The $26.78 decision
And why I still haven't hired a virtual assistant
A friend messaged me the other day after watching my three-part masterclass on how I run my business. Her message was, essentially, “What! I can’t believe you don’t have a VA (Virtual Assistant)!”
Actually, a few people were surprised to hear that, seven years in, I don’t have someone helping me with admin, inboxes, scheduling and content.
“You could do so much more if you had one,” she said.
Hmm…Maybe I could do so much more?
But more what? More posts, more comments (which means replying to all the comments), more tasks that need more checking and more “quick Looms” explaining how I like things done?
Omg, I’m tired just typing that.
Maybe I’m in my lazy era?
The trap of “you could do so much more”
There’s a strong narrative in business that growth = success.
Right now I’m in a sweet spot. I don’t have hundreds of clients moving through a complex machine at once. I can keep track of where everything’s up to - I use Google Calendar as my task manager and daily hand-written index cards to manage tasks. It’s not a perfect process but it works for me.
When I say I don’t have an assistant, people sometimes hear “I do everything myself” but that’s not the case.
I do outsource - just not always inside the business
I’ve worked with Jan (who I think is the world’s best Zoom producer) for seven years. He takes the cognitive load off me when I’m hosting webinars.
When I need specialist help, I bring in a contractor with specific expertise, who can hit the ground running, for example, I’ve hired an event specialist to help out with my event, Con Con in a couple of weeks.
If you believe that work and life aren’t separate (the “one life” idea my Talk the Walk co-host Alan Weiss talks about), then yes, I outsource quite a bit.
Here’s what I’d rather spend money on than a virtual assistant:
A cleaner who visits regularly
A landscaper for the edges and hedges
A round of drinks for my friends
Today? I paid $26.78 to an Uber Courier driver to collect a personalised slogan t-shirt I’d had printed last minute for a photo shoot tomorrow.
Do I feel a flicker of guilt using a delivery service for that? A little bit.
Then I remembered that driving across town, finding parking, waiting around and driving back would have swallowed the exact window I needed to fit in some exercise today.
I’d rather hand off jobs around the house, or pay someone to run an errand, than pay someone to do work I can easily do myself.
Maybe I’m a control freak because I don’t have an assistant? I mean, I am a Virgo. My friend Sarah was shocked when I told her over lunch that I’ve never used cruise control while driving..!
Ask what help you need (not who you should hire)
There’s an assumption that the first hire should be someone inside the business, when often the smarter move is to outsource your life admin, or to really ask yourself this question - What help do you actually need?
If you lead a team, you might find a similar trap. Someone resigns, and the reflex is to repost the same job description that afternoon. Before you backfill on autopilot, sit with it for a day.
What result did that role actually deliver, and is an identical replacement the best way to get it?
(Also, side note: If I was in charge of a company, instead of offering someone more pay that is taxed at a higher rate to incentivise them; I would actually just pay a cleaning company to service my employees’ homes. Who doesn’t want that? What a total perk!).
Whether you run a tiny operation or a team, here are a few questions worth asking:
Where are you doing things just because “that’s what we’ve always done”?
What process are you feeding that no longer earns its keep?
What result are your clients really buying from you?
If this gave you something to think about, share it with a friend who's designing their own version of success.
Also, what are you up to Friday night?
Our full feature documentary from Nepal, Get Out Of Your Way is now available to stream. Stay in and tune in to watch me at my worst!
Tap the heart 💙 if this message helped and let me know in the comments - What do you outsource?
🌴
Leanne “Lazy Era” Hughes
p.s. A big announcement next week about my next book, including how you can be involved and a slightly delusional challenge I’m setting myself.
p.p.s. Alan Weiss and I are back for the next Talk the Walk on LinkedIn Live and YouTube today (4 June 5pm ET / 5 June 7am). The topic: How to use words to increase your value, demand and influence.