PPB April 2020

V irtual assistants have literally changed my life, but it wasn’t easy to make the change. I used to spend late nights working on client projects and early mornings too stressed to breathe. Frankly, I was burning myself out and didn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. A few years ago, I changedmy business model from employee- based to virtual assistant-based, and I couldn’t be happier. What Is A Virtual Assistant? Virtual assistants (VAs) are people who essentially work as freelancers within your business. Like entrepreneurs, VAs choose who they work with, the type of work they do and when and where they work. Virtual assistants are self-starters who have successfully escaped the 9-to-5 grind without the risk that comes with entrepreneurship. It’s important tomake the mindset shift of viewing virtual assistants as people. I know it sounds ridiculous to restate that VAs are people, but the truth is I’ve seen somany business owners fail at working with VAs because they didn’t treat them as people—myself included. Before I “cracked the code” on how best to work with VAs, I’d see a username and a task that needed to be done, but I never took the initiative to get to know the VAs I was bringing onmy team. There are two ways to work with VAs. The first is you can hire them for small tasks here and there with no long-termplan. Clone Yourself Work less and make more with virtual assistants. First in a two-part series by Sam Kabert 38 | APRIL 2020 | GROW