The Ultimate Guide to Hiring Your First Virtual Assistant
Building a team is a really big deal. Especially if you’re about to hire your first employee, it can feel like a huge decision. You might not even know where to start!
But building your team is a very important factor in creating a business that is owner independent. If you don’t know what I mean by that…
An owner independent business is one in which the business is thriving whether or not the owner shows up to work.
(If you want to dive deeper into this, check out episode 37 of Business As A Magical Practice podcast: How to elevate from overworked to the successful, lazy bitch everyone is talking about)
Having a team allows you to magnify and amplify your time. Instead of you having to show up and do the thing, your team can do it for you. You could also hire people that either do it better than you, or know how to do things that you don’t even know how to do in the first place.
Through hiring many remote team members for clients, I’ve learned quite a few things. And I am so excited to be able to share these with you.
But first, let’s figure out if it’s even a good time for you to hire someone!
How to know you’re ready to hire
It can seem really confusing to try to figure out when you’re ready to hire, but really it comes down to several overlapping things.
1. You have extra money.
It can be as simple as this! If you have a profit in your business (i.e., you’re bringing in more money than you’re spending), hiring support can significantly fast track your growth.
This doesn’t necessarily have to mean you have extra money from the business you’re wanting to hire someone for. If you’re trying to get that business off the ground but you have surplus money in other areas, you can funnel them into your infant-business in the form of hiring help.
2. You need specialized help.
Maybe you need someone who really understands Kajabi, or you want marketing support, or you want input from a copywriter on how to make your content more enticing.
3. You don't have time to do all the things you want to do for your business
… because you have so much going on in the rest of your life — maybe you’re a parent or you have other businesses you’re also running.
How to Actually Build Your Team
So. How do we actually go about creating your dream-team with the best support possible?
First, you need to identify what you’re looking for in a candidate.
If you need systems & you’re triggered by tech, make sure you hire someone who loves tech & their mind thinks that way.
If you need help with social media or community management or client care, make sure you hire someone that loves that level of people interaction.
In a lot of ways, the candidate’s motivation to learn and grow is more important than their skills.
“It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” - Steve Jobs
The actual flow of the hiring process looks like this:
Create job description
Create job posting
Invite people to apply
First round interview with your top 5-10
Invite the top prospects to complete Trial tasks
Second round interview
Make an offer
Start your Trial month
Let’s dive into the process.
Where should you look for the perfect people?
I have found that in the spiritual & mission-driven spaces, the best success comes from:
ASKING FOR REFERRALS from your trusted network,
Posting the job to YOUR AUDIENCE, or
Posting the job in aligned groups.
Obviously when posting to your audience you do need to specify that this is for people who want to work for you, who aren’t developing a business on the side, and who love being in supportive roles versus front and center.
Also, you want to look for people who want to grow with you… E.g., “part time with potential to grow to full time in the future.”
The Job Posting
What makes an effective job listing?
Just like you create juicy marketing material for your online programs… you want to do the same for your job posting.
Their time & energy is infused into your business. It matters a lot.
Job posting tips...
Speak to the DESIRES of your ideal candidate
Use questions like: “Are you bored in your current admin role? Would you like to work from home on your own schedule?”
Not: “We’re looking for a candidate who…”
Get specific in who you’re talking to
You want people to think, “Wow, that’s me!!”
Not some ambiguous “this is for everyone” thing.
Don’t be overly wordy
Communicate your mission & vision in a straightforward way they can understand.
Don’t be afraid to add heart and seduction!
This is how you create a moving, specific, unicorn-luring job posting.
Compensation
If you have a specific rate or a specific range in mind, list it in the posting.
If you’re not sure, do some research into average hourly pay for virtual assistants, online business managers, or graphic designers. You can also check places like Upwork or Indeed to see what other people are charging.
How to Conduct the Interview
Creating questions for the interview
First of all, in an interview, don’t talk too much - you don’t want to tee up your candidate to just say what you want them to say.
The main questions you want to ask are situational based questions to gauge their ACTUAL experience. You want to know what they have done, not what they would do.
You start with looking at the ideal traits that you already outlined, and create situational questions from there.
Set a comfortable tone
You want your interviewees to feel comfortable & relaxed.
By triggering stress through old school interview techniques you could be actually highlighting and giving a leg up to people who are good at interviewing versus who are good for the position.
Set an agenda at the beginning. Let them know from the get go of the interview what next steps in the interview process looks like. By doing this you can calm your prospect’s brain so they can fully show up for you.
Don’t just “trust your gut”
Our brain’s natural tendency is to try and trust people we like. This does not mean that they’re a good fit! Trusting your gut is important, but it’s only a part of the picture when trying to find the right fit for your business.
It takes time to hire good employees / people
Spending the time and energy to hire good people ultimately saves you time AND makes you not stuck with less than ideal people that you settle for because you’re attached or don’t want to go through the hiring and training process all over again.
Journaling Prompts to Feel Supported in Your Business
In order to find the perfect unicorn candidate for your team…
...you will need to create the space in your mind, body, and spirit for feeling supported and letting go of control.
Here are several journaling prompts to help you prepare for this next stage in your business.
What does feeling “supported” feel like in your body?
Why should people be excited & turned on to work with your business?
How can you benefit your business by hiring an assistant or team member?
How can you benefit the world by hiring an assistant or team member?
Now let’s hear from you…
What role are you looking to hire for next?
And if you want the Dirty Alchemy team’s support in growing your business, get your name on the Alchemical Business Accelerator waitlist stat!