Episode 38: Delegate to scale your business with kristy yoder
Kristy Yoder, founder of Smart VAs and podcast host of Delegate Your Way to Success, was born and raised in the Philippines and has a mission to help her fellow Philipino citizens. She started freelancing as a Virtual Assistant when she knew she was going to move to the United States to get married. She soon felt the calling to grow her business and now has a team of over thirty virtual assistants.
How Do We Know It’s Time to Delegate?
Not enjoying a task is not enough to delegate as we all have to do things we don’t enjoy sometimes. But there are times when it makes sense to delegate:
If you are wanting to expand your business and yet are saying No to opportunities.
Ask yourself if what you’re doing right now is getting you closer to your business goals.
Are you missing priceless time with your family and friends?
Is your company prepared to stay afloat (and grow) even in your absence? What if you get sick or just want to go on a vacation?
“You should hire a Virtual Assistant or delegate when you are saying ‘No’ to a lot of opportunities and if you have a dream to grow and expand your business.”
- Kristy yoder
What Are Skills to Look For in a Virtual Assistant?
Virtual Assistant is a broad term and there are many specialties under this umbrella.
Skilled in the area of specialty where you need help.
Management skills - they should be able to help you outside of their specialty area.
Highly reliable - within a virtual world, someone could just disappear so you need a reliable person.
Excellent communication skills.
Proactive - sometimes we miss a detail and your VA should have the ability to ask for what they need or find it themselves.
Resourceful - you want someone who will attempt to find answers on their own before going to their team leader. Google and YouTube have a lot of answers!
Trustworthy - take time in the first few weeks to work with your new VA to observe how they handle situations. People will tell and show you a lot if you pay attention!
Ability to work unsupervised - they were hired because you don’t have time to micromanage.
Ability to add value to your business - an ideal VA will give you ideas and recommendations to improve processes or grow your business.
“80% of what you do as a business owner should be delegated and 20% of your time should be saved for growth, and for innovation, and for strategic thinking.”
-Kristy yoder
How To Prepare to Delegate Tasks
First, ask yourself if you have a vision and goal for your business. You must have a plan in order to have a successful business. Plan how will achieve your goals by breaking your goals into smaller SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely)
Make a detailed inventory of tasks and classify them under categories of Growth or Daily Operations.
Determine the time each task will take so you can delegate them wisely. Growth tasks will take longer than daily tasks.
Quadrant of Delegation - fill in your tasks into these quadrants:
Quadrant One - you are good at these tasks and enjoy doing them. Do these tasks most of the time.
Quadrant Two - you are not good at these tasks, but you do enjoy doing them. Delegate these tasks 90% of the time.
Quadrant Three - you are good at these tasks but do not enjoy them. Delegate these tasks 90% of the time.
Quadrant Four - you are not good at these tasks and do not enjoy them. Delegate these tasks whenever possible.
Preparation Steps For Delegating
If you have been in business for well over a year and are not delegating tasks, ask yourself these questions:
Do you feel if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself?
Do you measure productivity by the number of tasks you can juggle at a time?
Do you view delegating as a personal failure of your ability to do that task?
Do you doubt others’ ability to do the task correctly?
If what you are currently doing is helping you get closer to your goals and dreams without delegating, then keep going. But most of the time, a business owner cannot do everything and delegating would help you achieve your long-term or larger goals. Hiring a Virtual Assistant is not an expense, it’s an investment. About 80% of your business should be delegated and 20% should be strategic thinking, innovation, and growth.
Top Three Tools for Day to Day Business
Automate your business so that it works for you, even when you’re not working!
Dubsado - CRM (customer relationship management) tool for building relationships, scheduling appointments, and creating workflows to streamline projects.
Zapier - automation for connecting web apps.
Slack - an essential business communication platform.
CONNECT WITH KRISTY
https://smartvirtualassistants.com/
https://www.instagram.com/kristyabbyyoder/
Download this free e-book that Kristy offers “Smart Delegation: A Fresh Take” - https://smartvirtualassistants.com/freebies