Let's chat about how to prepare your coaching business to delegate.

Congratulations! You finally decided to take that huge step to start your coaching business. Did you have ANY idea how much detail was going to be involved? We are guessing you probably don't have the funds to pay someone to tackle the creation and set up of your business, but you will want to start outsourcing as soon as possible in order to keep your sanity.

So how DO you prepare your coaching business to delegate?

Once the basics are in place, you can reach out to freelancers who can help you with your daily administrative and marketing tasks so that you can focus on coaching.

Have a Clear Objective for Your Business

What do you plan to do with your coaching business? 

More importantly, how do you plan to achieve this? These questions should be answered clearly and succinctly so that it is easy for freelancers to understand exactly what your business is about.

Choose Your Niche. 

Once you have YOUR niche, it is easy to create an objective that will apply to all the clients you work with.

For example, a relationship coach will focus mainly on couples, while a life coach is more general and can work with couples AND individuals. Think about your skill set and what you want to offer your clients to determine your niche.

If you prepare your coaching business to delegate any of your marketing, from social media to email campaigns, your team will need to know your niche.

Create a Mission Statement. 

Once your niche is established, you can start working on other key elements of your business.

Step one will be creating your mission statement. This only needs to be one or two sentences describing your business values and what you aim to provide. When creating your mission statement it is important to incorporate three core elements:

• State your vision or mission for your business
• Define your objectives and goals
• State your core values (this will help to shape freelancer’s behavior in the future)

These statements should be short and to the point. When your mission statement is read, it should immediately become clear what your business is about and what you expect from those you work with in the future.

Create a Business Plan

Even if you have no need to get bank loans, a business plan can serve as a road map for your business. You’d never set out on a family vacation in the old station wagon without having an idea of where you are going. And you shouldn’t start a business without having a plan either.

Your business plan will also serve to help guide you as you work with freelancers.

The following are some steps you can take to start your business plan or simplify an existing one:

Do your homework!

Research your industry as much as you can. Read industry reports, examine competing businesses, and be detailed about exactly what you plan to offer your clients. You must also know your product, your business, and your competition intimately.

What is the purpose of your plan?

Think of your business plan as a type of road map that will give you and future freelancers the directions you need to execute daily functions to grow your business. With this in mind, your “road map” should include instructions on how to deal with foreseeable obstacles that could occur.

Develop your company profile.

Examples: What you plan to offer? Who do you plan to offer it to? What is the history of your business?

Document your business.

From the beginning, be clear about your cash flow, expenses, and industry projections. In addition to using this to show freelancers that you have solid a financial plan, you can also use it to attract investors in the future, if necessary.

Create your marketing plan.

Make sure it is aggressive, especially while your coaching business is new. It should state plans for your services, how you plan to launch them, and the marketing methods you will implement to get your business out to the masses.

Make sure that your business plan is adaptable.

The coaching business is ever-changing as society finds new ways to do things, and your business plan should have information about how you plan to adapt to these changes. What is your approach? Are there financial implications that may occur as a result of making the necessary changes?

Tell people why you care about starting a coaching business.

What made you so passionate about the industry that set you on the path to starting your own business? This is the sweet spot of any budding business...making people care as much about your coaching venture as you do.

Develop Your Business Brand

Even if you prepare your coaching business to delegate your brand creation, it is always a good idea to know what goes into brand development so that you can be involved in every step. Just remember, the brand you adopt for your coaching business will also be YOUR identity. It will play a major role in how freelancers and future clients perceive you.

Your brand must be consistent and something your target audience can relate to. Essentially, you're communicating who you are and what you can do for those who are looking for the services you offer.

There are several steps involved in effective brand development, including but not limited to:

1. What is the purpose of your brand?

Did a major life event propel you toward building a coaching business? Did something in childhood make you want to help other people? Answering these types of questions will allow you to determine your purpose.

2. Researching branding techniques

Industry competitors use certain branding techniques and knowing these will allow you to differentiate yourself from them and what they have to offer.

3. Make sure you are very specific when determining your target audience.

What is the buyer persona of your brand? For example, what is their age, location, education level, gender, and income?

4. Establish a mission statement

A mission statement will help your brand tell people exactly why you wake up every morning to perform your coaching duties.

5. State the primary benefits

These benefits and qualities are those that your brand offers, especially those which competitors are not offering.

6. Develop the voice of your brand

This helps to communicate with your target audience.

7. Make sure that the personality of your brand is always clear and present.

8. Develop the messaging and story of your brand.

Tell people exactly who you are and outline your motivations.

9. Create a tagline and logo for your brand.

10. Ensure that your brand is present in all elements of your coaching business.

Who Is Your Target Audience?

You should know who your clients are before starting your business. 

This is where determining your target audience comes into play.

Start by looking at the competition to see who their customers are...their demographics. Would any of them work well for your coaching business?

Consider the services you are offering and who could benefit from them the most. For example, if you want to coach young women, you will target women under the age of 30 who are struggling and need guidance in creating a solid foundation in their lives. They likely have, at the least, a high school education and are either recently married or single.

Psycho-graphics is another area you want to explore. 

Psycho-graphics is where you get into the personal characteristics of your target market. It includes things like:

• Personality
• Values
• Lifestyles
• Attitudes
• Hobbies and interests
• Behavior

You should spend some time narrowing down all of these characteristics and demographics until you have the ideal person in mind. This person becomes...you got it...your target audience.

Determine Your Unique Selling Proposition

Once you determine your niche, craft your mission statement, and create your mission statement, you’ll need to develop your unique selling proposition. 

What is your “unique selling proposition” or USP, you ask? 

Your USP is what sets you apart from other coaching businesses. It answers how you will outshine your competitors? Take time to answer these questions as it will help you craft the very best USP for your business. 

Not only will this help you build your client list in the future, but it will prepare your coaching business to delegate and help freelancers determine if your business is one that they want to work with. 

Examining your competitors is an important area to focus on while contemplating your selling proposition.

Ask yourself, “What are they doing and how can I do it better?”.

For example, if you plan on delving into relationship coaching where other coaches focus on repairing broken relationships, you could help new parents transition into parenthood as a team. This gives you a narrower niche and, let’s face it, there will always be new parents out there struggling to adapt to their new lives who could use some guidance from you.

In the above scenario, you can target freelancers who are parents with experience in this stage of life, making them more valuable to your team and clients.

What You Don’t Need

Just as there are some key things you WILL need to prepare your coaching business to delegate, there are also a handful of things you don’t need to worry about right away.

• Learn Everything - Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to learn how to do everything in your business before you delegate those tasks. You can read more about that on our article here.
• Having SOPs - It’s common to hear that you need standard operating procedures (SOPs) before you start outsourcing. That’s true if you are trying to work with very low pay overseas individuals. However, if you work with a team of specialists, they will bring the SOPs to you. 
• Pay for Tools - Many freelancers will bring access to tools or software you can use in your business. You won’t need to spend time shopping around and selecting the right tools before you get started.

Summary

Having the essentials in order before reaching out to freelancers will make the transition to having them on your team far easier. When you have these elements in order, freelancers get a clear picture of what your coaching company does and what your ultimate goals are. With this information, you can all work together to ensure all objectives are met and that you can continue to expand your business.

CLICK HERE if you're ready to get started!!!

So you’ve started a business...now what?

Like most entrepreneurs, your business is the culmination of your blood, sweat, and tears. You’ve poured all your time and effort into seeing your idea flourish, never actually taking the time to think about the “after”.

What do I do AFTER my business takes off?

Today we are going to delve into the world of outsourcing. 

WHAT IS OUTSOURCING?

Outsourcing or outside resourcing, as defined by the Wikipedia, is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity that is or could be done internally.

Simple, right? 

Not so to a budding business owner used to taking charge of every aspect of their business. To these energetic entrepreneurs, outsourcing is a scary prospect invented to rip away the reins of their control. But in reality, outsourcing could be the boost a business needs in order to level up to the next phase of success.

FEAR OF OUTSOURCING

Let’s first talk about the elephant in the room...business reputation. The looming question that stabs at the back of your mind like a Saturday night horror flick. 

“What if the finished product doesn’t reflect my dedication to perfection?” 

Rest easy! No matter what project is being outsourced, ultimately, it will need your final approval before it ever reaches the client’s inbox. As you continue to work with the freelancer, they will begin to understand your vision and overtime begin to produce work that closely mimics your own. 

3 REASONS WHY OUTSOURCING IS BENEFICIAL 

1. What can collaboration do for you?
2. How can outsourcing actually make you money?
3. Why outsourcing is a fantastic trade off.
   

WHAT CAN COLLABORATION DO FOR YOU?

Collaboration is an excellent feature of outsourcing. Sometimes, as entrepreneurs, tunnel vision sets in and breaks down the flow of new ideas needed to keep a business fresh and evolving. Collaborating offers the opportunity to throw around ideas that would have otherwise never seen the light of day. 

Imagine for a moment if the forward-thinking caveman who thought up rubber tires kept his idea all to himself? Well then, we might still see Fred Flintstone motoring around on a set of four  clumsy Fire-STONE wheels today!

HOW OUTSOURCING CAN ACTUALLY MAKE YOU MONEY?

The one thing in the world no one can buy, sell, or save is time. Any successful business-owner worth their salt knows that time is the most precious commodity. Given that eye-opening factoid, aside from cloning oneself, there is only ONE way to accomplish more with the allotted 1,440 minutes in any given day...you guessed it...outsourcing! 

The ability to hand-off one to two tasks would allow you the time to follow-up with potential clients. Extra time also allows the opportunity to touch bases with current clients and brainstorm future projects they’d like to pursue with you.

So, in retrospect, the $40 you paid to a freelancer to write yesterday’s blog post (which saved two hours of your precious time) could have the potential return of an entirely new income stream.  

Moral - The time saved from outsourcing yesterday could be easily be invested with a client today, thereby paying dividends tomorrow. Now that sounds better than playing the stock market!

WHY OUTSOURCING IS A FANTASTIC TRADE OFF

Allowing someone else to tackle a project might trigger a slight grumbling right at the pit of your stomach. 

It’s happening right now, isn’t it?

Calm down...it’s natural.

Let’s face it, the meticulous nature which drives most entrepreneurs to success is the same double-edged sword that keeps them from unclenching their white-fisted grip from the controls. But imagine the amount of time you would save if you didn’t have to search for images, toil over ad copy, and then schedule a post on all your social media platforms.

What could you do with that extra hour of freed up time?

Exactly! Now you’re getting it. That’s what outsourcing could do for you! 

You have just added an hour to market to new clients, or hit a deadline you’ve been struggling to meet since you were spread so thin. 

Feel that? 

That’s the feeling of calm rushing over you like a soft Hawaiian breeze.

You’re welcome.

There’s no shame in NOT wanting to take a backseat to outsourcing...INITIALLY. But, as a savvy business-owner, there comes a time when admitting you can’t do it all is not a sign of defeat, but a symbol of growth.

CLICK HERE if you're ready to get started!

To-do lists are most people’s first attempts to get organized and be productive. And many productive people swear by their lists. At the same time, there’s nothing that’s one size fits all and to-do lists may not be right for you.

Task lists or to-do lists are the lists that tell you all the things you need to get done. They can be kept on pieces of paper, in calendars, on apps for phones and computer or even in memory.

The question then is whether or not we should be ditching the to-do lists and if there is a better alternative.

Let me start by saying that, if a to-do list is your ONLY productivity tool then it likely is a waste of your time and energy. However, most people use to-do lists in combination with other tools even if that tool is a simple review of the to-do list to determine what needs to be done next.

If it isn’t time to ditch the to-do list, then how can we make it more effective?

Change the Name

When most people think of a to-do list, they think of this long list of all the things they have to do. As business owners, it’s easy to get totally overwhelmed. That’s because our lists are so long that we are tempted to shut down completely.

Lists aren’t bad but words have power. Think of what we call it. To-do list. TO DO. It indicates there’s always more work to be done and that alone can be overwhelming. Instead, consider one of these names…

Task list – By definition, a task list is the same thing as a to-do list but often doesn’t have the negative feelings associated with a long list of things to do.

Get To Do List – With a Get To Do List, you are looking at each item on your list and understanding how you can be grateful for the task instead of overwhelmed by it.

We aren’t actually going to ditch the to-do list then, we are just going to call it something different.

Break It Up

Most people maintain one to-do list, even if they maintain the list in several different places. This single list includes everything for your business, personal and family roles. It’s hard to keep anything straight. 

It’s time to ditch the to-do list that is WAY to long. A far better technique is to build what David Allen, in his Getting Things Done system, calls a Someday/Maybe list along with a Now List.

We usually have a lot more things that we WANT to do or that we feel are important and don’t want to forget. We tend to put all of those things on the to do list. Instead, create a list for tasks, projects or ideas that you know you don’t currently have the bandwidth to take on. This list will be a place for things you want to keep in mind for the future. Things that might fall into this category might be:

• Creating videos for marketing.
• Cleaning out the garage or attic.
• Planning that webinar before you’ve completed your website.
• Taking guitar or karate lessons.
• Researching to buy a new car (unless yours is no longer functional).

While you may have the best intentions to complete these tasks, you know you really won’t be getting to them any time soon anyway. Therefore, it is best to move it off of your task list onto a someday/maybe list that you can draw from periodically when you have more capacity.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

Top 3

For any given day, the most valuable way to use your task list is to consider what is your top three priorities to accomplish for the day and see what items on your task list fit within those priorities. Write those on an ACTION list and work from that instead of your main task list. If you get all three done, you can select three more. You aren’t totally ditching the to-do list, you are pulling out the most important items.

Most people, even myself when I started out, use a to-do list and just go down the list item-by-item, checking off as many as we can. Often, the desire to get more done, means we focus on the things that are quick and easy instead of the ones that are most meaningful.

Limiting your to-do list to 3 items actually helps move you closer to your overall goals. It’s something you can accomplish even when you are having a down day or when you just can’t motivate yourself to do more.

One Place

Heather was a Productivity Coaching client who came to me totally overwhelmed because she just never got stuff done. She said she’s tried to-do lists and actively keeps them but doesn’t find them that helpful. The keyword from what Heather shared with me was “them”. I asked her where she keeps her current to-do list and she explained to me that she keeps some of the tasks on her calendar, some are in her notebook (which she can never find) and some are on sticky notes in her office.

It wasn’t that to-do lists weren’t working for Heather, it was that Heather didn’t have an effective system for keeping her tasks in one place. I’m definitely going to tell you to ditch the to-do lists that are all over the place!

Whether you prefer paper and pencil or digital organizers, there is an effective way for you to keep track of all of your tasks so that they don’t get lost or forgotten.

Old School

One notebook – the key here is to use a single notebook and keep ALL of your tasks in one location. It should be small enough that you are willing to carry it with you no matter where you go or that you have a system in place for capturing notes on the go and transcribing them into your notebook once you return.

Notecards – Small 3×5 notecards make a great way to keep track of tasks. You can keep extras with you to write on while you are out of your office. You can also sort them out by projects and/or priorities and make notes on them as needed.

Post its – This is not my favorite method as it can get away from you easily. However, it can be a great way to plan out project tasks being able to color code and move them around easily.

New School

Toodledo – This is my top recommended task program for people who don’t have a team.

Evernote – Evernote is growing in its usability as a task manager although not without some massaging. I’ve created this Evernote Task Template that you can download to your Evernote or print out to use in an Old School way.

Asana – I want to give this app/website mention because it is often referred to as a task manager. I find Asana to be more of a project manager than a task manager. It really serves an entirely different purpose in my productivity system but is worth mentioning. While projects have tasks, there are often tasks that are not associated with projects or that may be recurring. Asana is not ideal for these uses.

Interested in some higher level project management platforms? Check out our review.

No Clear Action

Plan trip, make calls, build website. These things sound like tasks that need to be accomplished. The problem is that they all lack a clear starting point. HOW will you plan that trip? Do you need to call a travel agent or research locations online? WHAT calls do you need to make? Do you have  some vague list of potential prospects you’ll just procrastinate calling back? And what about the website? Will you hire someone to do it or do you need to learn how to develop WordPress to get started? You can be more effective in getting things done by being precise and clear about what you need to do next.

Break projects down into small action steps. While it may feel like you are making your list longer instead of shorter, you will actually accomplish more with less wasted time.

Ditch the Inbox

Stop using your inbox as a to-do list! Add tasks for you to do to a list. Or you can use a tool like Boomerang. Boomerang returns the email to your inbox at a later date if it requires a response. With digital organizers, you can often send an email and create a task from that email.

And What About the Done List?

I have very mixed feelings on this concept. It can be mentally rewarding and often motivating to write down a list of things you’ve accomplished. However,  replacing a task list with a success list is like tracking your food after you’ve eaten it. It doesn’t help you make sure you are taking the necessary and best next steps towards your goals. It is a productivity tool in the sense that it is motivating but not useful for planning.

Originally published on The Productivity Expert March 29th, 2017.

You’ve finally decided you are going to delegating more work. You’ve searched for and found your first virtual assistant. You know exactly what project or tasks you want them to get started with. Now what? How do you manage all the details? There are contracts and procedures. Do you track processes and tasks? What about communicating all these tools to manage virtual teams to your employees?

One of the hardest parts of starting my virtual services company was researching and finding the right tools. It took many months and hours of comparison shopping. In addition, there were some tools I hadn’t even thought about needing.

Finding and using the right tools for working with your virtual staff can make your life a WHOLE lot easier. It’s not just about communicating with your team. The right tools can ensure your data security, help track hours and improve relationships.

Password Programs Tools to Manage Virtual Teams

What is it?

This may be the most important and yet one of the most often overlooked tools to manage virtual teams. Password managers provide users with a convenient and secure way to generate, store, retrieve and sometimes share passwords with others. Browser-based password managers are the most common. If you've ever used Chrome and gotten that little message in the upper right asking if you wanted Chrome to remember your username and password, then you are familiar with basic password managers.

Why use one?

Whenever you receive an email letting you know there has been a data breach or hack on a specific website, the first thing they recommend you do is to change your passwords.

They say this because most people use the same password is used across multiple sites and the hackers will use that information to attempt to access other websites.

By changing your passwords, you minimize the chances that someone will access another site.

Password managers reduce the risk of this happening by allowing you to create unique passwords for every website without having to try to remember a random string of letters, numbers and symbols.

And, when using a password manager with a virtual staff, you are sharing these unique passwords for ONLY the sites you want your virtual staff to access instead of inadvertently giving them the keys to the kingdom.

Many password managers also allow you to share access without directly sharing the password. You can then revoke this access whenever the individual is no longer working with you.

Which one to use?

There are several options for password managers. These options fall into two primary categories.

Browser-Based: These include password managers that are based within a browser, such as Chrome, Firefox or Safari. The limitation of these password managers is that they typically only store passwords for access on their browser. They do not include unique password creation or sharing across multiple devices or locations.

Dedicated Password Managers: These tools generally work across multiple platforms, offer several more options and include encryption forms. These are what we recommend to our clients.

Our Choice

LastPass is our favorite here at Virtual A Team and we use it with all of our client's information. LastPass has both cloud and desktop-based options with the cloud-based being the most common. It includes the ability to share access without sharing passwords or sharing access and passwords (which is sometimes necessary). You can even share secure notes if you need to provide information like credit card numbers to your virtual staff.

Additional dedicated options include Dashlane and KeePass.

Pro Tips: Take some time setting up your Password Manager when you first get it. Make sure you’ve logged your most used usernames and passwords. Set up folders for the different team members so you can quickly determine who has access to what. Check out more tips from How-To Geek on setting up LastPass.

Project Managers

Whether you simply have a long list of tasks or full projects that need to be managed, having the right tools to manage virtual teams can help keep everything organized and in one place. I spent the most time researching this for Virtual A Team.

What is it?

A project management tool can be a simple list of tasks centrally located for everyone to access. It can also be a full-featured, and often pricey, program with many extra bells and whistles.

Why use it?

Without using some form of a project manager, it becomes easy for tasks to get missed or forgotten. Project managers can also help reduce the amount of back-and-forth by keeping everything organized in one place.

Which one to use?

Our biggest tip is to take your time and research your options. Just because your friend loves Trello doesn’t mean it will work well for you. Asana may be the most popular tool on the market, but that doesn’t make it the best for your needs.

We’ve already done a review of the top 5 Project Management Programs. This will give you a good place to start in your research.

Our Choice

I compared everything from Trello and Asana to Basecamp and more. We finally landed on and LOVE Teamwork. It combines the best of project management systems and communication tools.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

File Sharing and Collaboration Tools

What is it?

Once upon a time, if you wanted to share a file with someone, you had to put it on a CD (or flop drive…) and mail it to them. This was time-consuming and made working remotely nearly impossible. I mean, can you imagine having to send files to one another? I still remember the days of uploading files to my website manually so someone on the other end could download them.

Fortunately, we now have tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive and many others to make this process far easier. In fact, many solopreneurs and small businesses no longer store any files on their local devices. They prefer to use cloud-based solutions as a backup and to ensure the files are with them wherever they travel.

Why use it?

Cloud-based storage tools allow folders to be accessed via the internet so that files can be shared to multiple locations. This comes in handy if you travel regularly. It is ideal for when you need your team to access something without you having to send it to them every time.

Today, most of these tools also include collaboration features. These features allow multiple individuals to work on the same file and share comments and notes. This makes it far easier to share thoughts and ideas while reviewing and directing your team.

Which one?

There are many tools available in this arena. We generally recommend sticking with the most common ones.

For a complete review of Google Drive, Dropbox and some of the other file storage and collaboration tools you can use, check out PC Magazine’s review.

Our Choice

Currently, Virtual A-Team uses Dropbox for most of our needs. We aren’t particularly raving fans but it does the job as well as any of the others.

Communication Tools

What is it?

Communication tools are the ways you keep in touch with your virtual team. These can include everything from email to video conference services.

Why use it?

Communication is the foundation of a good working relationship. Without great communication, your team will not have a clear understanding of your needs. They won’t be able to discuss issues or concerns when they arise.

Which one?

You’ll want to incorporate a few options for communicating with your team. Consider the following categories:

• General communication. This includes things like routine correspondence and updates. Email may be just fine for this purpose or your team may decide to use tools like Slack which offer private chat options.
• Scheduled meetings. While your team may not be working in the same location as you, it is important to have scheduled meetings to check in. These are often done using conferencing tools such as Zoom or Skype. These tools do not require a high upfront cost (if any) and are accessible to just about everyone with an internet connection.
• Urgent needs. There will be times when you or a team member has an urgent need. Text messages or chat apps can be very beneficial in these situations. It may be necessary to clearly outline the times when text message are allowable if you have specific boundaries on your availability.

One of the most important tools to manage virtual teams is the telephone. There will be times when the written word just does not go over as well as the spoken word. Take the time to pick up the phone to have a more meaningful conversation.

Our choice

Here at Virtual A Team, we use Teamwork Projects to keep track of communications and streamline information sharing. We also use Zoom to meet “face-to-face” with other team members and clients.

Training Tools

What is it?

Training tools are the ways in which you share information with your team to get them up to speed on your routines, tasks and projects. Training can be as simple as a procedure manual or series of guidelines or as complex as hands-on training for a specific program used in your business.

Why use it?

When you don’t invest the time to properly train your team, you will struggle with errors and problems. In his book, Procrastinate on Purpose, Rory Vaden talks about how it takes 30x the amount of time to train someone to do a task as it takes you to complete it. While this may not be required for most basic tasks, the concept of training is important.

Investing in getting your team properly trained up front will save many headaches and challenges in the long run.

Which one?

Training starts with a basic set of guidelines for your business. Share with your team who you are and what your company is about. These guidelines can be shared in a simple document format or in a tool such as Evernote.

If you have specific programs or concepts you want to make sure your virtual team is familiar with, sites such as Udemy or Lynda.com can be very beneficial. One of the benefits of hiring freelancers is that many of them will not expect you to pay for their training on specific programs. They consider this an investment in their future skills.

Tools such as Zoom, Loom, or Snagit can be helpful when helping team members learn specifics about your business. Zoom allows you to jump on a call with your team members, show them your screen (or demonstrate on theirs) and talk about specific questions. Loom is one of the great tools to manage virtual teams if you simply want to record a workflow and save it as a Standard Operating Procedure.

Our choice

Virtual A Team leans heavily on the use of Zoom for live trainings and Loom to send and share input and feedback on our own schedules.

Other Useful Tools

Time Tracking

While many virtual assistants will track time using their own systems, if you have a larger team, you may want to handle the time tracking on your own. Tools like Toggl or Everhour are very useful for this purpose. Some project management programs such as Teamwork also include time tracking.

Payment Processing

Most virtual assistants will not be set up to take credit card payments other than through services like Paypal. Discuss options for payments with your VA’s. This might include sending them checks via a bill pay service or using apps like Venmo to transfer funds to their bank account.

Scheduling

Sometimes you will need to schedule meetings with your team members. While you may already have a system like Calendly or TimeTrade for scheduling with your clients, tools such as Assistant.to can help schedule quick meetings with your team. If you have multiple individuals needing to schedule at the same time, use Doodle.com to find a time that works best for everyone.

Email

Sending emails to your team at 1 am on a Saturday morning probably isn't a good way to build long-term loyalty. They have families and personal care needs like the rest of us. While you may be up working at those times (I know I have been), it makes sense to use something that allows you to schedule the emails to go out on Monday morning (or any time that works for you). Something like Boomerang is great for this purpose. Today, Gmail even has an option to schedule emails at a later date.

Contracts and W9s

One of the biggest mistakes I see freelancers, and those hiring them, make is not getting a contract in place. Getting documentation up front helps to prevent potential legal issues down the road. Tools like HelloSign or DocuSign can help make sure you get your paperwork signed and recorded.

Procedure Manual/Guidelines

It is helpful for new team members to have guidelines that they can review to better understand your business. These guidelines should share some details about your business and the things you find important. Your procedure manual can be a simple document stored in an online file sharing system. Need a template? Check out ours here.

Conclusion

Project managers.

File sharing services.

Communication mediums…

There are a LOT of helpful tools for working with a virtual team. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to prevent you from delegating. Take some time to research what works best (or get your VA to do that for you). When you make smart choices about these options, it will help automate the process and prevent many challenges.

You can manage all of these details on your own or use an agency like Virtual A Team to save you the headache!

What are your favorite tools for working with virtual teams?

Do you remember that episode of Seinfeld back in the day (am I dating myself here) when Jerry was asked to wear the puffy shirt and stated the epic line, “But I don’t wanna be a pirate!” Seinfeld was being asked to endorse a product he didn’t believe in. He was forced to not be authentic. 

As solopreneurs, we all face times in our careers when we feel inauthentic to who we truly are.  Watch Tracey Warren of Inspark Coworking and I as we chat about some of these scenarios!

Learn more about Tracey Warren at https://www.facebook.com/traceyplaysbig

Growing our businesses means growing our tools and a key tool in every growing business is the project management system. Whether you are a solopreneur or have an entire team; from idea to implementation, projects have many steps to track and follow. There are so many choices, though, that a project management programs comparison can feel overwhelming. How do we ensure that there is consistent quality, simple tools and affordability in a program that we will actually WANT to use?

We have taken the time to help you narrow down some of our favorite project management programs available for the upcoming year. We did the work and created a project management programs comparison for you. Each of these programs has their unique design applications and characteristics. We share some of these and also the functional deficiencies you may want to consider.

Top 5 Project Management Programs Comparison

Teamwork.com

Teamwork happens to be the program we have chosen for our clients. After reviewing several programs including the ones shared here, we found that Teamwork offered the best options for current and future needs.

Tagline: The best way to manage your projects and team.

Cost: Teamwork is a subscription-based service with a Free Forever plan $0/month with limits, a Pro plan $9/month per user, billed annually, and an Enterprise plan contact for details, billed annually.

Trial period: 30 day free trial, 90 day money back guarantee

Features: Teamwork offers free includes task boards, subtasks, complex project management tools and color themes. Pro expands to include project portfolios and integrations with time tracking software, Dropbox and Drive, CRMS and other programs. It also includes file storage and custom designs to brand your business while Enterprise includes HIPPA compliance, Enterprise class security and more branding control.

Structure: The Teamwork platform is based on projects and includes milestones, task lists and tasks.

Pros:

• Short learning curve
• Ease of use
• Value for money
• Flexibility
• Great communication tools
• User-friendly and easy to navigate
• Mobile App available

Cons:

• Lack of detailed reporting
• Unable to perform more bulk task functions
• Template functions could be improved

Get App gives Teamwork.com a 4.5/5 with 92% positive reviews and 97% recommended.

Asana

Tagline: It's free to use, simple to get started, and powerful enough to run your entire business.

Cost: Asana is a subscription-based freemium service with Basic free, Premium $9.99/month per user, billed annually, and Enterprise, contact for details

Trial period: yes

Features: Asana includes API, activity dashboard, file management, permissions, user access controls, and search functionality.

Structure: Team members create workspaces which are composed of projects and projects each contain tasks. Team members can then enter notes, comments, attachments and tags.

Pros:

• User-friendly platform
• Simple, well organized, program integration

Cons:

• Premium features are expensive
• More complex than alternative options

Get App gives Asana a 4.3/5 with 86% positive reviews and 96% recommended.

Nozbe

Tagline: Simply get everything done.

Cost: Nozbe is also a subscription-based service with Solo/Duo ($8/month), Small Business ($18/month up to 8 users), and Business ($78/month with unlimited users) levels.

Trial period: Free 30 day trial

Features: The platform optimizes productivity, mobility, collaboration and has a unique inspiration feature where you can receive coaching from founder Michael Sliwinski for free. The Business plan includes dedicated training and optional company training as well as VIP support with a dedicated account manager.

Structure: Nozbe users can utilize the platform off-line as the platform saves progress and then syncs once logged back in. This tool works on multiple platforms and integrates easily with many programs including Evernote, Dropbox and Google Drive. Designed for the individual use as well as the small to medium-sized company. Tools include calendar, customizable project templates, scheduling and support for multiple projects.

Pros:

• Universal cross-platform
• Simple user interface
• Real-time team collaboration
• Integration
• Templates

Cons:

• Limited free plan
• Task dependencies
• No reports
• Incompatible with Gantt charts

Slant users gave Nozbe 26 thumbs up and 11 thumbs down.

Wrike

Tagline: Work is more efficient with Wrike.

Cost: Subscription-based freemium service include Basic plan (free up to 5include), Professional ($9.80/month per user, billed annually), Business ($24.80/month per user, billed annually), Marketers ($34.60/month per user, billed annually) and Enterprise contact for details.

Trial period: free trial period

Features: The basic plan includes unlimited projects, collaborators and key features for up to 5 users. It offers real-time updates in group activity feed and a platform structured by teams with organizational details and assignments.

Structure:  Wrike is integrated with Microsoft Office 365 and can be downloaded from that platform’s store. This integration allows teams to collaborate using the tools in the Microsoft Office packages.

Pros:

• Good for teams large or small
• Flexibility of project regimes
• Able to manage financial applications
• Flexibility of task views
• Project replication

Cons:

• Lack of shared calendar
• Lack of tutorials
• Complex navigation

Get App gives Wrike a 4.2/5 with 85% positive reviews and 93% recommended.

Trello

Trello is primarily designed as a visual platform. If you and your team tend to be more visually oriented, the Trello outshines all the others. However, if any part of your team is not geared towards a more visual layout, Trello will be inadequate for your needs.

Tagline: Your entire project, in a single glance.

Cost: Also a subscription-based freemium service, Trello offers Standard (free), Business Class ($8.33/month per user when paid annually), and Enterprise ($20.83/month per user when paid annually.

Trial period: yes

Features: Developer based API, attached photos, drawings, sketches and mockups, collaborative workspace, third-party integration, security and employee management. Trello allows you to invite outside members to the board within the organization.

Structure: This platform stands out for its design features. According to projectmanagers.net, “Visual three-tiered organization system make it a bit easier to grasp and because it has a freemium option even fledging businesses can afford to use it.” Those three tiers are boards, lists and cards. Boards can be public, private or limited access. The cards allow for customization including attaching images, links, emoticons and history for each activity.

Pros:

• Works like an app and user-friendly on all screens
• Fast update speeds
• Simple assignments

Cons:

• Lack of Gantt, document composition or calendar

Get App gives Trello a 4.4/5 with 88% positive reviews and 97% recommended.

Final Thoughts

If you are serious about a project management programs comparison for your own business needs, we highly recommend you check out Get App to do a comparison of all the features.

Productivity is the name of the game. We are always looking for ways to make the hours in the day stretch in order to get the most out of them. These tools can help you to streamline your projects whether it's just you or an entire team.  When you are ready to outsource work or integrate with virtual assistants, these tools can help you keep the vision moving forward. We have previously discussed scheduling programs, these tools utilized together enhance your team efficiency.