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Val Geisler of Aspire & Grow is back this week and she’s taking on the subject of hiring support for your business along with a continuation of our discussion on implementing the best tools & systems for growth.
If you missed the episode from last week, be sure to go and listen as it builds up to this one.
Val is on a mission to make every creative business owner feel organized, productive, profitable and joyful about the work they do.
“The miscellaneous file is not a file” – Val Geisler
She’s an expert at helping others grow their businesses in a sustainable and intelligent way. And this week, Val will be breaking down some more of her favorite systems and tools as well as her best practices for finding and hiring the right people for your business.
Show Highlights
- The #1 challenge that Val’s clients face and how to resolve it right now!
- Google Docs or Evernote? Val describes how she uses each one and why?
- Val gives great examples of how anyone can benefit from implementing a basic project management tool early in your business.
- Choose the tool that’s the best fit for you. Val breaks down the best project management tools for linear thinkers vs. visual thinkers.
- How to choose your tools quickly and efficiently and then move forward into money-making activities.
- When is the best time to hire help in your business, even if you don’t feel you have the money to do it.
- What is it costing you NOT to hire someone to help move your projects forward and start bringing more revenue through the doors of your business?
- Should I hire support from overseas? Val describes when it makes sense to use these resources as well as the difference between overseas support and local support.
- The best places to look for specialized support such as web design, copywriting, web development, project management and online business managers.
- Val talks about the biggest failure that she’s had to overcome in business and what she’s learned from it.
TOOLS:
Here are Val’s recommended tools for really getting your business off on the right track. These tools should also be considered for implementation early in your business because the sooner you implement them, the easier it will be to grow and scale your business.
- File sharing and collaboration – Val’s favorite tool for process mapping and file sharing is Google Docs. This is a FREE tool that allows for real-time file sharing and collaboration of documents. I use it every day and find it to be an invaluable tool for managing my business.
- A basic project management tool – It’s so much better to start with a basic project management tool early on. Val recommends setting up all the different areas of managing your business in Asana. It’s a free tool that’s perfect for any new business and it’s robust enough to use as your business grows and expands.
- Create an idea parking lot – Create a folder dedicated to storing all of your ideas in one place. Val uses Evernote and the Evernote Web Clipper browser extension to tag links and be able to reference back to them easily.
HIRING SUPPORT:
Knowing when and who to hire is critical to the growth and expansion of any business. Here are Val’s recommendations for getting the support you’ll need.
- When is the best time to add support, even if you don’t think you have the money to do it? Hire someone to help you early on, even if it’s just on a project basis. This will propel you into the mindset of delegating tasks so that you’re not inclined to hold on so tight later on.
- Think of outsourcing just one thing in your business. Practice hiring someone for a small project that you don’t have expertise with. This will help you to feel really good about adding people to your team when they’re needed later.
- oDesk, Elance, TaskRabbit, and fiverr are great resources to find support for more generalized support tasks in your business. Val describes an example of how she uses these services.
- One smart way to hire for your business is to outsource specialized support. Find someone that can do a task quickly that it would otherwise take you hours or days to learn. Val encourages people to ask other colleagues and business owners who they use for specialized services. She also encourages people to search online groups like LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ to find these resources. These are great places to find highly qualified specialists and to post job listings.
- Some other great resources that Val recommends for defining and selecting support are The 4-Hour Workweek and The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss.
Putting all the right systems and support in place is one of the trickiest things about building a business from scratch. Having the right knowledge of tools and systems is critical to your success early on.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this mini-series with Val Geisler. Feel free to ask any questions about tools, systems or support in the comments section and Val or I will get back to you with an answer right away.
Question: What’s the next step for you and your business? Which tool, system or level of support is most important for you to implement right now? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Interview Links for Val:
- Aspire & Grow – Be sure to check out Val’s main website where you will find incredible resources for simplifying and streamlining your business.
- Systems Finishing School – Systems Finishing School is designed for business owners who are serious about saving time and money – and seriously want to get their affairs in order. The next session starts in January so be sure to get on the list if you’re interested.
- Be sure to join Val’s FREE Simplified Systems Facebook group. You’ll find daily challenges for implementing systems in your business as well as a fun community to geek out on all things that involve systems, support and tools.
- The 12 Days of Systems Challenge – a fun peek into the systems used by 12 different successful entrepreneurs.
- Say hello to Val on Facebook or Twitter
