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quiet quitting

The Truth About Quiet Quitting: A Guide for Leaders

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You’ve probably heard about this “quiet quitting” phenomenon. Well guess what; it’s not a phenomenon, in fact, it’s a very real and valid practice that has been around for ages. A lot of business owners and managers are very opinionated about this hot topic right now because they see it as another example of new generations becoming lazy. They see a growing desire by certain demographics to simply work less but still earn more. After extensive research into this very timely topic, we’ve come to the conclusion that many leaders need to look inside their organization more honestly and critically before they start pointing fingers. Because if you’re doing your part as a great leader, then “quiet quitting” won’t be a concern for you. So let’s talk about what exactly quiet quitting is, and what you can do as a leader to stay immune to it.

What is Quiet Quitting?

It’s the act of doing the bare minimum work, as is required by your contractual obligations. No more, but no less either. It’s people doing what they were hired to do, setting healthy workplace boundaries, and refusing to be exploited for free extra labor. We don’t see anything wrong with that. Would you hustle extra hard and go above and beyond for an employer that wasn’t fairly compensating you or even respecting you? I’m sure you wouldn’t. But as a business owner, you want that hustle mentality. And that’s fair! Because you hustled already and probably continue to hustle. Your business is your baby and you want your employees to spoil it. But to expect that, you have to make your employees feel like it’s their baby too. 

Quiet quitting isn’t even an original thing, beholden to current generations. Nor is it exclusively American. Its roots are grounded in early unions when workers were tired of being overworked and underpaid. They called it “work to rule” back then, and it meant the exact same thing as quiet quitting: doing only the work required per your contract, and not accepting extra work without equal compensation. Wage theft was a very real concern, and unfortunately still is for many professionals. Quiet quitting became a trending practice in China before it hit the states, but over there it’s referred to as “laying flat”. China is known for its strict and demanding work culture, so it’s no surprise they’re also seeing growing efforts from the working class to create more healthy work-life balances. And US employers should follow suit.

What can YOU do?

Hire a virtual assistant or two. Adding a virtual assistant will fill in the gaps on your team and bring that ideal work-life balance into your business. This has the added benefit of boosting productivity for your existing on-shore team. You can maintain high productivity and the outward appearance of hustling your butts off, without actually burning out your people. It’s a win/win business model. (If you want to learn even more about the “hybrid business model”, follow THIS LINK.) With a virtual assistant or two supporting your local employees, you can get the same extra effort from them without the risk of pushing people away. Show them how much you care, and they’ll show you how much they care.

Here are three steps you can take right now, that will help you minimize turnover and increase productivity and overall quality of performance. 

3 Tips for Getting Started

  • Review your local team’s workload, set a clear understanding of goals and KPIs, and then ask them what would make their work-life better. Besides just a raise. Although with how much you’ll save using our model, you’ll be able to give them that too.
  • Delegate duties according to their job descriptions and expertise. Determine what your people are good at, not-so-good at, and what can be done remotely.
  • Offer them our Virtual Assistant services. Make clear that you want them to focus on what they like doing and are good at while delegating everything else to a proven professional from our pool.

You may think you don’t have any work for a virtual assistant, you may even think your local staff is perfectly happy and not quietly slipping away. But you could be very wrong, and not know it until it’s too late. We have remote working professionals with experience and talent in virtually every field; from customer service and administrative assistance to marketing and even sales. By outsourcing as much of the busy work and filler tasks as possible, you empower your local talent professionally. And without any sacrifice to the amount of work that gets done or the quality. 

4 Ways We Work for You

Here are some key and relevant points that highlight why and how our service is such a good fit for organizations right now.

  1. No language barrier. We outsource our professionals to the Philippines, one of the most English-speaking nations in the world. Our assistants are already experienced, trained, and often educated in the fields we assign them. Our assistants often become welcomed members of the teams where they work, fitting right into your culture and vision.
  2. Nothing to fear. Just because they’re across an ocean doesn’t mean you can’t keep an eye on them. With our proprietary MyTimeIn software, every client can keep close track of their assistant, making sure they stay on task and are always available. From GPS location to screenshots and time-tracking, they might as well be across the hall.
  3. Perfect talent matching. Our assistants can work their nights for your days, or their days for your nights. Allowing you to get exactly what you want to be done, when you want it done. You tell us what you need, we give you multiple professionals to choose from. They’re hungry for work and opportunity and pledge their loyalty to any business they’re assigned. Just like they were a local hire. 
  4. Zero controversies, 100% evergreen. Now more than ever, companies are expected to do right by their employees, as standards rise. Our assistants are compensated competitively, and above their region’s average. We handle benefits, PTO, and insurance. You just pay one flat monthly rate, which equals less than you’d pay for the same work from a local hire. We also contribute portions of our revenue to global outreach programs via our own non-profit, MOD Movement. Choosing us for your hiring needs truly is a win/win for everyone involved.

The Bottom Line

We can’t expect excellence unless we’re willing to be excellent ourselves. This trend of quiet quitting has been around a long time, it just has a new hip title. Americans have been reducing their efforts at jobs they don’t feel deserves them, and making light of it for decades. Remember “Office Space”? So many of the cubicle life tropes in that film are still relevant today. Like your boss coming up to you on a Friday to ask for help with something over the weekend. Employees should be comfortable and safe saying “no, thanks”. It’s important that professionals have adequate time to decompress, unwind, and wash their hands of the stresses of work. It all serves to bring a more healthy-minded and motivated employee back to the office, first thing Monday.

Happy Worker, Happy Boss

We’re sure you’re a wonderful leader, and your employees are happy to work hard for you. But if the state of our world is any indication, expect the unexpected. Always stay one step ahead if you hope to survive during these unprecedented times. You can do so by hiring a virtual assistant to support your valuable local workers. Give them the breathing room they need to truly excel at what you hired them for. Because a truly great professional doesn’t need to extend themselves beyond the borders of their hired position to stand out. They just need support, respect, and fair compensation. We can help you give them that. Use the button below to request a brief but informative demo. We’d love to discuss your thoughts on this, as well as how we may be able to help you professionally. (Also, free book when you sign up below!)

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The Content Loop – Your Guide to Digital Marketing

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Content marketing is a commitment, not a campaign. It’s important to remember that when you’re ramping up your marketing efforts, specifically for social media. A campaign is like a pre-packaged product that you launch and then monitor the results. Content marketing is something you must commit to doing consistently, across all appropriate channels, and you don’t stop. Unlike campaigns, which stop before the next separate campaign begins, content marketing doesn’t. It evolves and grows over time, be that new content or repurposing existing content. Furthermore, it’s not always the same content even when it’s published at the same time. It should vary slightly depending on which platform it’s posted to, keeping in mind that particular audience. It’s complex, but it’s not complicated.

“Content Marketing is a commitment, not a campaign.” ~ Jon Buscall, Head of Moondog Marketing

The Formula for Successful ROI

Good content marketing builds relationships, and relationships are built on trust. And trust drives revenue. Producing consistently great content = greater trust = greater ROI. The formula is that simple, but the practice of doing so isn’t always. That’s why we’re taking the time in this article to share our guidelines for effective content marketing. For example, did you know that not all of your content should be an attempt to sell your product/service? That’s right; you don’t like being constantly sold to, and no one else does either. No matter how great your product is. “Content marketing is really like a first date. If all you do is talk about yourself, there won’t be a second date.” Words of wisdom from David Beebe, former head of content at Marriott. As a provider of virtual assistants with broad professional expertise, including marketing, we’re happy to share the knowledge. Read on for helpful tips, best practices, and a valuable infographic to save for your own future reference. 

Why Content Marketing is Important

  1. Educate your audience, prospects, and leads about the product and/or service you offer.
  2. Build healthy relationships between your customers and business, which result in increased brand loyalty.
  3. Demonstrate to your audience how your product/service solves their problem or challenges. 
  4. Create a sense of community and authenticity around your brand.
  5. Boost your conversions.

Types of Content Marketing

Social Media Marketing

There are over 3.6 million global social media users. It’s a no-brainer nowadays, that social media is where any reputable business should be very active. But it’s important to remember that each platform has different user demographics. So while your message should always be consistent, your voice should adjust accordingly across platforms. 

Infographics

Infographics are awesome because they display content, information, and data in an easy-to-understand visual format. They are the perfect method of distilling an educational or complex topic down so all audiences can understand it.

Blogs

Blogs are powerful inbound content. You shouldn’t expect strong ROI on blogs though, as they tend to be better used as a means of supporting your other content. They are great opportunities to be more creative and experimental in their purpose and chosen topics. Having guest writers(or guests writing yourself on someone else’s blog) is a great way to increase exposure.

Podcasts

A 2020 survey found that 49% of 12-32 year-olds in the US listened to a podcast within the past month of being surveyed, with an average of six listening hours per week. People like consuming content while they multitask, like driving, exercising or working. Podcasts are perfect for that, and also allow more creativity and guest opportunities, much like blogs.

Video Content

According to this study, 69% of consumers prefer to learn about a product or service through videos. Like podcasts, they can be put on while someone multitasks, or can be short but sweet pieces of value on someone’s timeline. Use popular songs, feature experts, show off your culture, and highlight customer journeys. 

Paid Advertising

The classic practice of paying for advertising is timeless for a reason. It helps you reach a broad audience and position yourself in all of the places you want to be seen. Paid ads can be especially beneficial when paired with inbound marketing efforts. Just make sure that what you pay to boost is proven content, sent to the right audience.

The Content Loop

Below you’ll see our own Content Loop infographic. Our marketing team uses this graphic as a visual aide for remembering the content process. If you’re following the correct content marketing path, it should lead you through all types of content marketing. Furthermore, it should lead you back to step one eventually. Remember; effective content marketing isn’t a single step; it’s a series of steps. Let’s walk those steps together, shall we?

content loop

Step 1

Produce engaging content. The first step in this loop is to actually create the content, after deciding what it’ll be about. For example; a video interview with one of your happy clients. They talk about their customer journey that led to your product, what the onboarding process was like, and how satisfied they are with the experience so far. Maybe they even give you some stats as a testament to how your product/service has solved a problem or improved things for them. The video can then be used by your copywriter to craft a case study or blog post about this client. The audio from the video can be repurposed as a podcast, as well.

Step 2

Craft social media posts. This is where you pull apart everything you produced in step one and prepare to spread it out across platforms. Cut snippets of the video out into bite-sized teasers, highlighting an interesting quote or stat the client gave. A snippet from the Podcast can be played over a graphic image. The case study/blog should be posted on places like LinkedIn and Facebook, and sometimes Twitter. So you’ll need to craft captions/messaging to accompany this content when it’s ready to be posted. It’s also nice to have a highlight pinned to your Instagram where you can post relevant images/clips accompanied by links to written content.

Step 3

Upload the finished full piece of content. This is when you are ready to share with the world the finished product. Upload the full interview video to YouTube/Vimeo and then share a link to it on Facebook, LinkedIn, and your Google Business page. Then post the snippets to Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. These teases should also include links to the full video, should viewers want to see more. The snippets can also become evergreen content that you can repurpose or re-post at will, in the future. 

Step 4

Craft emails around the content you created. Now that you’ve spread this content in various forms across all of your social media channels, you want to spread the word to those on your email lists. Have your copywriter create short but sweet emails about the topic from your previous content. Maybe include a screenshot or a gif, along with a link to said content and an enticing CTA. These emails should be tweaked to accommodate both cold and warm leads, providing enough value to tease and entice a clickthrough. 

Step 5

Lastly, compile this content into something downloadable. This could be an infographic/brochure of some kind, that presents the information from your video/blog in an easy-to-digest format for reading. Or if someone in the video outlined a strategy or guide of some kind, you can present that as its own value-add for easy downloading and sharing. And at the least, convert the video into an audio interview for users to download and listen to later. You can almost always find some form of value in your media content that can be turned into a downloadable freebie.

Attack of the Content Machine

That content loop guide is your plan of attack, in the social media content wars. With that infographic above you now know what to create, how to create it, and what to do with it. Then it’s just up to your social media managers, sales reps, and even internal employees to help spread that content like wildfire. Encourage employees to like and share your content. Give it all to your sales reps so that they can utilize it to hook leads. All the while your marketing team tracks the results and reports back accordingly. Because you cannot forget the analytical side of this. It’s imperative that you keep track of things like post engagement, shares, opens, and clickthroughs. Determining what content performs the best, and when/where it does so, will help you shape future content to be even more effective. Don’t just ship it and forget it. 

Content is a hot word these days, as everyone from billionaire CEOs to TikTok entrepreneurs is capitalizing on the opportunity. You don’t have to be the first, you just have to be one of the best. And doing so is a full-time job in itself. That’s where an assistant becomes invaluable. We at MyOutDesk are always adding virtual professionals with marketing experience to our pool of available assistants. So if you ever need help producing content, or at least just utilizing and tracking it, you can’t do any better than a dedicated social media virtual assistant. Use the link below to request a demo. We’ll answer any questions you have, and make it perfectly clear how valuable we can be to you.

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

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6 stages

The 6 Stages to 7 Figures: Business Roadmap

There are six stages that lead to a seven-figure business. MyOutDesk was built on the principles of this notion, by our CEO Daniel Ramsey. He created this roadmap years ago and has adhered to it ever since, and to great success. In this article, we’re going to go over what exactly each of the six stages is, and encourage you to find your place on the roadmap. Then you’ll look at the steps directly behind you and the next step ahead, and confirm that this is the work you need to do. It’s important to find ways to understand where everyone fits, why they fit there, and where you fit among them. That’s why I believe this guide and infographic are invaluable to anyone trying to grow their business, big or small.

The hardest part of being an entrepreneur is that there isn’t a known path. And the moment you learn something, you are instantly elevated into another level of the “game of business”.  Imagine the moment you get comfortable with the game, you elevate to another level and the rules are different and the competition is more difficult. This is when a lot of “gamers” will seek out a guide to help them progress. Well, for business owners like yourself, this is that guide. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of which stage your business is at. And how to level up to the next stage! Let’s get started!

six stages

Click Image to Enlarge

This graphic is a handy way to understand the different stages of business at a glance. Right click and save it! Because once you’ve read the more in-depth analysis below, you’ll want to share this with others eventually. And what better way than to send them a quick infographic to summarize something you already know all about? 

Table of contents

  1. “I do It”
    1. Micro Business
    2. Entrepreneur
  2. “We do it”
    1. Managing Leader
    2. Business Owner
  3. “They do it”
    1. CEO
    2. Visionary Leader
  4. Conclusion

“I Do It”

Every two stages of this six-stage model fit into a category that reflects how the bulk of your work is done. When your business is in its infancy you are going to be doing a lot of the work yourself, of course. The first category is the “I do it” category and is denoted specifically by learning. In the beginning, you are learning the market, your client’s preferences, how to charge, and what’s required to win.  This is where Stages 1 and 2 reside; the “I do it” category. Both are solo stages, hence the name. 

micro business

Stage 1: Micro Business

This is where you find new and existing business owners that are seeking consistency and growth. They’re just getting started, but already they’re committed to finding a better way of solving a problem. Being a successful, value-added business professional is their career goal. The micro business is a solo operation with one person behind the wheel. The challenge of this stage is that you have to wear all of the hats. The beauty of this stage is that typically you’re highly compensated for your time and you can move through situations without the friction of other people in your business. Their gross revenue is around $0-60K. The challenges this solo operation typically faces are very different from the later stages. Understanding how money is made in your new venture and exactly how to spend that money to make more money is the first and most obvious challenge. But your revenue is followed closely by more personal challenges since it’s just you running the operation. 

Stage 1 Challenges

As the sole employee of a microbusiness startup, most challenges you face will be personal to you. Things like your knowledge of the market, keeping yourself accountable, keeping yourself motivated, learning effective sales skills, coming up with a strategy, and honing those people skills. And the overarching challenge is simply your mindset. How you approach this journey mentally plays a major role in the success and failures every entrepreneur experiences at this early stage. It can be easy to succumb to your own doubts and fears at this stage, which is why mentality is so important here.

Stage 1 Success

A stage 1 business owner knows they’ve “made it” when they obtain certain realizations. You’ll notice one day that you’ve successfully tapped into your own sphere of influence. You’ve established your expertise and knowledge of your product and the market it serves; those are your core drivers. Conquering stage one feels like peace of mind because at that point you should have the clarity and mindset necessary to be successful in your specific business. You’re still adrift at sea among giants, but you’re not in your head about it anymore. You’re confident that you’re still headed in the right direction because you’re making the right decisions. 

How To Level Up

To advance your business onto stage two, stay focused on those core drivers; your expertise and knowledge. Here you’re in market, research, and education mode. There can be a lot of fear and uncertainty in this stage, so you have to overcome that noise before you can graduate to the next stage. Leverage what you know about the product you provide and the market you serve it to, in order to convey your added value. If you hope to make it past stage one then you need to establish yourself as an expert, as a trusted and reputable provider of whatever product or service you offer. You can do so by tapping into your customer base and finding out what they like about you over the other guys and highlighting that to potential customers. Stay on top of the market you serve and offer added value that the other guys aren’t. Surprise and delight!

entrepreneur

Stage 2: Entrepreneur

The second stage is still under the “I do it” category, and it’s the professional entrepreneur. Similar to the micro business model that’s also run by one person, except this stage has mastered the solo act. They’re comfortable and confident with their business strategy and direction but are seeking something more rewarding. They are pursuing a true career with sustainable growth, and overall better quality of life. Think of them less as the underdog now, and more so as the lone wolf. Their gross revenue is about $60-105K. They’ve just barely hit the 6-figure mark.

Stage 2 Challenges

The challenges facing a stage two business are mostly the same as stage one faces. Except for things like knowledge of the business and its market, personal accountability, and motivation. Those things are typically overcome by a business coming out of stage one, as they’ve learned their industry thoroughly, often through trial and error. They’ve also learned to self-motivate and hold themselves accountable, likely encouraged by the taste of success they’ve had so far. You’re no longer at the mercy of outside forces, you’re now in control of where you’re headed. You may be trudging along slowly, occasionally feeling stuck, but you have the experience and confidence to push on. You have your sights set on what lays ahead and that’s where you’re going.

Stage 2 Success

The “I’ve made it” for stage 2 comes from the realization that you can successfully articulate your differentiated value proposition. You can convey this expertise and knowledge of your product and its value, to the very marketplace you serve. Making it easier to set appointments and win new business with relative ease. Your core drivers at this stage are your people skills and your sales skills. Both of which you’ve honed to near perfection, and use to leverage your outbound efforts. Confidence is the name of the game for a stage two entrepreneur.

How To Level Up

To advance your business onto stage three you need to remember those core drivers; people skills and sales skills. The two are not the same! By establishing strong people skills, you can open the door for more leads. Remember the human, appeal to their pain points by offering solutions, empathize with their struggles, and share your own story. Give them something they can relate to. Then, once they’re a warm lead, turn on the sales skills. You have to be able to convey the value of your product and what differentiates it from the competition. It’s not all about the customer though; to conquer this stage and move up you must be good at the b2b side as well. Build healthy relationships with vendors, and establish ongoing partnerships with 3rd party technology and marketing. Learning how to consistently get what you want and need through other people is key to leveling up to the next stage.

“We do it”

The second category of this roadmap contains stages three and four. We refer to it as the “We do it” category because these stages are when you’re on a team. You’re no long roughing it on your own, desperate to break through into the realm of success. And you’re no longer some cowboy running it all yourself. You’ve passed the six-figure revenue and are now working as a team to stay in that revenue range, while gradually increasing it too. In these next two stages, you’re still getting your hands dirty, but you’re not going at it alone anymore.

managing leader

Stage 3: Managing Leader

At stage three you’re bringing on help from those equipped to support your efforts, rather than doing it all yourself. As a managing leader in this stage, you’re a business professional, and you’re committed to doing the work required to establish your eventual independence and ongoing success. Here you’re working on the business just as much as in the business. It can often feel like ripping a person in two, so be prepared to be stretched thin. You likely have 1-2 employees under you at this stage, but they’ll require your newfound leadership to best support you. These employees you’ve added feel more like partners in your mission, and as such, they should be familiar with your vision and confident in your ability to reach it. A stage 3 business has a gross revenue of about $105-330K. You’re learning the art of lead generation now. Things are going well for them as they hover comfortably in that early 6-figure range, but they’re still a ways from million-dollar revenue. The core drivers at this stage are your lead generation success, and the leverage you have to achieve your goals.

Stage 3 Challenges

Once you’ve earned the title of Managing Leader at stage three, your challenges become a bit more complex. You’ve achieved great things already, but now you’re trying to keep them going in an efficient manner. Things like your revenue and the quality of lead generation need to be healthy and consistent. At this stage you’re not going at it alone anymore, so you may struggle with time management. Picking what your team should own versus what you should personally focus on may involve some trial and error as you get used to your new processes. This includes your management of the people you now have on your side. With a small team trying to execute in a big way, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks or get kicked down the road. Holding everyone, including yourself, accountable is imperative at this stage. As is establishing effective systems and processes. Find the right software and tools, create a process that works, and stick to it. New hires that inevitably join the team will need to not only know what to do but why they are doing it.

Stage 3 Success

At this stage, you’ll know how successful you are when you review your monthly revenue. If you’re generating a consistent cash flow that is highly profitable, you’re solid. You should have essentially mastered your management of dollar productive activities and the people who run them, by now. One way of looking at it is, that at this stage you should be able to comfortably continue at this level of success indefinitely with low stress. It’s smooth sailing for you at stage three. But only if you’re aspirations have leveled out. Which they haven’t if you’re aiming for that seven-figure revenue. So even though things are going smoothly right now and you feel like you’ve gotten a hang of your small but successful team, you should still be punching up at any opportunity.

How to Level Up

Your core drivers at stage three are your lead generation, and whatever leverage you hold. These will be your keys to advancing your business onto stage four. As you achieve a steady flow of lead generation, your team will be able to leverage what makes your product and your customer experience so great to close those deals. So right now it’s imperative that your lead generation be steady and healthy, and your sales team has enough ammo to really seal the deal. Do you offer 24/7 tech support, and the other competition doesn’t? Make that very known. Use examples of how the customer could be in a bind if something inevitably goes wrong under the other business, and how it would never be an issue with yours. If your marketing is on point then the leads should be coming in with more questions than answers. That’s when the sales team can leverage their knowledge to close all of those incoming deals efficiently. 

business owner

Stage 4: Business Owner

The last stage under the “We do it” category is referred to as the Business Owner. This is where you’ve become a truly successful business-owning professional. You still remain committed to getting the most out of your choice to have an independent business of your own, by continuing to build your team. A stage four business owner is competent with leveraging their own time and the time of their team, along with all relevant finances, to get the greatest return for their efforts. They typically have 3-8 employees and at stage four they are earning $330K-$1M. That’s right; a top producing stage four business could already be at 7-figures, but just barely. There’s still work to be done to go far enough into the 7-figure range that you can comfortably stay there, but you’re close now.

Stage 4 Challenges

Stage four is where the challenges begin to match your revenue, in that they’ve continued to grow and become more complex. Making the right hiring decisions, and efficiently delegating work are pain points that need to be handled regularly. Building the right team is still of the utmost importance here, as you’re still building the foundation of the people that will hopefully stick with your vision for years to come. Don’t poison the well, so to speak. Marketing also becomes very important here, as you struggle to attract and not chase. Stage four needs to stand out in the competition and portray enough value to improve your leads with less effort to find them. You are also looking for ways to diversify your revenue streams, so as to expand and make your company more future-proof. Lastly, with all of this success and potentially a million in revenue, it’ll be hard to successfully manage a healthy work/life balance. Don’t get caught up in the rat race, learn when to step back and let your trusted team keep things moving while you enjoy this life you’ve made for yourself.

Stage 4 Success

Stage four knows they’ve hit a successful chapter of their business once they’ve shifted from chasing leads to attracting them. The work you do speaks for itself in some cases, and thus gets the attention of people looking at you to solve a problem for them, or just sell them the product they want. At this stage, your existing customers will be doing some of the marketing for you, by spreading the word. You’ve amassed good reviews, and a positive reputation in your community and your market. Word of mouth is its own free advertising for a stage four that’s doing things right. You also have at least five predictable revenue pillars in your business, with key hires placed appropriately to manage them. The core drivers here are the systems you have in place(software, teams, leadership, vendors, etc) and your time management skills.

How to Level Up

Advancing onto stage five of course relies on those core drivers we mentioned; systems and time management. You can have the best product around, generating a constant flow of warm leads; but none of that will matter if you don’t have the systems in place to manage it all. And on top of that, the time to build it all and maintain it. That doesn’t mean staying late every night and working your weekends, however. The more you suffer to do your job, the more your job will suffer. Once you’ve mastered your own time management, and are able to implement and oversee effective and efficient processes(ones that save time and money), you’ll be well on your way to stage five.

“They Do It”

Finally, we enter the third and final category, “They Do It”. As you can imagine, we call it that because this is where more of your daily duties are shared with other team members. It’s these two final levels of business ownership where you as the leader are now doing more managing than you ever have. You’re not as involved in the daily grind, the nitty gritty, or the frontlines of customer service. You’re beginning to focus more on the higher level, big dollar-producing moves that only upper management should be focused on. While delegating more to your trusted team, and overseeing the progress and results.

ceo

Stage 5: The CEO

You’ve now entered the fifth stage, referred to simply as “The CEO”. Stages five, and six falls under the “they do it” category because it is here that businesses rely much less on the actions of the owner. Their time on the front lines, in the trenches, is behind them for the most part. Of course, it’s always encouraged that a CEO still get their hands dirty sometimes, as that’s part of connecting with your people and instilling confidence and respect. But the ultimate goal for any business owner, besides making tons of money, is to eventually become self-driving. That’s why the CEO is committed to leading and building a permanent business. One that delivers a consistent value-added client experience, provides sustainable long-term success, and overall increases their quality of life. It is at this stage that a business is making at least a million, as the revenue for stage five is $1M-2.5M, with a team of 9-11 professionals.

Stage 5 Challenges

The name of the game at stage five is “conquering the chaos”. When your business is this big and you’re more hands-off, most of your biggest challenges will be regarding the people you’ve selected to run it. At times it will feel chaotic and like you can’t be everywhere at once. You’ll have to give up the control freak in you and trust that the processes you have in place, and the people you’ve selected to operate them, can execute them on their own. A stage five business can live or die on its leadership, so selecting the right people to manage your teams is imperative. Just like managing your public relations; it will be a challenge to find your company voice and how to make it consistent across different platforms. Establishing your brand in a client community, as well as your internal culture, won’t be easy. But successfully juggling all of these is the mark of a business that’s on its way to stage six.

Stage 5 Success

You’re almost to the top of the food chain. You’ve built a business that has a clearly articulated vision, both for your employees and the community you serve. You’ve recruited the right kind of leaders to share your vision and delegate duties appropriately to support it across departments. Everyone at your business is aligned with your core values and uses them to hold each other accountable. Just like you have from the very start. Your systems and processes run like a well-oiled machine that can operate with or without your involvement. The client experience is in good hands, as goals and objectives are set and achieved daily, weekly, and monthly. All of this points directly to your two core drivers in this stage; your strategy and your leadership.

How to Level Up

You’re almost to the final stage six. To cross that line with your business you’ve got to keep those two core drivers in mind; strategy and leadership. Now that you’re in the final stages of this business model, all of those employees will be looking to you for high-quality leadership. Remember, you’re not stepping away just because you’ve got more help now. You should still be heavily involved; in measuring and calculating. You just won’t be getting your hands quite as dirty on the frontlines as you used to. Since you’re in the “they do it” stages by now, it’s important that you make the right leadership decisions. This is so that the people operating the day-to-day work stay motivated and confident. Properly delegate tasks to the right people, check in on them regularly, foster a positive workplace culture, and keep your eye on the prize. The strategy you’ve adopted by stage five should be so fine-tuned by the lessons you’ve learned, that it’s evergreen now. Step away, and trust that your business is a machine fueled by experience, passion, and innovation. 

visionary leader

Stage 6: Visionary Leader 

This is the final stage of the “they do it” category, and of the entire Six Stages to a Seven Figures Business roadmap. The person behind a stage six business is a world-class professional, who’s met and exceeded their initial income and success goals. Yet they continue to seek new challenges and opportunities, in an effort to improve all areas of the business and their life. The company runs efficiently and effectively completely on its own, under the guidance of a proven team of leaders running their respective teams. But keep in mind, that you still aren’t fully stepping away from everything. It’s just a different kind of work for you, now. This stage has 12 or more employees and generates $2.5M+ annually. This is when you start offering 401k’s, establish multiple departments with different leadership, and executives to oversee those depts. You should have at least 1-2 “lifers” by now; employees with a strong understanding of your vision and a dedication to see it through. At this final stage, you’ve built a nearly self-sufficient company that can provide wealth and prosperity for generations to come, under your delicate guidance. 

Stage 6 Challenges

The challenges that face stage six aren’t much different from those of stage five. Maintaining a consistently successful business model and the desired profitability will always be a challenge. As will be maintaining a healthy client community, fueled by reliable leadership aligned with your company vision. Leadership is reading the room. You should be recognizing when the people working for you are crushing it, and when something has them distracted. And then act appropriately in either case. If your employees truly believe in your vision and feel connected to its success, they will be your biggest advocates. The positive and productive workplace culture you cultivate will show in your product, your marketing, and your community. It won’t ever be easy to keep all of these perfectly balanced, but with the success and establishment that comes with stage six, you have the time and resources to achieve it. 

Stage 6 Success

A business owner in this final stage will know they’d made it because they have very little involvement in the day-to-day operations. And yet, it continues to generate goal-achieving profits as a debt-free business. The CEO even collects a salary from the profits of this business; finally getting paid handsomely to watch their creation thrive. At this final stage, you should understand your financial and business model clearly. Clearly enough that you can articulate it to the people running the daily business with ease and confidence. The final, and persistent core drivers for a stage six business should be your vision, and the stability to reach it. 

Conclusion

There you have it; the Daniel Ramsey “Six Stages to a Seven Figure Business” roadmap. After taking it all in, which stage does your business fit into? Did you notice you’re experiencing the same struggles? Or perhaps this guide helped you realize that you have in fact made it and that it’s time to think about the next stage. Of course, there will always be exceptions and gray areas, this may not be a one-size-fits-all guide. But it should at the least provide you with a good idea of where your business stands among the rest. As well as give you a bit of insight into what you should and shouldn’t be focusing on. 

In our experience at MyOutDesk, we’ve found that businesses benefit from examining this guide in conjunction with employing one or more of our virtual assistants. Because outsourcing specific tasks that can be done remotely helps businesses save so much time and money. And the more time and money you have to spare, the easier it is to step back and look at your business model to see what’s working and what isn’t. Not to mention the relocation of resources benefit that comes with having more time and money. So if you have any questions about this roadmap or our virtual professional services, please use the link below to request a Q&A session with one of our experts. No obligations, no pressure; just your questions and our answers.

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jingle

The MyOutDesk Jingle Contest – Winners Announced

jingle – noun

[a short verse or song marked by catchy repetition]

Did you know that approximately 563 Kit Kat fingers are consumed every second? In 1986, junior copywriter Ken Shuldman wrote a catchy jingle for Kit Kat, which became a global phenomenon. That’s all I had to say and you’re already hearing that “give me a break..” tune in your head, aren’t you? A catchy song for your product, as cheesy as they often can be, do wonders for your advertising. Heck, it probably should be a little cheesy! People tend to remember songs that make them laugh or shake their heads, just as much as if it made them tap their feet.  If you can manage to pull off all of that, then that’s lightening in a bottle. It’s your brand and it’s now stuck in their head. You know it’s effective advertising when someone only needs to hear the opening line of the jingle before the product name pops up in their mind. And brand recognition like that is invaluable. 

Jingle All The Way

We may not be a delicious chocolate treat, but we still thought it’d be fun to come up with a little jingle of our own. But rather than commission a songwriter to draft something up, we decided to give the song a bit more authenticity. So we decided to tap into the massive pool of talent we already have! We created an internal contest among our thousands of virtual assistants in the Philippines, challenging them to come up with a little MyOutDesk jingle of their own. Because who better to sing about our great service than the people who make it great? We sent out a contest announcement, with a short list of guidelines to ensure the submitted songs would be on brand and shareable, of course. We offered a cash prize to the top three winners, plus a bonus surprise award for a fourth participant. 

The Winners

3rd runner-up:

Kam Arriesgado crushed it on vocals and guitar, creating a sweet rock-n-roll jam. Watch/listen to the song HERE!

2nd runner-up:

Gabriel Dela Plaza had us head-banging at our desk with this awesome, almost heavy metal song. Watch/listen to the song HERE!

1st runner-up:

Daisy Umambong knocked it out of the park with this beautiful ballad! Watch/listen to the song HERE!

FIRST PLACE WINNER 

Queenie Dublin! She secured the top prize by submitting this impressively crafted song, accompanied by a killer music video that looks straight off of MTV! Be warned; it is very catchy! So if you listen, you might be humming it all day. Check it out below!

Fan Favorite

As mentioned before, we included a bonus winner. The number of likes on Facebook determined this bonus winner. This award went to… Queenie Dublin! She really left her mark when she shared this absolute banger with the virtual assistant community on Facebook. Congrats, Queenie! See you at the VMA’s next year!

The Best of the Best

As you can see, here at MyOutDesk we have some very talented professionals! Not only can they tackle just about any remote task you challenge them with, but they can create and perform real, good music! It goes to show that we don’t just hire based on what we see on paper; anyone can have years of experience, a laundry list of certifications, and a degree. While we of course value all of those things very highly(because after all, we are providing reliable professionals), we also look for strong personality and culture fit. It’s important that our virtual assistants be comfortable, confident, and human. They end up being just as much a part of your team as someone local, so it’s imperative they fit in. And who doesn’t want an experienced inside sales agent who can also perform a heavy metal ballad? 

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onboarding

Training Your Virtual Assistant – The First 90-Days Guide

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Every time a prospective client connects with us at MyOutDesk to learn more about virtual assistants, we always ask them several questions about their own business. This helps us not only get to know the people we may be doing business with, but it also helps determine how viable our service even is for them. One of the most important questions we ask is what their primary pain point currently is. What is the aspect of their business that they believe is the biggest obstacle to growth? A vast majority of them respond with the same answer; tired of wasting time and looking to save time instead. Additionally, the second most common responses say they want to grow revenue more efficiently. It makes sense that time and money are the top two pain points, because as the old saying goes; time is money. And that’s where we step in to save you both.

“We gave it a shot, and not long after doing so we were like well crap, that was easy!” – David Perry, Director of Finance at ‘A Better Contractor, LLC’

Time Travels

The time you invest in something now typically pays for itself in the long run. Provided you’re investing in the right things, of course. Like training someone to do a job. Psychologists have proved that it takes about 90 days to solidify a habit. And once that habit is formed, it’s easier to stick with it than it was to establish it. That’s why we at MyOutDesk take the onboarding and training process very seriously. Because when a business comes to us for help, they often needed that help yesterday. We’re experts at talent matching our available virtual assistants to the needs of every individual business. And that goes beyond their experience, skills, training, etc. It includes who they are as a person and a professional. Are they the right culture fit? The better a glove fits the first time, the faster you’ll break it in and become comfortable using it. And the faster those gloves become your favorite pair. That’s why we provide all the necessary tools and support to ensure the entire onboarding process for our clients is fast and easy, regardless of the role.

‘MyTimeIn’ – Exclusive to MyOutDesk

Before we dive into the first 90-days with your shiny new virtual assistant, we want to tell you how you’ll be keeping track of them. We have a proprietary application that all of our clients have access to, called MyTimeIn(see what we did there?). It’s kind of like a fitness tracker, except you’re tracking your virtual assistant. You can monitor their productivity via real-time updates, so you’re never in the dark about what your remote working employee is up to. You can also use it to access your assistant’s work history, manage email preferences and billing, and get support. Have you ever felt frustrated because you couldn’t get ahold of an employee who was working remotely? You never have problems like that with our virtual assistants. And no other service like ours provides any kind of MyTimeIn alternative. 

The First 90 Days

Training a new hire is an investment in them, as well as your business. You get out what you put in. That’s why at MyOutDesk we don’t mislead by making unrealistic promises of having someone up and running in just one week. No one worth your time and effort is completely autonomous in that short of time. Proper onboarding of a new employee will always require an adjustment period, whether they’re in the next room or across an ocean. The key is making sure that time is as effective and efficient as possible so that it’s not eventually wasted. Because then you’re back at square one, and probably in an even worse position by then. So, let’s go over the first 90 days with your virtual assistant. This won’t be a completely extensive deep dive, as we have training manuals that cover every single detail you need. Consider this a helpful overview, to give you an idea of how worthwhile this business model can be for you, especially if you follow our recommended onboarding guide.

“Once she learns the task you know that it’s done. You don’t have to think about it twice.” – Stephanie Masterson, president and chief sales consultant for The Raines Group / HER Realtors in Ohio

Days 1-30

The first 30 days with your new virtual assistant(s) should be basic training. Things like your market overview, the company vision as well as mission(those are two different things!), core values, and of course individual team introductions. It’s a good idea to schedule some shadowing sessions for your VA, with existing team members. This is immensely valuable when trying to instill a thorough understanding of what you all do, and what will be expected of your VA. Having clearly defined expectations from the start will go a long way towards getting your VA confident about the role ahead of them. Providing training materials that they can review at their leisure is also very helpful, so have training videos and/or documents ready for them.

The first month with your VA is a lot of introducing and learning. Here is a basic checklist of actions that should be taken during these crucial first 30 days.

  • Add your VA to relevant team meetings. Including them in higher-level meetings as a “fly on the wall” can be great for educational purposes initially.
  • Set them up with the software, applications, and tools your team uses. Anything relevant to their role should be ready for them to use so as to avoid speedbumps.
  • Create to-do lists for them, so as to track their training progress. Things like setting up their profile in your systems, adding calendars, and reading materials.
  • Set goals. These are different from to-do items because they aren’t simply something marked off a list. The first goals should be things like tasking with auditing an inbox and resolving a set number of inquiries.

Day 31-60

The second month is where things should tighten up, so to speak. Your VA should have a clear understanding of what their job will require, and a strong familiarity with the product/service they support. You’ll want to keep up to date with them, via regular meetings to touch base. They should have full access to everything they need by now, so they should be tackling tasks on their own confidently. They will have questions occasionally, so those 1-on-1 chats will be helpful for you both. It may still be a good idea to have them do roleplay scenarios with other members of their team if they are in a customer service role. This is also a crucial time to get to know your VA. You likely will have already had some friendly conversations before, but you need to maintain that connection as if they were any other usual hire locally. Here is a simplified checklist of what to remember and focus on during this second month.

  • Test your VA’s familiarity and confidence with your business, their role, and why it’s important to the bigger picture. This is where you solidify their basic training and plug any gaps.
  • Implement procedures and productivity tracking sheets. Your VA should be able to confidently handle the duties of their role, and overcome most basic objections on their own. Speedbumps do happen, so having procedure materials and a tracking sheet is imperative.
  • Get serious about time-blocking, and checking in regularly. Your VA should have a solid schedule for their day-to-do now, and that should include set times for checking in with each other. 
  • Get to know them on a personal level, just like any other employee. Who are they, outside of work? What are their career goals and life dreams? When you put your own heart into the people you lead, they’ll put their heart into the job they do for you.

Day 61-90

This is the home stretch, the final month of an employee’s crucial first 90-days. By now your VA should have an above-average understanding of the business you provide and the market you’re targeting. They are now well trained and tested, capable of diving into their role confidently and independently when necessary. Comfortable reaching out to their teammates and leaders when necessary, as well. Less supervision is required at this point. They are adept enough in their trained responsibilities that they can now expand beyond them and help with other tasks when needed. Meaning you can now experiment with your VA! Give them more challenging tasks, assign them a more difficult goal, and measure their success accordingly. Set editorial calendars, if they are helping with any marketing-related tasks. Here are some quick tips.

  • We recommend having at least bi-monthly meetings with the team your VA is a part of, as well as regular 1-on-1 sessions. Communication and understanding is key.
  • As training subsides, continue to invest in implanting your VA into your office culture. The more a part of your “work family” they feel, the greater the mutual success and growth.
  • Communication is the gateway to success with your VA. Be open and set clear expectations; your VA cannot help you win if they don’t know how to score.
  • Every MyOutDesk client is assigned a success coach, who can answer questions, address concerns, and provide any necessary support. Don’t forget about them!
  • You will have more free time than you’re used to! Take advantage of the extra breathing room to focus on high-value prospects and new projects.

Good Luck, Have Fun

And that is the first 90 days with your virtual assistant, in a nutshell. Again, we have free PDF training manuals that go much more in-depth, available for every client. And in future blogs we’ll be going over the first 90-day breakdowns just like this, but for more specific roles. Like marketing, inside sales, and service/support roles. By going along with at least most of our recommendations, you set up yourself and your virtual assistant for the greatest chance of success. We’ve been doing this for 15+ years, and have humbly learned a lot as we provided our service to thousands of clients. We know what you want and what you need, regardless if you have 10 employees or 1000. To summarize the above in an even easier to digest cheat-sheet, here are the absolute essentials to your first 90 days:

  • Invest the time, don’t get impatient. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Remember: you get out what you put in.
  • Communication is key. Don’t leave them working in a silo; encourage and foster an open door policy with your VA.
  • Set them up for success. They should have their log-ins and access to every system/tool/software necessary to do their job, as soon as possible. 
  • Use MyTimeIn! It’s the perfect tool for transparency and accountability.
  • Experiment! Once they’re up and running with their trained responsibilities, don’t be afraid to challenge them. Especially once you have perspective on their strengths and weaknesses.

Everyone Wins

So, what are you actually waiting for? If you are like a majority of our clients and seek to get more time back as well as increase revenue, then you’re in the right place. You just need to take one more baby step and talk to us about your individual needs and concerns. That’s why we have an open door for all curious business owners, to answer any questions you have via phone call with one of our experts. You can request a session with the link below. No obligations, no pressure, just knowledge. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Claim a free business strategy consult
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mod movement

MOD Movement: The Non-profit That Serves the World

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We recently had someone reach out to us, inquiring about what we do to support our valued employees overseas. Rather than take offense, we actually appreciated the voice of concern! As it gave us an opportunity to talk about something very dear to our hearts at MyOutDesk. A little something with a big impact we call MOD Movement. Being of service to those in need is a core value of ours. So it only made sense that we find a way to utilize our successful platform to expand how we serve. And what better way to give back than by helping underprivileged communities receive opportunities they might not have otherwise. Are you wondering how exactly a big business like ours achieves this, or maybe just why you should care? Read on to learn all about it in this informative case study.

What is MOD Movement

MOD Movement is a charity organization started by the generous employees of MyOutDesk in 2013. It’s a California-based nonprofit corporation made available to the public and backed personally by our CEO Daniel Ramsey. As a provider of the best virtual assistants for any company trying to scale up, serving others is ingrained in our business philosophy. It’s just part of who we are, which means it doesn’t stop at the product we offer. Our efforts to serve others extend beyond our 9-5 hours, beyond state lines, borders, and even oceans. That’s why in addition to 100% of all contributions going directly to our charitable missions, MyOutDesk matches all local donations. So even if you don’t donate directly, by hiring one of our virtual assistants you’re already making an impact on someone’s life. With 130 customers currently contributing, our ongoing mission to create an impact in the world is very much on track.

Your Donation

We offer two different ways to contribute to our charity; single donations or monthly. And all contributions are completely tax-deductible. Tax-exempt 501c3 status has been approved for MOD Movement since March of 2018, and donors can deduct contributions under IRC Section 170. Every project we channel our contributions to is verified and disclosed publicly. We also measure a project’s success by the number of lives impacted. Because the two highest priorities associated with MOD Movement are: transparency with our customers about what the money is being used for, as well as the level of impact the chosen project has. We even track and publicly report our hours of contribution each year. These assurances are why we’ve been so successful at rallying involvement from internal employees, vendors, clients, and our virtual assistants themselves.

What MOD Movement is doing

BoysTown Orphanage

The MOD Movement participates in an annual day of giving at the BoysTown orphanage, a non-profit organization in the Philippines. In 2016 for example, we brought in a carnival for the kids and food and supplies for all of the residents. MOD Movement also paid for renovations to their basketball court and new sports equipment. We continue to work with BoysTown eight years later, matching donations to improve the way of life for over 600 children and families. We have also focused efforts on expanding their senior living facility in Manila, Philippines. It is here that 40+ seniors are living in a tent with medical conditions. Donations to this charity will grant them new housing to keep them healthy and comfortable. And overall improve their basic quality of life. The planning phase for this ambitious project is underway right now.

boys town orphanage

The HOW Group

Our latest pursuit of community service is in partnership with The HOW Group charities organization. Its mission is to help families break the cycle of poverty and participate in the American dream via homeownership and financial freedom. We’re working with them right now to help fund the renovation and construction of eight homes in a West Philadelphia neighborhood. The HOW Group buys dilapidated homes in Philadelphia and then works with reputable contractors and vendors to renovate them. The homes are then sold to low-income families at 30% – 50% below market value, granting them instant equity and a strong foundation to start anew. Donations like ours from the MOD Movement charity make these housing projects not just possible, but necessary. Below is an example of a project house before and after a donation-funded renovation.

Below is an audio clip from a call with one of the families served by the HOW Group, as well as a before and after image of a house renovated by the charity. The positive impact on a family’s life by this organization is immeasurable, and we love having tangible proof like this.

Philadelphia homes

This program helped me improve my financial literacy, pay down my debts and qualify for a mortgage. I now have a mortgage that is less than my rent was, and am able to save extra money every month. I have dreamt of being a homeowner for many years because I wanted to show my children that if you work hard, you can accomplish your goal. We are forever grateful. – said by a homeowner served by the HOW Charity

Help Us Help Others

MyOutDesk is the leader in outsourcing for virtual assistants, and a lot of our success has to do with core values. Having a servant’s heart is such a big part of who we are, and it shows in how we service our clients. As well as how we embrace and support our remote working professionals all the way in the Philippines. We are in a unique position to spread our desire to serve outside of our industry. Be that building homes in another state or building communities in another country. Our 2022 goal is to reach half a million dollars in community impact, and so far thanks to generous volunteers we are on track. If you’d like to speak directly to one of our experts you can request a consultation via the link below. We’d be happy to discuss our mission and how helping your business grow with virtual assistants contributes to that mission. Thanks for reading, and if you click that donation button, thank you for that too. 

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virtual receptionist

Virtual Receptionist: Do I need one? How do I train them?

When your existing or potential customers reach out to your business, who is their usual point of first contact? Say they want to schedule an appointment, inquire about a job opening, or request to speak with someone specific; who’s filtering them accordingly? Any business that wants to be taken seriously needs some form of a receptionist on the frontline. Even if you’re not quite busy enough to really need one, having one can be extremely beneficial. In addition to helping you respond faster and stay more organized, it also helps with the perception of your business. And remember; perception is reality. If you want people to think of your business as successful and serious then you need to look like you are. 

An easy way that a business at any stage can flex that receptionist muscle is by hiring someone remote for the position. Why not try a MyOutDesk Virtual Receptionist? They’ve become increasingly popular among companies just getting started, as well as established companies trying to be more efficient and cost-effective. Those just happen to be two things we specialize in at MyOutDesk. 

What’s In This Article…

Virtual Receptionist vs. In Person Receptionist

By definition, a traditional receptionist is an employee taking an office or administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting area such as a lobby or front office desk of an organization or business. Receptionist duties are not limited to welcoming people who walk in the door. However – a receptionist can take over a multitude of duties needed to keep a business running.

virtual assistant

A MyOutDesk Virtual Receptionist is no different from the in-person receptionist you’re used to, other than their location. They can do virtually everything that a traditional receptionist can do but without needing a front desk of yours to sit at. And at a fraction of the cost! Furthermore, it’s important to note they can achieve this with absolutely no downgrade to the quality of work you get. Just because they aren’t a few feet away from you doesn’t mean they are any less capable or reliable. Assuming of course you hire them through the right outsourcing company. Like us for example! Now, you may have a physical office with someone at your front desk already. Having a virtual backup is still a great idea because it allows that local professional to focus on in-person needs. Like greeting visitors, tours, physical mailing, and general office management. Because while they’re doing those things, they’re missing phone calls and emails are stacking up. But not if you had backup handling those remote duties. 

What They Do

The primary responsibilities start with answering calls. From there it’s a matter of following whatever procedure or script you trained them on. They can take down messages and relay them to the appropriate person, or transfer them to someone if they’re available. Scheduling is another task they can handle, by taking down appointments, cancellations, and changes as they come in. They can also process over-the-phone payments, answer general questions, and manage an email inbox throughout the day. But wait there’s more! They can even do this for you 24/7! Because our virtual assistants are in the Philippines, their schedules can be as flexible as you need. So when the office is closed for the night you can have someone standing by for after-hours inquiries and support.

receptionist icon

Common Positions

MyOutDesk has been providing virtual assistants to businesses of all industries and stages since 2008. That’s 15 years of experience with over 7500 clients; and among them are many receptionists for a variety of business types. Here are some examples of different businesses and industries that have benefited from a receptionist.

Pricing

The average cost of a US-based virtual receptionist is $17/hour, which equates to a $2,720 per month salary. When you outsource for a role like this, our records have shown that you can save up to 70% off the total cost to hire a local professional.  The savings are so high because that’s taking into account other expenses you no longer have to worry about, like benefits, insurance, equipment, etc. When you hire a Virtual Assistant through MyOutDesk you only pay us a flat monthly fee; we pay the receptionist and handle their other expenses. You get the reliable, experienced, skilled receptionist and you get the savings.

You may be thinking that you could also outsource this responsibility to an answering service, but when you do that you lose a degree of brand awareness and loyalty. By having a dedicated resource you ensure their full attention and knowledge are focused on your business. They’re the first person many of your clients and leads will speak to, so they must be able to represent you exactly as you wish to be represented. An answering service is juggling companies and reading off a script; your customers will see right through it. You simply cannot match the level of service, reliability, availability, and cost-effectiveness with any other receptionist method. 

save money icon

When To Hire

A Virtual Receptionist’s tasks are very similar to an in-house team member. They’ll answer the phone, log help desk tickets, take messages, answer customer questions and start customers along their sales funnel.

If you find yourself strapped for time as calls and email numbers spike, congratulations! That means your business is growing. But to capitalize on that growth, you’ll need to stay on top of customer responses. This is the digital age, and everyone wants an immediate response. It’s easiest to switch gears from the typical job posting and resume review. Instead, the best value is to find a person who can work virtually. To outsource receptionist tasks, you’ll need to find a reputable company with a staff of receptionists that can work for you. It costs less than you’d pay for an in-house, full-time receptionist that would come into your office. The best part is that we’ve already done the vetting process for you. You don’t need to deal with benefits, interviews, or worrying that you’ll accidentally hire a dud that you’ll need to fire within days.

We’ve done the work already to hire the best administrative virtual assistant for you, so you don’t have to.

Training

When you finally decide to hire someone it’s important to understand that they are the ones representing your brand. Since they’re on the front lines of your business, customers will associate this receptionist with your brand. If your receptionist is rude or unknowledgeable, customers will blame your brand. This is true even if the receptionist isn’t an official part of your full-time, in-house staff. That’s why drilling your company values into your new administrative virtual assistant is crucial. What character traits guide each interaction with customers?

For instance, you might be a company that provides tech support to older consumers. With that in mind, your core values may be empathy and patience. These should govern every single reaction with customers. Once you’ve nailed down your values in order to train new employees with them, consider what training materials you’ll need. If your processes are fairly simple and repetitive, the fastest way is to set up a virtual video conference. This will allow you to share screens and walk trainees through the process. Then, they can try it. After trying it a few times, they’ll be able to ask questions and run into any snags while you’re looking over their shoulder and can help them correct it.

Virtual Receptionist Checklist [free PDF]

How about some free content? We’ve compiled a handy checklist of everything you’ll need if you’re considering a virtual receptionist from anyone else. From equipment requirements to internet strength and home-office practices, this PDF checklist covers it all. Feel free to download for future reference, or share it at your discretion! Many of the things on this list you’ll never need to worry about if you go through MyOutDesk, as we verify a lot of this stuff before hiring our virtual assistants. Not all virtual professional services offer such thorough assurances as this. We do because we can afford to while still passing on competitive rates that can’t be beaten. Not to mention we believe your success is our success, so the less you have to worry about the more you can focus on dollar-productive tasks and growing your business. Use the link below to save this free Virtual Receptionist Checklist PDF.

Picking The Right Professional

In short; a virtual receptionist saves you time and money and increases productivity. All while making your business appear even more professional to inbound inquiries. Answering services aren’t personal or thorough enough, and in-house receptionists are expensive and less flexible. You can kill two birds with one stone when you go the virtual route. Remember, you want a professional, not just an assistant. That’s what MyOutDesk specializes in, at competitive prices that no one else can match with the same quality of service. If you want to discuss this in more detail, or you have any questions or concerns at all, use the link below. You can request a consultation with one of our experts who will be happy to hear you out and discuss whatever is necessary. Let us manage your communications so you can manage your growth.

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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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Overwhelmed by Daily Tasks? MyOutDesk Has a Perfect-Match Guarantee for Virtual Assistants

Before March 2020 many of us thought there was no way we could do our job in our home office. Maybe because for some of us that home office is our dining room table or a small closet off of the hallway. But mostly because of our need to communicate with our co-workers. Not only did we need to get creative with our space, but we also needed to wrap our minds around the technology that was available to us to work virtually. We are coming up to the 3-year mark of the pandemic and for countless people, our work environment remains in a virtual setting. Hence you are either a virtual professional or the manager of a virtual professional. With 15 years of experience in the virtual assistance realm, MyOutDesk has ironed out all the wrinkles. We can help you save money and time by bringing on a virtual assistant of your own today.

Playing Matchmaker is for the Pros 

You know it’s time for a virtual assistant when you or your office manager spend a large portion of the day staying late to finish the to-do list. The time is now to get help. But you know recruiters are a fortune, recruiting apps are time-consuming, and adding another person to your payroll is almost unmanageable as you try to build your business. Furthermore, you haven’t even mentally touched the idea of the vetting and interviewing process. This activity will be yet another hurdle causing you to pump the brakes on the tasks required to grow your business while finding talent that meets your professional needs.

A True Story

Daniel Ramsey, CEO & Founder of MyOutDesk had the opportunity to interview one of our favorite clients, Laurel Starks, CEO & Founder of Ilumni Institute, and www.getdivorceredcertified.com. We asked Laurel what her thoughts were pre-hiring her first of four virtual assistants, in addition to what she credits to her success. Like so many of us, she had “virtual” concerns. Laurel said “I just couldn’t conceptualize how having an offshore person in another country, in another timezone, speaking another language could be integrated into our company. Now, I literally mean our business couldn’t survive without our virtual assistant team, and I don’t say that lightly.” Laurel also genuinely appreciated the MyOutDesk vetting process! She went on to say, “Having a virtual assistant company who is really good at recruiting their talent, but then also connecting them to the right person and company- being that right matchmaker, that’s very pivotal”.  

MyOutDesk takes pride in finding you the perfect match, their claim to fame is they are a “marriage site, not a dating site.” Let MyOutDesk do all the work for you- the connections, the relationships, the recruiting, and the vetting. The interviewing process is all handled with only the top-tiered talent making their way through to you as a candidate. Most clients say “we could have easily picked all 3 options but had to choose only 1 for our position”. Having three great picks for one position is a good problem to have, wouldn’t you say?

It Works!

Timezone, language, and integration- check! These seem to be the 3 questions on most clients’ minds, pre-MyOutDesk. Rest assured knowing your virtual assistant in the Philippines works your same office hours right along with your team. They join MyOutDesk fluent in English as most Filipinos are, along with a college education and a high level of experience and skill. Lastly, integration; your virtual assistant will go through the same onboarding process as every member of your team has done previously. Once you have dedicated the training effort, you will see how seamlessly they will join your morning meetings and chat with you throughout the day, without skipping a beat. 

Now that you realize how easy it is to start the process, MyOutdesk will be there every step of the way to ensure your success. Once you click here to schedule your consultation, we will provide you with advice on technology that has proven to be successful. In addition to the tools and templates that will guide you on the best way to integrate your virtual assistant. Into your team, and eventually, make them a part of your work family. Your success is our success. Ready set Grow!

Reaping the Benefits of a Virtual Assistant

We often hear “why didn’t I do this sooner”! Let this be one great thing that came out of the pandemic- virtual comfortability. If ever there was a perfect time to go virtual, the time is now in 2022! Enjoy working on the part of your business that you are truly great at, the part that prompted you to start the business initially, and most importantly the parts that scale your brand. Spend more time with your family and your friends. Spend more time focusing on yourself and your health, all, because you are confident that things are getting handled…sometimes even better than if you had done them yourself.  Use the link below to request a consultation with one of our experts. They’ll go over everything you need, including any concerns you have, before pitching an action plan. No obligation, no pressure. We’d just love to hear from you!

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The Missing Piece of the Healthcare Puzzle: Virtual Assistants

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The healthcare industry has been undoubtedly affected by world events in numerous ways. But to be fair, a lot of the issues this industry faces have always been there.  After doing some homework of our own, three particular areas seem to be major pain points in this industry. So we wanted to take the time to point out how one missing puzzle piece in the healthcare equation can effectively “cure” all of that pain. That piece is a virtual assistant, and we’re going to break down how and why. While this article is for healthcare professionals and business owners, the lessons within apply to many different businesses. Specifically, those who are ready to try something different to grow their business but also want a high chance of success. Because nowadays more than ever, time is money. And MyOutDesk is not in the business of wasting anyone’s time; we’re in the business of saving you time(and money while we’re at it). Let’s go over exactly how we do that.

Wasting time & energy?

There are many tasks a qualified professional can confidently perform remotely. A big one is general administrative tasks, like data entry, document review, scheduling, email/calendar management; the list goes on.  All of those listed items tend to add up and bog down an otherwise productive and effective team. But letting that happen to your local staff is unnecessary when you could outsource those tasks to someone somewhere else. Someone just as experienced, skilled, and capable as anyone locally. Someone familiar with industry applications like Behaviorsoft, for example. And at up to 70% less cost! Because our virtual assistants are all based out of the Philippines; one of the most English-speaking places in the world. Not to mention a treasure trove of hardworking professionals anxious for steady, consistent work. Why waste your time and your energy juggling a bunch of tasks that take you away from more high-level, dollar-generating duties? You need to focus on that stuff, the stuff that only you and your loyal team can do. Let our virtual assistants handle the just as important but less exciting tasks everyone else dreads.

Benefiting roles: Patient Service Representative, Director of Credentials, Document Specialist, Billing/Accounting Specialist, Administrative Assistant

Poor client experience?

Are you tired of getting negative feedback about your client experience? Have you pinpointed what exactly is leaving more to be desired? Perhaps it’s the slow application process, inconsistent appointment scheduling, or even the speed at which you process incoming leads. Someone somewhere in your equation is not getting the fast, accurate service people have come to expect these days. With tech companies offering white-glove quality service to wow and retain customers, a healthcare company has to be at least on par. If your local team is feeling overwhelmed and stressed juggling duties, this is another instance when a remote working virtual professional can step in to lighten the load. By alleviating pressure from the person handling these tasks, you give them more room to provide the highest quality of customer service possible. Does your company use Klara? That’s just an example of a system for healthcare companies that our virtual assistants can manage in your name, to improve the client experience. 

Benefiting roles: Recruitment Specialist, Virtual Patient Service Representative, Profile Coordinator, Technical Support

Employee attrition?

We’ve talked about the “great resignation” in recent articles. It’s a very real problem facing numerous industries as of late. Professionals are leaving companies for greener pastures or trying to start their own businesses. The standards for what professionals expect nowadays are only rising, and employers need to work a bit harder to keep up. That is if they want to solve their employee retention problems. Some ways of doing so; lighten the workload so they feel less stressed, and increase pay/benefits. These two answers are surefire fixes, even if implementing them is easier said than done. You can accomplish both, however, with the help of a virtual assistant. By outsourcing tasks to a reliable, experienced virtual assistant you effectively remove pressure from your local staff. In doing so you also save money, which can be reallocated where you see fit. Like, a cost of living adjustment, improved benefits, or regular bonuses. You’ll probably even have some cash leftover for something else, like upgrading your marketing efforts. Our virtual professionals long for the opportunity and work hard to prove it. Meanwhile, your local staff appreciates not having the weight of the world on their shoulders, coupled with a bit of extra cash in their hands.  It’s a win/win.

Benefitting roles: Director of Recruitment, Human Resources, and virtually everyone else!

Conclusion

It may sound like hyperbole to say that virtual assistants can solve numerous problems all at once. Well, MyOutDesk has been providing virtual assistants to businesses in various stages of development since 2008. Long before it was “cool” to outsource and work remotely. We have testimonies from clients who saved literally hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. And while being able to actually hire more local talent and keep them around too. All because they outsourced one or more tasks to virtual assistants we helped match them up with. Our mission is to empower businesses to scale and grow in cost-effective ways while remaining true to their own mission and sustaining it indefinitely. Our success is literally your success, which is why we don’t mess around with this stuff. We tell it like it is, and we’d love to tell you personally.

Let’s Talk Help

So if you’re at all interested in how a virtual assistant could help your business, do use the link at the bottom of this blog, or anywhere on our website, to request a consultation. Our experts like to hear you out first, and understand your needs, wants, and concerns. Then, we pitch a plan to address all of them. It’s not always the right fit, but it’s always worth your time. So reach out and let’s have a chat. Because we’d love to help. Thanks for listening!

So use the link below to request a consultation with one of our experts. They like to hear you out first, so they can understand exactly what you need. Then, if we’re a good fit, they pitch a plan involving one or more virtual assistants for you. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so don’t hesitate. Now more than ever, the clock is ticking for businesses everywhere.

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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

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The 2022 Economy – Business Owners Fight Inflation with Virtual Assistants

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Is your business economy-proof? We ask because things are pretty unprecedented these days, and the economy, in particular, is very tumultuous. Companies are imploding as often as they are exploding, as material shortages and a labor crisis continue to plague our nation even more than the actual virus is. Speaking of which, on the road to America’s recovery is a speedbump called Omicron. The COVID-19 variant is adding drama to our economy just as much as it is our personal lives, and has been since December. Now that we’re firmly into February of 2022 we can see the effect it’s already had so far. The depth of its impact will be apparent soon when we review the data for Q1. But don’t wait for statistics and data after the fact to take whatever next step your business needs.  Especially since one of those steps should be hiring a virtual assistant!

Help wanted!

The White House Council of Economic Advisers reported recently that the number of jobs added at the start of 2022 will be unusually low. The low availability of job opportunities contrasts with the growing “great resignation” we’ve reported on already. If professionals are leaving their positions in record numbers, why is the number of available jobs decreasing rather than increasing? Part of that could be because a lot of quitters aren’t just quitting work entirely; they’re jumping ship for greener pastures. Newer generations are setting high expectations for the companies who’d like to employ them. Perhaps on the flip side, businesses are raising their expectations of prospective employees to match their own efforts. This makes for a complicated and unstable job market.

“The ADP Employment Report, which tracks private payrolls, showed an unexpected drop of 301,000 jobs in January.”

Since December the continued pandemic has resulted in millions of people calling in sick to work, staying home to care for someone sick in their family, or even just coming in sick. Being as Omicron is highly contagious that last example doesn’t bode well for our nation overcoming this pandemic anytime soon. But it’s not all doom and gloom! There is good news on the horizon; claims for unemployment have been dropping from their record highs as of late. A small improvement that represents gradual healing in the US. And Omicron rates are also dropping and are expected to continue dropping according to researchers at Washington State University. The data shows a much shorter incubation period for the variant and shorter times spent in the hospital recovering. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Where Are You?

What does this mean for your business? Maybe you’re trying to make life better for your employees so they don’t jump ship. Maybe you’re struggling to find reliable, qualified professionals for your available roles. Or maybe that’s all good for now and you’re just wary of the cost to run your business in the face of inflation. Whatever place your business is at, finding ways to enrichen your internal culture while being more productive and cost-effective at the same time is imperative. This is the perfect segue into the value of utilizing virtual assistants for scaling and maintaining a business. Every business is full of tasks that while not immediately dollar generating, are nonetheless equally important to your success. No one sees the foundation of a building, but it’s there and without it, the building couldn’t stand. 

economy

Act Now, Save Now

This is when outsourcing those tasks that can be done remotely becomes so attractive. Don’t waste time combing through piles of unqualified applicants, conducting boring interviews, and throwing money at potential disappointments. At MyOutDesk we hire experienced, skilled, and often educated professionals who can at least match if not exceed the same value of a local hire. We keep a diverse pool of assistants, ready to match just about any business need. Marketing, customer service, sales, administrative duties, finances; the list goes on. By saving you up to 70% of the cost of a traditional hire, you’re free to allocate more funds to your local efforts. Strengthen that workplace culture, keep employees happy, spend more on marketing, whatever your heart desires. All while receiving not just the same level of professionalism you’re used to, but even better due to our proprietary time-management software and tight-knit community of virtual assistants.

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Don’t waste your time and your money. Reach out for a consultation and we’ll explain how we save you both. No obligation, no pressure, or risks. Just a friendly chat to better understand each other and see if it’s a good fit for either party. Let’s get ahead of this economy by being successful together. Click the link below to request a consultation with one of our experts. 

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Top 3 Reasons Companies Seek Virtual Assistants

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There are a lot of reasons for a company to seek out virtual professionals. They range from just needing an extra hand on some mundane busy work, to needing an entire team to manage a particular department. We surveyed some professionals recently to get an idea of what the leading reasons for seeking outside help are, right now at the start of 2022. While the results of the survey certainly help us focus our efforts appropriately, we felt like sharing them outside our organization too. Because sometimes knowing more about what other companies are doing can be beneficial to a company still figuring things out. So here are the top three issues/concerns that led businesses to knock on our door.

Number 1 – Wasting Time / Workload Too High

This one being by far the most common response comes as no surprise. The very definition of assistant is: “a person who helps in particular work”. A lot of companies are facing a situation where even just one pair of helping hands could mean so much to their productivity and peace of mind. It could be that your company is experiencing sudden and rapid growth, and you’re struggling to keep up with demand. Or maybe you’ve always been juggling duties and stretching your team thin to maintain a certain quality of service. Either way, you’re tired of wasting that time and energy. This is when a virtual assistant can step in, remotely, and work all day or all night on just about any task you’ve got for them. Customer service, accounts receivable, marketing, sales, the list goes on. Give your local team some breathing room by adding a virtual assistant or two to lighten the load.

Learn how a VA can help you stop wasting time and energy:

Number 2 – Low / No Prospecting

Another obvious result because sales are something we see a lot of our virtual assistants being used for. The beauty of an inside sales agent(ISA) is that they can be anywhere. All they need is a phone and access to a computer. Educate them on your product and your vision and they’ll do the rest. Why not have a select few expert ISAs locally, and outsource a team of remote ISAs to do all the cold calling and manage email campaigns. It’s the perfect system for effective and productive prospecting. Virtual assistants can bate all the leads from there around the clock efforts, while your local experts hook them. You pay less for your sales efforts while getting more leads in return. We can see why that’d be the 2nd most popular reason to seek out our help.

Learn how a VA can help you tackle low prospecting:

Number 3 – Other

This one made the top three, despite not being anything specific. But if we step back and look at the various reasons leaders come to us and what our virtual assistants end up doing for them, it’s not hard to fill in the blanks. One example that might fit here, is when a business doesn’t need an assistant but is just curious how to maximize their results while spending less. Often times a successful company is successful because they’re doing everything they should be doing already. They’re seeing their success grow for a reason, right? But you can always stand to do a little better. 

Where do you fit?

Do you fit somewhere in this top three list? There are many other reasons why companies seek help from a remote working virtual assistant and even more reasons why they choose us over the competition. Not only do we provide experienced, skilled, and often educated professionals who are hungry for steady work, but we do so cost-effectively. We may not be the cheapest service, but we’re also not the most expensive. We do happen to be the best, according to several publications that have placed us as #1 for virtual assistants over the years. We’ve been giving growing businesses the help they need or just want, since long before the pandemic made remote work the new norm. 

If you have some questions or concerns, anything at all, please do click the link below to request a consultation with one of our experts. It’s not a pushy sales call, we promise. We just want to at least know what’s on your mind, and then tell you a bit more about us. Like how we can guarantee such high-quality professionals at up to 70% less cost than a traditional local hire with the same experience. So reach out, and let’s see if our service is a good fit for your business. 

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MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
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Content Creation Made Easy – Virtual Professionals Use Canva

A mechanic is no good without his tools. Just like a marketer/designer is no good without his own creative toolset. In the early days of graphic and web design, those tools were typically Adobe or Apple software costing the designer themselves a hefty sum. Eventually, the creative and tech-savvy began sharing their work online. Websites would offer templates that one could download and customize to fit their needs, giving designers a kind of headstart. Over time, with the advancements of technology on the web, more flexible and in-depth solutions became available. Like entire websites that resembled the legacy software designers were accustomed to using but hosted entirely online. One of those such websites still going strong today is Canva. An invaluable tool to anyone seeking creative solutions, be they an experienced designer or someone without a creative bone in their body!

What Exactly Is Canva?

For those unfamiliar, Canva is a website that offers a wide variety of creative tools and content. From presentation templates and video files to social media and even printable assets. Much of their content library is free to use, while some of their premium assets are restricted to Canva Pro accounts which cost a monthly fee. Anyone can create a free account from scratch or by connecting Canva to your Google, Apple, or Facebook account. From there you’re able to browse their extensive library of free, customizable templates, as well as sample premium content before signing up for a paid subscription. There’s something for everyone and just about every need. 

 

We did a little research on our end and discovered that Canva was by far the most searched-for technology by a large demographic of our clients. We attribute this to the freedom and flexibility Canva offers professionals looking for help producing attractive visuals. The ease of use means that anyone with a computer can dive in and play around until they’ve got a hang of it. With a bit of practice, even non-creative types can start producing professional-grade content. On the flip side, someone experienced in the world of graphic and media design has enough customization at their disposal to elevate the provided content. They can expand on existing templates or create their own content from scratch using the web-based Canva application. No software download is necessary; just log in and start creating. Plenty is possible using the free service, while the Pro tier opens things up even more and at less cost than traditional software like Adobe. 

content creation

Why Should You Try It?

Services like Canva come in especially handy when coupled with a creative virtual assistant. Some companies will have a corporate account for services like Canva and share access with hired marketers, designers, etc. Very handy for allowing group access to projects and maintaining branding guidelines, all while making content creation fast and easy. No matter how skilled your designer or marketer is, they don’t need to spend half the day making social media content from scratch. With Canva your virtual assistant can log in remotely without any software, and pick a template that fits the aesthetic of your business. Then they can customize it to fit your branding, share it for review, then download their creation and start posting it all over your channels. From Instagram posts and stories to flyers and brochures, infographics, A4 documents, and even engaging videos. If the designer was a mechanic, then Canva is their auto shop.

A Winning Combo

With the rising embrace of remote work and outsourcing tasks to virtual professionals, web-based services like Canva are invaluable. Simply with access to a computer and internet, anyone can log in and start creating visually interesting and dynamic content to suit any business type. The results only improve when experienced professionals get their hands on a service like Canva. It’s yet another way to cut costs, increase productivity and maintain product quality. And when coupled with a reliable, experienced virtual assistant, the results are limitless. Our clients can attest to that, and we’re happy to show you how and why. Click the link below to request a consultation with one of our experts. They like to hear you out first, and then pitch a plan with one of our virtual assistants that gets you what you need. It’s easy, quick, and has no strings attached. A creative virtual assistant from MyOutdesk using a free and robust service like Canva is a winning combination. Let us help you win.

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