VA to either handle them or set up a system to automate them.
Cathy Yerges
BG3 LLC
Business Growth 3 Ways
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