7 Things I Outsource as a Designer
A big goal of mine for 2021 was to find a virtual assistant who I can outsource tasks in my business to – and in January, I finally took that leap of faith!
As someone who is a complete control freak and a perfectionist, I had some hesitations about outsourcing. But at the same time, I was starting to feel myself being spread too thin. I knew it was time to hire a VA when I was spending far too much time on administrative tasks and content planning, rather than focusing my time and energy into client projects. My clients always come first!
I knew this was something I needed to do in order to scale my business and continue to grow at the rate that I’ve been growing.
After only two weeks of working with my wonderful VA, Courtney, I can confidently say that she’s the best investment I’ve made in my business thus far. She’s played a pivotal role in freeing up my time to focus on what I actually want to work on and that has also translated to my personal goals. For example, I now have more time available to focus on my health and fitness journey.
So, you may be wondering, “what exactly does a Virtual Assistant do?”
Well, I’m here to give you all the details.
1. CONTENT PLANNING
This was one of the first things that came to mind when deciding whether to outsource or not. Having my assistant organize my content into an organized calendar allows me to see what I need to prepare or have her create for the month.
2. CAPTION WRITING
This goes hand-in-hand with content planning – I didn’t have the time for it. My assistant will write most of my captions and I go in and make edits before posting to ensure it’s being filtered through my brand voice and the way I speak.
3. HASHTAG RESEARCH
My VA specifically offers hashtag research, which was implemented within the first week & INSTANTLY saw positive results.
4. PINTEREST OPTIMIZATION
As a designer I live on Pinterest. However, my account wasn’t the most organized. So she went in and organized all of my boards, deleting old Pins and optimizing my boards.
5. CLIENT ONBOARDING
Courtney was already trained in the CRM software I use to onboard my clients (Dubsado and Trello), so it was an easy transition to have her take this on!
6. BLOG POSTS
The thing you’re reading right now? Yeah, it may, or may not have been outsourced.
7. STOCK IMAGE SOURCING
I use a substantial amount of stock images for client projects, so I’ll have Courtney hunt for these every other week.
The list goes on and will continue to grow! Sometimes the tasks change from week to week.
Being a solopreneur can get lonely! So, having someone on your side who understands your business and is there to help you is extremely comforting. Having a quality virtual assistant allows you to protect your time and energy, which is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and for your business. If you’re an entrepreneur who is looking to scale, I would highly recommend hiring a VA as the first step!