We’re at the end of the decade.
It’s wild to think about the end of the year being the end of the decade. On the surface, we look at the end of the year as a time to make new promises and commitments to ourselves as we prepare for the opportunity of new beginnings.
Although this year is a bit more than just another “end of year”. We're entering a new period in time.. We’re entering the 20’s… the 20’s in the 21st century.
I’ve made major shifts in my life in 2019 and in the process realized how incredible the year 2019 was for humanity as a whole.
WARNING: Going a bit deeper in this blog post than I usually do for the Success with Swag(ger) series on PromoCorner.com…
An Awakening
As I look back on my spiritual journey that represented 2019, I think about my experience with mother nature through plant medicine (namely Ayahuasca) and I go back to the experience of having the “ego death” awakening in the Spring. That experience catapulted a major shift not only for my year, but my life (and my soul).
The more I’ve talked with people about my spiritual awakening, the more I realized I wasn’t alone. I’ve talked with and heard about so many awakenings in this year alone.
I can’t help but think that our society is on a better path … a path that many are referring to as a great awakening.
Back to Business
The spiritual stuff is important… whether you’re religious, spiritual, agnostic or identify with any other faith… I believe we need to have a bigger focus of SOUL / Life Balance rather than Work / Life Balance.
However, for the purpose of this blog I’d like to go back to the business side of things. Being that business (work) is a component of life - we’re going to take a deeper dive into some practices that could help make “work” less of a focus in your life.
It starts with Virtual Assistants…
Consider a New Business Model
When people think of virtual assistants (VA’s), they often think of quick and small tasks that can be done quickly at a cheap price.
Sure, you can definitely hire VA’s to just outsource some things here and there. I’ve been there. The truth is that this is not the way to work with VA’s.
In fact, I’d argue when you look at VA’s as a quick fix you are doing a disservice to yourself, your business, and your VA('s).
Rather, look at virtual assistants as if they were employees of your business.
Look at VA’s as if you were to recruit, train and manage them in the same manner that you would your employees.
It is when we make a conscious shift in our mindset that VA’s can be like employees, that we begin to have success with VA’s.
The reason for this is we begin to slow down. We begin to realize that VA’s can’t predict what we are thinking and we need to approach working with them in the same manner that we would any new hire.
Why Working With VA’s is Important
There are 2 main reasons why I know implementing a VA model within your business is important.
- Freedom: It’s not just about freeing up your time.. They (VA’s) get to choose who they work with, the type of work they do and when they work. This gives more people in our world the chance to live their lives on their terms and not be forced into a 9-5 office job (NOTE: I’m not claiming that there’s anything wrong with the classic 9-5. I’m simply saying that it’s amazing that as an entrepreneur you can actually help others improve their quality of life if the entrepreneur route isn’t for them)
- VA’s will improve your Bottom Line: The ROI on VA’s is incredible. Check out this online calculator my VA’s built for you to show you the ROI of working with VA’s (more on this concept in this podcast episode). HINT: You could easily have 10 VA’s on your team that are specialists in one specific area for the price of 1 full-time employee.
I look at VA’s as specialists; they will help you with specific tasks. Whether you are bringing on VA’s to free up your own time or time of your employees, it’s a great practice to reevaluate where everyone on your team spends their time.
Our time is best spent on our strengths. For this upcoming opportunity to begin again in a new decade, I highly recommend on reevaluating how and where you spend your time. I wish for you, I wish for all of us to have more time living our lives and less time working.
If you want to learn my exact steps to hiring your first VA and beginning to scale then make sure to come to the Workshop at Expo this January. For more details, check out this link!
Cheers to New Beginnings in the New Decade,
Sam AKA SwagSam
Sam Kabert is the creative director of SwagWorx and the creator and co-host of the podcast “WhatUp Silicon Valley!” A risk taker who embraces permanent beta, Sam is leading the transformation of his family-run office supplies business into a promotional products powerhouse. Sam can be reached at Sam@SwagWorx.com.