Hey gang, Maddy Shine here, host of Visibility Talks where women come to learn how to be more visible with their businesses and lives. 

I’m delighted episode 1 went down so well, thank you so much. It’s always a bit nerve wracking making a change, isn’t it? It would seem that the reboot of Visibility Talks has hit a good spot, I am delighted to hear it thank you so much for all your messages and please do keep telling me what you love to hear about and what Strokes it chord with you I mean it come and send me a DM on Instagram or send me an email.

Today we are talking about outsourcing we’re talking about knowing when to outsource we’re going to be talking about my experience of outsourcing work and the trials and tribulations thereof and we’re going to be talking about my recent hunt for a replacement VA after I lost my VA after six years.

Why is it a good idea to start outsourcing?

• You do not need to personally do every task in your business to be successful / feel validated
• Everyone wants more time but what will you do with it?
• Recognise your expectations of yourself

Outsourcing is beneficial in so many ways:

• You can get time back in your day to day work
• You can fill gaps in your own skills (we cannot know everything to a high standard!)
• You can save money by hiring people who do this for a business instead of full time staff
• You benefit from them working for others as you share the skillsets + lessons learned
• You get to mop up the holes you’ve inevitably created in your business
• You can help prevent yourself from burning out
• You’re not limiting yourself
• You make the business more flexible

When is a good time to start outsourcing?

• No need to wait for specific revenue or time in your business
• Do consider your capacity for training them up 
• Do consider what you need to focus on and how outsourcing will help you
• Do consider how asking support is not weak or a sign of failure but actually needed for you to grow

Where do you start with outsourcing?

• Focus on your strengths
• Get support for your weak spots
• What kind of return would you see on your investment?
• What other benefits would you gain from hiring support?
• Are you doing this for vanity or to actually push your business forward?
• Outsourcing will not provide the motivation or enthusiasm for you to succeed in what you want to achieve, only you can.

My experience of hunting for a new assistant

Recently I spoke to 17 different people who applied to be my new VA. None of them had the right qualifications with the software I use for the budget I had available, so I decided to bring it inhouse and do it myself for the summer. Doing this has massively helped me understand where there was extra weight in the admin processes I had set up and also what’s actually needed in the business. The summer period tends to be quieter for me, but also with my neurospicy brain and my need for changing things at the last minute, it helped me become massively aware of what was necessary and what’s simply nice to have.

Four key things I’ve learned from outsourcing:

• Get clear on what you want from the experience and don’t be afraid to communicate that. If you’re vague then you’re going to be disappointed.
• Get clear on what the outcome of the project is. Quite often I was so excited to dive into a research project where I didn’t know what would happen and the person I outsourced to wasn’t so keen to come on that journey, or if they were, they weren’t going to match my enthusiasm because I was lets face it the lead.
• Always hire for a test project and see how you go. Err on the side of caution.
• Be kind with yourself. You’ve never done this before.

Thanks for listening!

Please do hit the subscribe button, share this episode with your pals, tag me on Instagram if you enjoyed it – maddy.shine. If you want to find out more about working with me then do check out my website maddyshine.co.uk.

And I’ll see you next time!

Maddy x

I so appreciate you listening and supporting the Visibility Talks podcast. If you enjoy this episode, please do share the link with your pals

I would be so grateful if you would take a moment to rate the show and leave a review here. They help a LOT when it comes to reaching other fabulous people like you and I read every review that comes through, so thank you!

And of course, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode!

Thank you and love,

Favourite