Maximizing Business Efficiency with Virtual Assistants: Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities | Virtual Wholesaling Podcast with Antoine Campbell

Speaker 1:
0:18
Welcome, welcome, welcome to today's lab. We got a great subject. We're going to be talking about virtual systems. Once again, I think I'm going to move over to a little real estate conversation it's probably mid-week and then next week is all about lead generation for entrepreneurs. So every topic we're going to be covering next week is simply lead generation on what you can do to be producing leads for your business and growing and scaling your business.

Speaker 1:
0:47
That being said, you know we're going to be talking about the costliest business. Is it costly, is it a costly expense or is it a smart investment? And I want to tell you the God honest truth and what I think, in my opinion, is about working with offshore employees, aka virtual assistants, and what are some pitfalls and what are some things you may struggle with or you may lose money on. Right, let's get into it. But before we get into it, do me a favor follow your boy on Instagram at CEO929. If you're interested in hiring a virtual assistant, head over to CEO929.com, click on the VA and book a call with me and get signed up. That being said, let's get into it. So most people think that the VA is a bad investment. Most people think the VA is a good investment. I'm going to give it to you on a bad investment. Most people think the VAs are a good investment. I'm going to give it to you on a bad side. If you don't have tools in the system, the VAs can be a money pick.

Speaker 1:
1:52
You know, there was a time when I got started and I wanted to scale. I had literally a whole operation. I had like eight to ten employees that was working for me, that I was paying, and it's my fault. Most of the stuff that you go through as an entrepreneur is going to be used. So that's one of the biggest things I want you to understand is you have to take accountability for yourself and your life. So I was paying these eight plus employees every single week for like six months straight, wasn't really checking in on them, wasn't really watching them, wasn't really looking in on them, wasn't really watching them, wasn't really looking into the operations and literally I probably paid out probably like $40,000, $50,000 worth of payroll and didn't see a return on it. I didn't see a return on my money. I didn't see a return on my investment. I'm pretty sure there was people stealing from me, submitting bills, time logs, and they weren't really reporting the work. I was being robbed blind because I was so distracted by my other businesses.

Speaker 1:
2:53
That's why, if you're an entrepreneur and you run multiple things, multiple businesses, you want to separate the things and then you want to be able to manage and lead at the highest level possible. So when you're in the lead of your other businesses, you're going to lose money. So I lost money that way and I felt like I was robbed and cheated. But, like I said, the only person I should be blaming was myself, because I wasn't as attentive to the operation and I wasn't responsible and I wasn't a good store of money towards that particular operation. So it can really be costly if you don't know what you're doing. It can really be costly if you work a day job and you just like set it and forget it. Here you go, here's your script. Good luck.

Speaker 1:
3:41
Now, if you're managing a VA like that, then you're definitely not going to get results. You're going to go without getting leads and prospects. You're going to go with half-finished assignments. They're going to be making excuses they ain't my hair, I lost power. They're going to run you over if they see a sign of weakness. So most of the entrepreneurs who work with VAs, they have some type of success. They're very strong leaders, they're very visual, they're very hands-on and they're very strong leaders. They're very visual, they're very hands-on and they're very detail-oriented, right? So if you don't possess them characters and skills you may struggle with an offshore VA.

Speaker 1:
4:17
Now, most of the time 89% of the times I made in the green with my VAs, meaning it was worth the investment, it made sense. You know what I mean. Like because I was very hands-on, I was very attentive, I focused on so many things in the business that surrounded their position that I got really great at managing and delegating to the VAs. So if you are like that, then you're going to do really well with working and growing and scaling with virtual assistants. But it's a great investment because it's a fraction of the cost. So, like a typical VA, you can pay $4 an hour for most of the tasks and things right, such as social media management, cold calling, appointment setting, general admin stuff something about between a four and five hour position. Now here in America you're going to be paying between $18 and $27 an hour for these various tasks to be paid.

Speaker 1:
5:21
So definitely it's a great investment, definitely it makes sense, but you just got to make sure that you're not overcompensating and like being lazy and relaxed oh, don't worry about it, I'll pay you for today. Call out Like you don't want to be like that because it is not overwhelming. Well, one or two or maybe three days. But when you're really truly growing your business and you're working with 15 to 35 different virtual assistants in all capacities of your business, it can really start adding up. Right, and that's one of the biggest things I want you to understand that treat this like this is your last money. Treat this like this is all you got, and then you're going to be able to manage the VA a lot better.

Speaker 1:
6:07
That being said, you want to make sure that you focus on what's important to the business for growth Right, the skills. You want to make sure you provide the training and you're being very detail oriented about the task at hand and what's expected, right? Sometimes you know people just say, hey, man, here's some tags you figured out. But you want to figure out with them or for them, so that way they can be even better and the money that you're spending with them makes sense. Listen, if this is your first time watching a live, do me a favor, whether you're watching a replay or you're watching a live stream. Now do me a favor and drop where you're watching from. That would be greatly appreciated. But, like I said, you want to make sure you have a tax time.

Speaker 1:
6:57
I was on the call this morning with one of my VIP clients. We work easily. I signed up for an eight-month consulting package. I'm at his disposal for eight months and I literally built out these SOPs and these standards and these procedures and I went through it with the VA to explain what is expected of them and how to do it, so that way they understand. And sometimes when you do your SOPs and you do things, you want to explain it in the lamest terms possible so that way your VA can really adapt and catch on. And then you want to standardize this right, you want to create a standard. Just like how many donors do? The same McChicken you get here in Washington DC, that's the same McChicken you get in Austin, texas, there's no difference. So when you standardize this stuff in your business, you're able to replicate it and you're able to scale and bring all people. When people come and go, you won't have to worry about man. I got to start a little man. I got to train this. You have that already. So have your trainers, have all of your SOPs, put all that in a Google Drive or a folder somewhere and just be more organized and just be more organized so most people won't tell you.

Speaker 1:
8:11
The people that lose money with VAs are the people that's not organized. The people that lose money with the VAs are the people that don't have a real business or a real system. The people that lose money with VAs don't have a formal schedule. The people that lose money with VAs are not time blocking the VA schedule. The people that lose money with VAs aren't using the time software management tracking to track the VA's productivity workouts. The people that do the Miami VA they're not meeting with the VA consistently multiple times a week. The people that are struggling with the VA they're not giving assessments to the VA and giving improvement assessments and just doing quality insurance checks just to make sure you shouldn't get to the point where you fail the VA and you're ready to fire them, and all that to the point that you, as the owner, are ready to take administrative actions. You should be working from an administrative capacity all the time in business to figure out how can you improve the VA quality of work, how can you improve their skill set, and then how you can improve you as a leader.

Speaker 1:
9:14
So one of the things I recommend, guys, is go on YouTube, watch all of the John Maxwell leadership stuff. Watch all the different leadership stuff, all the mindset stuff, because even if you're not making money yet and you're running a business, someone depends on you to pay them their salary to take care of their family. So even if you're not making the money you would like to make or you haven't made the money yet, you're still running a business, so treat it accordingly. That being said, from my personal opinion, a VA could be an absolutely amazing investment For what you pay. For one full-time American, you probably can hire between two to like seven VAs it all depends on the position and that's a lot of people that you can get to do work in your business. You know what I mean you can really call business Like. I know some guys out here that have 200 VAs just in their business and different marketing departments and different things and different places in their business.

Speaker 1:
10:23
At one point, the Antoine Campbell Enterprise had well over 68 employees working for me directly and I was paying out you know multiple thousand dollars a week in payroll. And for me directly and I was paying out, you know, multiple thousand dollars a week in payroll and for me it was a reason why I downsized and stuff. But looking back at it, like as I get back on the horse and I'm thinking about growing my business to that level again and really getting out there and acquiring businesses and selling businesses and all that type of stuff I realized that in the next five years I'm going to have a crazy workforce. So now I have to stop to really do the work to plan. What is the standardization of an employee coming to work for me? What does that look like? What does that look like them getting the support they need? What does that look like? The management over top of them? What does that look like them growing and getting promoted and all of that stuff?

Speaker 1:
11:16
Once you see the future and you understand where you want to go, you start there first and then you work your way back. When you work your way back, then you know exactly the mission that you need to be on, where you need to go. So many people as entrepreneurs are working in a dock. They're shooting in a dock. They don't know what's going on. They're just hoping and praying they make money. That's one of the dangerous things you can do in your business. Just hope and pray that you make money in your business. You have to build a predictable business.

Speaker 1:
11:50
I believe with the power of virtual assistant they can really take you to whatever level you want to be. Listen, there's another amazing YouTube video. If you feel in your heart you're ready to hire virtual assistants, head over to vaco929.com that's vaco929.com and book a call with us so we can discuss all of your hiring needs to take you to the next level. If you're looking for something a little more high-level, like a consultant slash business coach to come into your business to help you put out a system maybe you're working in VA but you just don't have the system and the tools in place book a call with us, even at ceo929.com. Let's talk about your needs to figure out if I'm even a good fit to work with you to help you take your business to the next level.

Speaker 1:
12:43
Like and subscribe to this channel. We're going to be putting out a lot of more content and follow our podcast. We'll be working on one more podcast and then we're having a local meetup. So the DMV Entrepreneur Meetup is live and it's thriving and we're going to be having a meetup sometime in late September, early October, so look out for that. Somewhere in the PG County, washington DC area. We're going to have a meetup every month. Once a month we're going to be working on speakers and different people to come and give you value and take your business to the next level. But, like I say, enjoy your night. I'll see you back tomorrow. I'm going to be making my business, trying to go live again tomorrow to really provide awesome value for you.