Outsource like crazy and set yourself free!
Outsource every little thing that you can think of, including the brushing of your teeth and eating breakfast(if that’s possible). But, hang on to those one or two Mission Critical tasks.
Mission Critical tasks are basically, tasks that add the most value and the carry the most responsibility for your Company or Brand. They can also be the tasks that require your unique thumbprint.
My mission critical tasks are:
1. The Posts that you read
2. Kaizen Fusion branded Videos
3. Emails and Social Media Communication (for both of my Businesses)
But, my daily agenda is always limited to two of these items at any given time.
Emails and Social Media Communications I check pretty much every day except for Sundays. And as for my posts and videos, I alternate between the two on a weekly basis.
So, for one week my sole focus would be on writing posts. And the following week it would be all about producing videos. That way, I am not rushing through either of my projects and I maintain a higher degree of focus.
And on Saturdays, I spend a couple of hours checking to make sure that my team are on track with all of their projects and are meeting their deadlines. Actually, my Virtual Assistant takes care of much of that for me. So, all I have to do is just skim over what she’s already done and see if she needs help with anything.
Saturday is also when I do my new hires if there’s a need for it.
So, where do I hire my outsource workers?
A majority of my hires come from Upwork.com (no affiliation by the way). I have used them for several centuries (almost). And so far, I haven’t any issues with them, aside from my own mistake of hiring the “wrong” people.
But that rarely happens now, because after bumping into the same wall several times, we normally try to avoid it.
So, the hiring process (whether it’s at Upwork or elsewhere) is pretty much identical.
Jobs are advertised in the form of posts, which means that they’ll have a title and an accompanying body. The title would briefly say what the job entails.
So, if I was hiring a writer to work on a Client website, the title would read something like “Write 3 x 700 Word Technically Fluent Articles + Ongoing work (rate:$15/article)”. And the body of the post would list everything that I am looking for in the ideal candidate, along with the complete job description.
And in case you’re wondering, I always start out by hiring people for relatively smaller tasks (like 3 article projects). That way, if they’re as good as their portfolio says they are and they get the work done on time, then I can hire them on a Monthly basis.
The more administrative type tasks are usually accompanied with one or more walkthrough videos, detailing the work process in depth.
Lastly, I also plug in a little phrase, that they need to repeat back to me when they’re applying for the position. That way, I would know if they’ve genuinely taken the time to read my job post or not. This phrase gets plugged in closer to the end of the description or somewhere in the middle of it.
And that little tripwire alone filters out all the sleepwalking freelancers, who prefer to get much of their work done with one eye shut.
So, here are the key attributes to look for when hiring a person:
1. Make sure that the person you hire fully understands your requirements
2. They should be friendly “enough” to work with, long-term. For instance, do they use your first name to communicate? If they do, that alone passes the “niceness test”. I am yet to meet anyone, whose addressed me by my first name, who also happened to be carrying a miniature size pitchfork in their back pocket.
3. They would need to be available for the time slots you require their availability
4. They have a good track record to attest for their“reliability”and “competency”
What to do/not do:
1. Never pay them anything up front and never pay them hourly – If someone’s spending half their time licking Doughnut creme off their fingers, then maybe you might not really getting your money’s worth.
You can pay them monthly AFTER they had completed a whole work cycle. But let them know upfront, how much of work you deem as reasonable enough to qualify as a monthly work quota. If your expectations are a little over the top, then don’t be surprised when you suddenly receive a whole stack of burnt toast as the end product
2. Always be polite. – It’s easy to keep our cool, when things are going great. But realize, that everyone makes mistakes from time to time.
And aside from keeping your cool, always make it a point to thank everyone for the hard work at the end of the month or whenever you can. We all love to be around and work for“nice people” who are always respectful.
3. Pay them on time (ideally the same day they complete the job). If they get paid monthly, schedule a couple of reminders on your phone or PC and make that the topmost priority of that day.
4. Pay them above minimum – You can use their hourly rates to calculate their monthly salary or to get a rough idea of how much to pay for each task. But always add something extra on top, because some people have to work harder (and longer) to get the same stuff done. Besides, if their rates are low, their work is good and they get everything done on time, then wouldn’t it be worth the extra money to keep them around?
Also, consider the fact going through another cycle of assessing applications and retraining those new hires is not only costly, but also very time consuming and stressful.
5. Give them Bonuses, Praise, Paid leave and Regular pay raises –
One thing that makes us all wanna stay or not stay with a Boss, is the Company Culture. The better we feel about ourselves and the more we feel like we’re learning and growing in that environment, the more we’ll want to stick around (just like in any relationship).
So, surprise them with a nice Bonus at the end of the year. Thank them every opportunity that you get and give them a quick thank you note when you’re paying them at the end of the month. Wouldn’t YOU feel awesome if your Boss/former Boss just said “Thank you. We really appreciate all the great work you’re doing. You’re a real asset to this Company” every time you got paid?
And, don’t forget to give them a pay raise and an increase in their “paid leave” every 3-6 months. It lets them know that they’ll be better off next year than they were this year.
6. Provide them with all the training they need beforehand – As I mentioned earlier, all of my all my assignments come with Walkthrough videos. But I also add in other helpful resources to help them along.
7. Monitor them closely for a week or two – Any new undertaking, takes a while to adjust to. That’s the same for anyone. But, if they’re still struggling after the first couple of weeks and after you had provided them with absolutely everything you need, then move on and find someone else
8. Hire a reliable Virtual Assistant, who has knowledge of ALL of the job roles for your team and have him/her oversee their tasks and deadlines. Obviously, your VA would need to the most competent and the nicest person of the bunch unless you don’t mind losing a few of your eyebrows with each passing day
9. Replace people who make “costly mistakes” – Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. But if they’re too frequent and affect your bottom line in some way, then it’s just not worth the hassle.
