Who is Business SOS

Our goal is to create a more profitable and less stressful business. Sounds good doesn't it?

Outsourcing is the act of contracting out business tasks to a VA for completion.

Outsourcing is a way for business owners, like you, to:

- Get more done in your business.
- Save time and money.
- And more...

Part 1: The Benefits of Outsourcing - Why Do It?
Part 2: Outsourcing to get Up and Running
Part 3: Outsourcing to Generate Traffic
Part 4: What's Outsourcing Going to Cost Me?
Part 5: But, I Can't Afford to Outsource
Part 6: Paying a VA
Part 7: Finding the Right Person for the Job
Part 8: Don't Outsource Just for the Sake of Outsourcing
Part 9: Outsourcing Review

There's a common misconception about outsourcing that needs to be cleared up while we're on the subject. Many think that outsourcing involves sending work to people in other countries who work for pennies and perform the work below standard. That's not what we're talking about here. There are proven ways to outsource work to professional VA's in their respective fields, and they will work to give you above par results - wherever they live.

There are a variety of tasks that you can outsource in your online business. Think about everything you do in your business. Do you handle it all yourself?

If so, you're working yourself way too hard. Or as Rich Scheifren says "You're working for a lunatic".

Stop spinning your wheels and stop living for your business. If you're feeling overworked and underpaid, then you need to sit down with your boss (yourself) and give yourself a good talking to.

Believe it or not, those who do every single thing in their business are actually stalling their business from growing. It's time to create a lucrative business without working yourself so hard.

Just a moment ago we determined what outsourcing is (and even what it's not). Now, let's go over five of the many benefits of outsourcing in your business.

- You'll get more accomplished.
- You can save time.
- Something we all want -- save money.
- You'll be able to focus on your strengths as a business owner.
- And, most importantly, you'll grow your business.

Now, let's look at each of these benefits a bit more in depth.

First (this one is pretty obvious) by outsourcing you will get more done in your business.

Let's face it, there are only 24 hours in a day, but when you enlist the help of a VA you can actually add hours to your day. Yes, we've now figured out how to add more time to your day. (shhh%u2026 don't tell your competition)

That brings me to the next benefit of outsourcing. You can save time by outsourcing in your business. You'll not only save time just by getting more done with the help of a VA, but also because you aren't wasting your valuable time learning how to tackle tasks that you don't have to do.

Think about that for a minute, is there something you need to do in your business but you have to take the time to learn how to do it before you can implement it? Instead of spending hours learning something you may only use once or twice in your business, let a VA do it who already knows how.

Now the next benefit is saving money. Now, you might be wondering how paying a VA to do something for you equates to saving money, but trust me it does. In the long run, your time is valuable. Let's say you value your time at $50 an hour, and it will take you 2 hours to complete a task, but you could hire a VA from around $20 an hour to do the same task in half the time, you've just saved yourself $80.

Another way that you can save money when outsourcing is by buying less software. For instance, if you outsource your graphics, you no longer need to purchase a high-end graphics program.

Outsource your book-keeping and suddenly you don't need to buy Quickbooks or MS Accounting.

The fourth benefit we are going to discuss is focus. By outsourcing tasks in your business, you will be able to then focus on the activities you are best at. Is there one aspect of your business that you excel at? Focus your efforts where they are most beneficial to your business and get help with the other areas.

Our final benefit is directly involved in the growth and profitability of your business. If there is an area of your business that you lack strength in or don't enjoy doing - you'll tend to put it off, even if you know it needs to be done. Instead, hire a VA who specializes in that area and let their light shine. This will bring more to the table when it comes to your business that might not have otherwise been there before they joined your team.

One of the most common outsourcing questions asked by those interested in it is, "What can I outsource?"

As an online business owner, there are a multitude of tasks that can be outsourced - and keep in mind, each business is different. Today let's talk about tasks that get and keep your business "Up & Running" which can easily be outsourced to a VA.

Here are just a few:

- Website Design & Maintenance
- Graphic Design
- Customer Service
- Content Creation
- Blog Installation
- Newsletter Creation
- Shopping Cart Installation & Set Up

These are only a few of the activities that can be outsourced to a VA so that you can concentrate on other areas of your business. In order to determine which things you might be able to outsource to keep your business running smoothly, make a list of the tasks that you do every day that eat up your time.

One of the most popular tasks to outsource is customer service. It can be a very liberating feeling to be able to get away from your business and know that everything is running smoothly. After all, you started your business to live a certain lifestyle, not to feel trapped to your PC every second of every day. So, make this happen.

If you're just beginning a project, make a list of all the jobs that will need to be done in order to launch it, and then choose from them which things you will choose to do and which you will outsource to a VA.

Here we're going to discuss more jobs that you can outsource in your online business, but this time we're going to focus on traffic generating ideas.

The following are some tasks that are typically outsourced by business owners in order to increase traffic to their websites.

- Article Writing & Submission
- Forum & Social Networking Site Posting
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- Press Releases Writing & Submission
- Setting Up a PPC (pay per click) Campaign

All of the above tasks help to generate traffic to your websites. Just because they are traffic getters doesn't mean you have to do them yourself. There are VA's who specialize in the tasks above because they enjoy doing them and understand how to make them effective.

Let's take SEO as an example. This particular task involves having a lot of knowledge about search engines and how they work. It's a constantly changing field. Because of this, you probably don't have the time to spend studying the latest information, but that doesn't mean that no one else does. There are VA's who make it their business to do just this. So, delegate tasks like this to them and save yourself a lot of time, sweat and heartache.

What methods do you use to generate traffic to your website? Could you save time by outsourcing some of the tasks to a VA who does it on a daily basis in order to get the most from your efforts?

When it comes to outsourcing, probably the most asked question is "How much is it going to cost?" While it's impossible to give you an exact amount that getting help in your business will cost, it is possible to give you an idea.

First, know that every single business is different when it comes to the costs associated with outsourcing. Due to the fact that not every business owner will use the same services, need the same amount of help or require the same tasks - there is no set price for outsourcing.

There are however, generally two types of costs involved with outsourcing, and depending on the type of work completed and the level of expertise of your Virtual Assistant, you may find yourself paying one or maybe even both of the following ways.

Hourly - Usually, a VA charges an hourly rate for their services.

Set Fee - Normally when you get into things like web design, graphics work, and the more specialized services, a VA will bill you a set fee for work performed.
As for an actual amount per hour, this too will vary with experience and skill set, but to give you a ballpark idea; you can find VA's who charge from $10 per hour all the way up to $60 an hour.

A third type of fee is percentage based. This can usually be negotiated once you've begun to trust a VA and worked closely with them for a period of time. Also, you've got to have an established successful business or a proven track record in order to attract a VA to this type of arrangement.

Before you even begin to outsource anything, you'll need to determine how much you can afford to pay and then go from there. Even baby steps are progress.

If I had a pound (or dollar) for every time I heard someone say, "But I can't afford to outsource." I'd be rich.

My reply to this question is always "Yes, you can. What you can't afford to do is NOT outsource or to outsource ineffectively."

Even if you start out small there are ways you can start to relieve the overload you are feeling from doing everything in your business yourself. There is no magic amount of money or number of tasks or projects one must outsource in order to feel some relief. Even if you only outsource the writing of one article or blog post each month, you're freeing up your own time.

You have to figure out what takes up the most of your time which is not productive, pass it on to a VA, and then focus on tasks that will make you money.

Some people will tell you to outsource those things you hate doing in your business. I agree with this to some extent, but not entirely, and we'll talk about that later in this course. But what I do agree with is that if you are doing something that needs to be done in order for your business to grow - and it's taking you forever to do it, when it would take a VA half the time, then yes, absolutely outsource it. There are also other ways to outsource work without having to pay a dime.

A short while back we discussed how a VA may charge you when you outsource tasks to them. Some choose hourly while others charge a set fee for their services. No matter which way is used, there is still the question of how you actually get the money to them.

Since most of the help you will receive in your business will be conducted via the Internet, the question of how you'll pay for the services is a frequent one. There are a few ways that a VA may require payment from their clients.

Here are the most requested ones:

- PayPal
- Check or Money Order
- Credit Card
- Bank Transfer

The majority of VA's with online businesses conduct their billing via the help of PayPal, and you'll see that sending payment is as easy as clicking a button in your own PayPal account. They will invoice you via their account and you'll simply click the "Pay" button next to their invoice.

PayPal is usually the preferred method, especially if you hire a VA.

Where can I find a Virtual Assistant who is qualified to help me?

Here are a few places to look for help:

Google - You can easily search for a VA to help you with a specific task, or you can even search the words "virtual assistant".

Recommendations - Ask mentors, partners, and others in your line of work who they recommend from their own experience.

Word of Mouth - As you're talking with other like-minded business owners, take note when they talk about VA's they've used in their own business. If someone has had a bad experience with a VA, it's almost certain that you're going to hear about it, and if you do, you can make a mental note to never contact that person in the future.

Virtual Assistant Directories - There are several websites online that list VA's via directories or forums. Take the time to find the perfect person for the job that you need done.

Remember when I told you that I didn't completely agree with those who say that you should outsource everything that you hate doing? Well now we're going to talk about why that is. We'll also cover the cases when you shouldn't outsource at all.

Yes, I know that sounds a bit contradictory when I told you that you can't afford to not outsource, but let me explain.

It seems that everyone is talking about outsourcing these days, but that doesn't mean that you should jump on the outsourcing bandwagon just for the sake of being able to say that you have a Virtual Assistant.

When you start considering outsourcing in your business, just as with anything else you do, you can't just wing it. You must have a plan of action and then outsource for maximum effectiveness.

For instance, if there is something in your business that isn't making you money and you give it to a VA to complete - knowing that there are no real benefits to doing it, then maybe it's not the right thing to be outsourcing.

Instead, evaluate your business. Maybe that particular task or project needs to be canned altogether. If so, don't outsource it just to keep from doing it on the hope that someday it will make money for you.

On the flipside of that, if you've got a money-maker on your hands but don't have the time to devote to it for it to make the money, definitely get a VA to help with it. There's nothing worse than sitting idle on a money-machine that you can't make money with due to inactivity.

Another common mistake that I see people make is to outsource a task that could be automated instead.

So, from this essential e-Guide/Course to Hiring a VA, if you remember nothing else, remember this...

Always have a plan.

We've come to the end of this Essential e-Guide to Hiring a VA, and I hope that you've learned some new things. Let's recap what we've learned.

What Outsourcing Really Is - A means to getting more done and growing your business without overworking yourself.

Benefits - There are a huge number of reasons outsourcing makes sense, and the benefits of doing it efficiently are endless in terms of business growth.

What Types of Tasks to Outsource - From getting started to traffic generating tasks, you're now armed with a list of things you can get help with.

Costs & Paying a VA - Every business is different; therefore costs and how you pay your help will also be different, so chose the method that fits best with your business, your budget, and your personality.

Don't Just Do It - Outsourcing should be done with a plan in mind, along with a clear list of benefits outlined beforehand. Always take your outsourcing initiative from a well thought out plan.

DISCLAIMER: All information is intended for your general knowledge only. Use of the tips regarding outsourcing to build your business is at your own risk. We do not suggest or guarantee any income will be made from your own business from what you read in this guide. Whether or not you make any income will depend on your own experience, time put in on your business and the amount of effort you put forth to building your own business. I make no warranty, express or implied, regarding your individual results.