Ellen, a real estate agent near me, reached out on Monday. She wanted to hire a VA for about 5 hours a week to handle her Instagram, Pinterest, and drive traffic to her website, and was having a hard time and needed some advice. She said: "it takes me 5 hours to do my own social media so it should take a VA the same amount of time to do what I do. So how come the VAs I've interviewed are sending me these crazy proposals and fees?" 😳 She wanted to start hiring this out because she knew she wasn't doing it the right way, or even efficiently. So essentially she wanted the next level version of what she had in place. What she described to me was actually three completely different skill sets. And understanding the difference will save her from a frustrating first hire. 1. Content Creation - Designing posts and pins from scratch. Writing captions. Maintaining brand consistency. Knowing what performs visually on each platform. This is a creative skill. Not every VA has it. 2. Social Media Management - Scheduling and posting consistently. Understanding algorithms, hashtags, and keywords. Engaging with your audience on your behalf which I believe is more important than posting. This is a strategic and operational skill. 3. Traffic and Conversion Strategy - Writing CTAs that make people click. Using link in bio tools. Moving someone from a pin or a post to your actual offer. This is a marketing skill. It is the most advanced of the three. Like anything else - there are levels to all of these from basic to expert. If you are ready to be in this boat, my advice is before you start looking for this kind of help, ask yourself: - Do I need someone to create content or just post it? - Do I need someone who understands strategy or just execution? - Do I need someone who can drive traffic or just show up consistently? The clearer you are going in the better your initial hires - and expectations - will be. A good VA will help you figure out where you are at and what you can afford before you commit to anything.

Before I get into this I want to clarify, there is absolutely a place for as-needed VA support. I am often that VA and honestly it is some of my favorite work. I get to save the day and feel like a total superhero. 🦸🏽‍♀️ Sometimes you just need someone to knock out a project, handle a one-time task, or carry you through a launch. Those VAs are sanity savers and yes, we have them in our community too. BUT... 😬 After a call I had last week with a salon owner, I felt the urge to share this one. A retainer VA is a fixed monthly expense. If your income is not fixed and predictable, that math gets uncomfortable real fast. Here is what her numbers looked like: January $4,000 February $900 March $6,200 April $1,100 (based on confirmed appointments so far) That is not a business ready for a $1,500 monthly retainer. Not because a VA is not worth it. But because [all other $ things aside] one slow month wipes out her ability to pay and now she has a strained relationship, a stressed VA, and starts to resent an expense she chose that's supposed to help her business. I learned this the hard way working inside that scenario multiple times. When a business owner does not know their numbers, when cash flow is unpredictable, when hiring is driven by panic instead of strategy, everyone loses. A great VA amplifies what is already working. They cannot stabilize what is still shaky. So before you commit to a dedicated VA ask yourself: - Do I know what I bring in every month? [Google Sheets is your friend here] - Can I sustain this expense for at least 90 days? [true ROI is seen after 3-6 months] - Am I hiring to grow or hiring to survive? [let's chat if you're confused] Stabilize first. Hire strategically. Then watch what a great Virtual Assistant can actually do for your business. Desperation is expensive. Preparation pays off. We have a talented community of operators ready to support you when the time is right. They're all making me really proud. 😊 Check them out here 👈🏾

If you can’t clearly explain what you do, you’re not ready to delegate to a VA and in my experience this is 100% the cause of conflict for most business owners new to hiring a VA AND the VA not knowing how to or being afraid to tell their client - WRITE IT ALL DOWN! The notes don't have to be perfect or even organized for that matter. If you could only see the chicken scratch my clients send me. 😩 Not even typed notes. I'm talking doctor level handwriting on napkins. My new fave are voice to text messages where the phone didnt properly capture - or worse MIS-CAPTURED - their thoughts 😆 The point is a VA can’t execute a task that only exists in your head. So if you are thinking about finally hiring some things out 1. Congrats! That's boss moves and 2. For one week, track everything you touch. LITERALLY. Every email. Every DM. Every invoice. Every app. Every repeat task. Most business owners think they know what they do all day… Until they actually write it down. Delegation isn’t about finding someone who can read your mind. It’s about building a process someone else can refine and follow. If you don’t know what you do, a VA won’t either. You want an Olivia Pope. Not a Ms Cleo. 😆 IYKYK We have some talented operators. You can check them out here ⤵️ Hire a VA

I did this Threads series that I think ya'll will find helpful.. Tips for Hiring a VA... This first one is gonna bite a little, but it must be said… If you hire cheap, expect expensive mistakes. You don’t get premium execution at bargain prices. If you want strategy, ownership, and initiative, you have to pay for it. A great VA is leverage. They give you time back so you can focus on growth. Looking for the cheapeat option leads to turnover. Turnover kills momentum. I see it all the time and the business owner always blames the VA. But they chose that price point to "save money". The solution: hiring ANYONE is an investment in your business. Treat it as such. We have some talented operators. You can check them out here ⤵️ Hire a VA

Today is the day to share about communities other than your own that you think are valuable and that others would benefit from. IN THE COMMENTS BELOW: please share the name of the group/owner and a link as well as an explanation of why you think it is an amazing place. Don't just copy and paste the About page... 😉 Also, make sure you tag or DM the owner if they are not in this group and let them know. you mentioned them here. I guarantee, you will make their day and quite possibly their weekend! Posts in the main feed will be deleted. You have been warned... 😉