Mail Call Monday: How Does a Perfectionist Let Go and Start Outsourcing?

Welcome to a new series here on Tishia Saves Time – Mail Call Monday. Every Monday I will be answering questions submitted to me about working with a virtual assistant, transcription, eBook formatting, etc. I would love it if you would submit a question. In exchange for your question you will receive a link back to your site when I use it. Please fill out the contact form here, put Monday Mail Call in the subject line and your question in the ‘your message’ box (don’t forget to put a link to your site in there as well!).

So, let’s get right to it with today’s question.

Tishia,

I’m kind of a perfectionist and like things done a certain way in my business.  I really want to start outsourcing, though.  Can you give me some tips on letting go and letting a VA handle some of my tasks?

Kim,
Dramatic Design

What a great question Kim! First, let me start by saying that I think this is normal and something that we all suffer from. It’s only natural for you to be a bit of a perfectionist. After all this is your business, your name/brand/reputation being ‘put out there’ so it’s normal to want only the best work out there representing you.

Now, with that being said, there comes a point where you just have to let go and as Nike says ‘Just Do It’. I’ve worked with clients like this in the past and we always start with something small like article marketing. The reason I suggest a small task like article marketing is because it’s probably one of the easiest projects to outsource. You provide the article(s) and let the VA do the submission. You can’t control the submission process meaning you have no control over the rules of the article directories and the things they accept (no HTML, some HTML, etc). So, there’s nothing there for you to be a ‘perfectionist’ about.

You can also create a QRG (quick reference guide) of how you do something in your business for a VA to follow. It’s pretty hard for someone to mess things up when they’re following step-by-step instructions. Another tip is have a phone meeting and make sure the VA understands exactly what you want. It will put you at ease being able to talk to them so there’s no misunderstanding that could happen in an email. And with web conference rooms and screen sharing, you can expand on that phone meeting and show exactly what you want done.

Thanks again for submitting your question Kim. I hope this helped and you’re ready to outsource now with a small project like article marketing I mentioned. Take baby steps, but the most important thing is that you at least take a step and do something!

Tishia

PS. Please feel free to contact me for a free consultation on how I can help you with your outsourcing needs! I would love to talk to you.