Guest Post by: Karen Wessels, co-founder and COO of VA Connect
Delegating tasks to a VA will ensure start up success
What is one of the many traits of a highly successful business person?
Having the power to let go!
That’s right, I know that delegating is an art and it is a skill that you need to develop and hone.
When was the last time you found yourself overwhelmed by your to-do list, wishing you had more time and flexibility in the day? Well you do when you delegate.
Delegate to a VA
Ask your Virtual Assistant to help you with this next task (there you go, delegating already!) Write down every task you do each day for just a week. Then colour code them according to task priority and skill requirement. For example, look at your list at the end of the week and mark in green the tasks only you can do (or a professional like a Web Developer, or Business Strategist).
Then mark the tasks in blue that you can keep doing for now, however will eventually handover to a Virtual Assistant. Everything else on the list you can most definitely outsource to your VA right now!
So, how do you delegate these tasks?
Here are some guidelines on how to do this in an effective way.
1. Learn to let go
There’s a saying that goes “If you want something done well, do it yourself”, which of course goes against the grain of delegating. If you want to grow in your business and scale your start up, you need to un-learn being a control freak or micromanager. Delegate a little at a time. That’s a good start. Your VA will grow with your start up.
2. Give clear job instructions
Make sure your Virtual Assistant has all the information she needs to complete the job to spec. Confirm that she understands the importance of the task, the deadline for completion, and the format in which it should be returned to you. In this way you eliminate any confusion and make sure that there’s no delay in delivery.
3. Trust the person to whom you delegate
Along with trust, you need to give your VA the space to do the job her way. More times than not your Virtual Assistant will astound you with her knowledge and execution of the task, and more than likely will exceed your expectations.
4. Always say thank you
Once the task has been handed back to you, be sure to thank your VA so that she knows her efforts haven’t gone unrecognized. A VA is an extension of your team and should be treated as such. Treated well, she’ll make sure you won’t have to worry about the smaller tasks ever again!
All start ups started off as a one-man show and developed and grew into a stable and profitable business. How? By delegating tasks that might have impeded the Founder’s development and growth.
Become a successful start up and learn to delegate effectively!
Karen Wessels is the co-founder and COO of VA Connect, a South African virtual assistant platform that provides outsourced administrative support. Prior to establishing VA Connect, Karen spent over 10 years in different sales, marketing & admin support roles. Having worked with MDs, SMEs and professionals, she is very familiar with managing different workloads within tight deadlines. This has equipped her with the invaluable skills required to run a successful VA business. Follow Karen on Twitter | Facebook | Google+