Overwhelmed with Outsourcing?

Transcript

I want you to imagine you have a bright-eyed, eager, super sharp college student who’s going to be your intern for the next 3. This kid is passionate, they’re 100% on board with your mission and they admire the work you’ve done so far with your business.

They’re arriving at your office today. And yes, I mean your current office, even if it’s just a teeny desk in the corner of your kitchen. And you’re going to have to give them SOMETHING to keep them occupied for an hour. Otherwise you’re paying them to sit there and be on their phone.

So, what are you gonna give them?

This is Compassionate Side Hustle Strategy, hosted by me, Rochelle Sanchez. I help solopreneurs like you build good habits and compassionate systems that allow you to show up consistently and authentically in your business.

The end goal is to help you onboard a virtual assistant who is 100% aligned with your mission and within your budget, but there are a few things you should probably get in place first, right? That's why we're here.

You deserve to do what you love for a living. And I believe that you're closer than you think. So clear your schedule and let's get to work on the next best step for you on your business journey.

Maybe you’re at that point where you realized you need some help, you’ve already decided to hire an assistant, and now that you know that that’s the next step you’re feeling overwhelmed.

And I get it, because I’ve worked with all kinds of solopreneurs from the ones who were either super ready to throw down the cash and get lots of help to the ones that were still, admittedly, penny pinching and nervous.

And aside from the money issue, there’s the idea of “What do I give a virtual assistant?”

“I know I need help but I don’t know what kind or where to find someone!”

And now you just feel overwhelmed.

Well the good news…

is that once you’ve overcome the mindset barriers of believing that you should just hustle and put in the effort and hours yourself instead of paying someone else do the things that you could do yourself for quote unquote, “free,” the rest is simply focusing on systems.

Seeing things as checklists, knowing what’s on your list and what’s on theirs, and if they’re not a good fit for your brand and your personality then you have the option to train them or just end the contract and find someone else.

However, if you’re really overwhelmed, like you’re thinking, “Rochelle, I can’t even, I’m not there yet,” then I thought it would be a good idea to record some encouraging advice for you.

This episode lays out some options for you, when it comes to approaching outsourcing when you just feel overwhelmed about the whole thing.

So let’s get into that overwhelm you’re feeling.

My first, TOP tip for being in this tricky situation is to:

Pause.

Breathe.

Take it slow.

Just give yourself a moment, basically.

Because it’s easy to go into hustle mode when we start thinking about scaling our businesses. That’s what we’re taught in the entrepreneur industry. Gotta make it happen, gotta stay focused, gotta grind.

There’s just SO much to do, which is why you’re looking to outsource in the first place.

You’re being smart about this and not going nose-to-the-grindstone, and you’re being strategic by bringing in some help, which you’re going to need, eventually.

You’re being strategic about where your energy and time is going.

You’re also being smart about your money by not investing too much at once if you’re still getting all your systems together.

So there’s a lot to do, and a lot of questions that need answering, that may or may not be related to giving some of your workload over to a virtual assistant.

If you don’t have an easy, quick answer to your own question of what to outsource first, then self-compassion is what I always recommend starting with.

Just…

Acknowledge that you have a lot going on.

Is there a way you can hype yourself up or congratulate yourself on being serious about taking your business to the next level?

Maybe it means gathering up your business plans, marketing plans, vision board, and all your other inspirational materials to help keep you in high spirits.

Or maybe you could share it in a community, like a Facebook group or the online community that came with a course you bought, and just let yourself have a moment of vulnerability with people you trust.

And then once you feel a little more grounded, here are some options to consider.

Now keep in mind that all of these are options, so just pick ONE.

Don’t go all honor student perfectionist on me and try to do more, because remember, we’re learning how to do LESS by ourselves.

That’s the whole idea with outsourcing.

Option 1 is to do the thing that’s on your mind

If there’s a particular task that you think really needs to be outsourced first, then don’t overthink it. Trust yourself and focus on how you can let that task go so you can concentrate on what really matters.

I have a resource list for this, if you’re drawing a blank. It’s called 15 Tasks to Outsource and Save 15 Hours with Your First Virtual Assistant.

I really packed that PDF with a lot more than I probably should have, but that’s a me-problem I guess. You can go grab that guide for free over at rochellesanchez dot come slash 15 tasks. That’s the number 1 5 and then T-A-S-K-S. If you grab that, then go with what stood out to you from the PDF.

Remember, there’s a lot of value in not overthinking this! Pick a task, set your monthly budget, and then go and find someone who’s willing to do it for you.

Option 2 is to consider: What would an intern do?

If you just can’t make up your mind or Google gave you too many options to consider, then this is a good exercise for figuring out what your first outsourcing task should be.

I want you to imagine you have a bright-eyed, eager, super sharp college student who’s going to be your intern for the next 3 months. This kid is passionate, they’re 100% on board with your mission and they admire the work you’ve done so far with your business.

They’re arriving at your office today. And yes, I mean your current office, even if it’s just a teeny desk in the corner of your kitchen. And you’re going to have to give them SOMETHING to keep them occupied for an hour. Otherwise you’re paying them to sit there and be on their phone.

So, what would you give them?

I want you to write down 3 options, and then use one of them as your first task to outsource. It really is that simple.

Also, and this is a side note — this is not really how internships work, and I wanna acknowledge that no one should have an intern just to help with the business. Internships are intended to provide valuable experience for the intern, not to get free or cheap labor from students. Just wanted to bring that up in case there’s any confusion. This is just a hypothetical example for how you can decide what tasks can be done by someone other than you. Okay? Just wanted to slip that in there.

So again, Option 1 was to just outsource the first thing that comes to mind, option 2 was to imagine an intern coming to help you today and you have to decide what to give them…

And finally, option 3 is my typical advice for someone in your situation: Just outsource the uploading.

Outsourcing the uploading of your social media content will feel silly (after all, you can do it yourself in a few minutes, right?). But it will get you thinking of yourself as part of a team instead of doing everything on your own.

You really don’t need to be the one resetting your password, uploading the file, going back to Canva and re-saving it if it’s in the wrong format, and all that.

Yes, it’s easy, and that’s probably why you’re doing it yourself. But the point of outsourcing is to help you scale.

If all your creative energy simply goes into the creative branding process (the brand messaging, the core message that makes people feel certain that you’re the person they should hire), if you focus on that and someone else handles the administrative mouse clicking, then you can stay in your genius zone and continue creating. You can stay in that creative CEO seat.

Outsourcing the uploading also adds an element of accountability to your process.

That means no more “making it up on the spot” or “whenever I find time” or “Oh I need to post something today.”

It cements your time blocking and planning into place because you really are going to get yourself ahead of schedule and not fall victim to worrying about algorithms and trends.

Now, you’ll have to make time for creating. You’ll batch out content, save it to a folder, and then tell your VA it’s ready. And if it’s not ready, they’re going to ask you about it until it is, assuming you set responsibility with them.

And at that point you’re paying them to check in on you and keep you to your word that you’d get ahead of schedule and stay ahead of schedule.

When your money is going toward someone asking you if you did what you say you’d do every single week until you do it? Things get efficient really quickly. And that’s great news for you.

I know it sounds easy and obvious, but outsourcing the repetitive uploading will free up creative space in your brain to do more of what will move the needle in your business. It really is as simple as that.

So there are your options! Again, to recap, pick ONE of the three:

Option 1 was to just go with your gut based on what you learn from my free guide. Remember it’s called 15 Tasks to Outsource and Save 15 Hours with Your First Virtual Assistant and you can grab it at rochelle sanchez dot com slash 15 tasks.

Option 2 was to imagine a bright eyed, ambitious, super sharp college intern who’s going to show up at your office today and go with whatever you’d give them to do.

And Option 3 was to outsource the uploading, and maybe even bake a bit of accountability in there, too, where you give them permission to clock in and ask you where the stuff is if you don’t send it to them in advance.

I hope you found that helpful! I’m glad you’re taking those important steps to build your team, even if they’re teeny, baby steps.

All of your progress matters, and it’s important to stay consistent so you can reap the benefits of all your hard work.

I’m still rooting for you over here! Reach out if you need a strategic brain like mine to help you with this stuff.

Take care, and I’ll see you next time.

Compassionate Side Hustle Strategy is sponsored by Gentle Momentum.

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To learn more, visit Rochelle Sanchez dot com and click on the "Work with me" button.