I never pictured myself as one of those people who had “people.”
You know what I mean, the kind that say “have your people call my people.” That just isn’t me. Actually, I’ve always envisioned myself as one of the “people” that are doing the calling.
So, when I started growing my business and realized I was drowning in all the daily duties I thought I was somehow failing my clients who were depending on me.
The truth was, I wasn’t failing. I was succeeding. I was actually so successful that I needed to grow. And just like you have to buy new shoes for your growing kids, you have to invest in a team to support your growing business.
This revelation didn’t happen overnight. Looking back, I realized I’ve needed to expand my team for a while now. Are you experiencing any of these challenges?
You’re behind on your invoicing.
When I started out, I was only writing a handful of blogs per month. I even felt a sense of satisfaction being able to ship out an invoice that had proof I was accomplishing something. Fast forward a couple of years and I began to dread the process of combing through my notes for billing details of my work.
I like to present my clients with a “highlight reel” of what was accomplished each month. This includes analytics of social platforms and a brief description of wins or points for improvement. That’s part of the experience that I’ve built my brand upon, and I’m proud of it. However, I realized that if I wanted to continue providing that kind of experience for my clients, I needed a helping hand.
You’re investing billable time into tasks that could be outsourced at a lower cost.
I understand the desire to save money by doing everything yourself. I spent hours and hours of my time learning the bare essentials of Wordpress and fooling around with different marketing strategies before I realized how much money I was losing simply by being unavailable. When I put the numbers on paper, I began to see that my time was worth more than what I thought I was saving. That realization catapulted me into a new level of business that included training programs, team expansion, and new opportunities for growth that would have never happened had I been stuck behind my computer screen.
You’re losing clients from failure to follow-up.
I never meant to leave anyone hanging. I wish I could blame it on email overflow or a sudden influx of clients, but the truth was that steady growth had actually made me blind to the fact that things were falling into the cracks. A missed call here, an unanswered email there, and I noticed my growth slowing. I started feeling anxious because I was forgetting things and constantly needing to readjust.
When I finally reached out and connected with Stephanie, it was an incredible relief. There was a little bit of a learning curve, learning to shift my mindset from “party of one” to “Team A.J.” (we’re accepting suggestions for a team name.) The bottom line is I have more time for more clients, which is valuable for everyone.
Do any of these signs sound familiar? If you’re ready to bring a VA onto your team, Stephanie would love to chat with you and explain how she can help you free your time, organize your schedule, and take you further in your business. Click here to set up a consultation!