KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

• When it comes to hiring your first virtual assistant the most common objection is that you don’t think you can afford it. If you don’t stop doing those tasks that allow you to hire a virtual assistant, you’ll never be able to afford it. You must hire a VA first to get there. Even if you’re not incredibly profitable, it’s still a great investment.
• When working out whether or not you need a virtual assistant, write down the tasks you do every single day and think whether or not you are the only person that can do them. If not, you may want to consider hiring a VA. Think about whether or not these tasks are worth your hours.
• If you want to teach your VA how to do the tasks that you’re doing daily, screen record yourself doing those tasks and talk yourself through it. It takes no extra time to what you’re already doing, but it means you have a training video for any assistants you bring on board.
• When you place your VA job advertisement you must detail everything from the start. Make sure you make it clear they’re going to grow with your business, and that you want them to prove they’re the right person for the job. The best way to do this is to include a list of tasks you want applicants to complete in your job advertisement. Not only does it test their ability to follow instructions, but it shows you what skills they have.
• Once they have completed their tasks, you can narrow it down to those that you want to use and interview them. After your interviews, you can bring one of two VA’s on board for a PAID trial. Make it very clear what you want them to do in your trial and link them to the training videos you have already created.
• You must be making your virtual assistant feel as though they’re a valued member of your team. Do whatever you can to make them feel valued.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO REMEMBER ABOVE ALL ELSE…

One of the best ways you can succeed with a virtual assistant is to consider them as someone you want to grow with you as a business. You need to show them that they are of value.

HIGHLIGHTS YOU SIMPLY CAN'T MISS

• Introducing Jen Lenher – 13:51
• Alexa Flash Briefings – 19:00
• Hiring Your First Virtual Assistant – 21:57
• When A Virtual Assistant Becomes Much More – 29:00
• Finding Those Tasks You’re Repeating Daily and Training Your VA – 30:42
• Writing Your Job Advertisement and Using A Trial Period To Find The Perfect VA - 35:06
• Valuing Your VA - 46:00

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE

• Jen’s One Hour Workshop On Hiring A VA
• Jen’s Podcast Episode
• Jen’s Blog Post
• Jen’s Instagram
• Jen’s Twitter
• Jen's community

Transcript below

Hello and a super warm welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast. How are you? I have just come back from two weeks away in the states having attended two different conferences. The first one was the Kajabi Summit, Kajabi Impact Summit, sorry. And that was a three day event in Irvine in California and it was run by Kajabi and they used their customers as speakers but boy did they have the best customers. Like when if I was to write a dream list of people I would want to watch on a stage, they probably had the same list. It was amazing so much so I decided to write a blog post about the summit and how good it was. I reviewed briefly the speakers and also wrote kind of what was their key takeaway or their key point and their learnings.

So if you do want to go and have a look at that, I’m going to hook that up in the show notes for today because I never write blog posts or I rarely write them because I don’t like writing as you well know.. Hence why I have a podcast. But I was so compelled because it was so good and I knew I wouldn’t be home for a few weeks and I knew I wouldn’t have an available episode for quite a few weeks so therefore decided to write this blog post. Got that out. There within about a week which I was really pleased about although it did take me ages to write I will admit but it was a great conference. Really really good and Kajabi basically won me over. They are a great program. They have some amazing facilities in their platform and I am slowly learning more about it so that I can potentially put my stuff on Kajabi. So that’s exciting. Just a bit more work to do.

And then the second conference I attended was actually a private event which was because I am part of James Wedmore’s Business by Design Next Level Coaching Program and he puts on a couple of events a year for those people. So there’s literally about 80-90 people in the room, all his coaches, he’s on the stage in front. There was a speaker actually but there isn’t normally because the event is really to be honest the coaching program rather than a conference where you sit and listen speakers. So the idea is, he tailors the individual events to the people that are in the room. He gets to do or he asked people for hot seats. He goes through particular problems. It really is an opportunity for you to have almost a month of one work with James and his team. So that was a really good event. They’re all really full on and very long days.

So the Kajabi conference, they started when we actually got there at about 7 am to get a good seat. I know such a geek but as I like to talk about and funnily enough I talk about in today’s podcast front and center is always where you’ll spot me in a conference because you want to be right there in front of those speakers and I like people that are front and center and so when I’m speaking and I see those faces so I’ve always used as a tool myself. But anyway said they were they started like 7am and they went on till some of the nights till about 8 or 9 pm. So those were really long days, short breaks and then the conference for James Wedmore. His event again that started us sort of eight thirty and went through to seven thirty. So long long days they know how to do it. It just is so packed full of amazing stuff. So I’ve come away from that head headful of cool stuff, now need to kind of climitize back into the UK. I’ve done a lot of travelling these first three months or these last three months I should say cause in the fourth month and I’m really now looking forward to settling down a bit and getting some actual work done. What was great is during my time in the States, I was able to really clarify on my offer in terms of what I want to offer people to work with me because I do the podcast every week, which I love. I say that every week but I do love it and I love getting your messages so thank you for that and I’ve had some ones recently which have been just super lovely but I love getting your messages and I love doing the podcast.

However people want to work with me, which is amazing and I’d love to work more closely with people so I’m putting together a structure of how you can work with me and there’s gonna be different levels and different price points. So look out for this it’s gonna be coming and I don’t want to be sales-y about it now. I’ve decided that I’m rebelling a little bit against some of the marketing strategies that I teach which sounds completely ridiculous. It’s not, bear with me. So you know how I’ve just started doing my email and I emailings you all if you’re on my list every single week and it’s a very personal email from me to you guys and I’m writing it. I’m trying to add value but I was thinking about this when I was coming up with subject lines for these e-mails and previously, I would do subject lines that have your name in there. So it might say, “Hey Teresa, hello from California” or something like that in the actual subject line. And then I thought to myself, if I was writing an e-mail to a friend or to a client or to a colleague would I write their name in the email subject line? No, I don’t think I would. Would you? I didn’t. I don’t think I’ve ever done that. So why is it marketing, we think putting that name there is going to attract us to open the e-mail. Now I can argue why that would work.

But in my quest to be as authentic as possible and because I get tired of trying to be sold to in a really sleazy sales and marketing way that I want to kind of do this in a much more positive and less sleazy manner that I was looking at some of these marketing tools thinking, actually that’s interesting that I would do that previously but I would never do that to a friend or a client. So that’s the way I’m trying to treat everybody. That’s the way I’m trying to put my message and my marketing across now so that I can do it as if I was talking to my friends because that’s what I see you as. All you lovely people that listen to the podcast, that interact with me, that get my emails and respond to me which is amazing. I see you as friends and people I want to work with and therefore I don’t want to treat you like I’m sending you some sleazy sales message. So I just wanted to get that out there and just let you know where we were and what I was thinking. So anyway like I saidm great few weeks done loads conferences, head’s about to burst but I am so glad I’ve got the next few months.. I think just about at home. I am speaking at a couple of UK events; one tomorrow, one next week in London. But most of them I mean they’re going to go up and down in the day or maybe just one overnight. But hopefully my case is going to be well stored at least for a few months which is kind of nice because I can get on with some work. So anyway on the today’s podcast episode and it’s gonna be a really good one. I am interviewing my very lovely friend Jen Lenher.

Now I have a great story to tell you about how I met Jen which we do talk about on the interview as well but I need to give you kind of the overview of this story. About four years ago, I decided that I wanted to look at getting a V.A. or an assistant or someone’s come work in the business and how in the business didn’t have the faintest idea where to start.

So I decided to Google as you do. What did you do beforw Google, I don’t know. But I decided to Google. How do I bring on a V.A.? What’s the process? And I find this lady who at the time I didn’t really pay huge amount attention to who she was, I was really just looking at the content she’s providing and she did a free download of a process or advice or tips. I can’t even remember it was NOW but I know there was a video and I know there was some content and I’m sure it’s for free at the time and I downloaded it and I watched it and I read it and it was really useful and it helped me understand why I would need a V.A. for and also had to recruit a V.A. now.

I then went on to find a V.A. and Katie, who’s worked with me for four years I think about four years came onto the business and that was it. I forgot then about this woman because obviously I’d done the purpose and thing I was meant to do which was to bring on someone in the business.

Now I guess probably six months later I went Social Media Marketing World. First time I’d attended and I was sat front and center for Amy Porterfield and this lady came and sat by me. I’m sure it was Amy Porterfield. Anyway this lady came and sat by me and we just hit it off. You know you start talking. She was lovely really liked her. We had a bit of a laugh and chatted. We talked about the fact that we always sit front and center for events and that’s you know that’s the place to be because obviously you want them to see you and you to see them and that sort of thing.

So anyway I have met her at this one event at Social Media Marketing Would. The other thing I need to mention if you haven’t been there it’s a huge event. There’s like 4,000 people at this event. And when one speakers on. There’s probably about.. well now you’re talking anything up to like 10 to 15 speakers on at once. So the chances of them coming across someone again during that event is slim to none.

Anyway I go into another session later on in the day, I go front and center. And who should I meet again. But this lovely Jen and this lovely lady and we sat chatting again. Anyway later on that evening I went to my room and I thought oh I’ll just have a look who I met today and I will go and find them on social media and connect with them, which is something I try and do when I see people at a conference. So I go on to Jen’s profile on social media and instantly recognize her photo and realize that she’s the person who’s free download I downloaded six months before so how odd that literally, I had done this download and then suddenly were sat next to each other at this event not once but twice. So the next day I go back to the event and I go into another session and lo and behold again, Jen and I are in the same session and I said to her, “Oh my God you won’t believe it. I’ve actually downloaded something of yours” which I just thought was so cool because if you’re putting content out online to meet someone and for someone then to say I’ve had your stuff or listened to your podcast or whatever it might be is really cool I have to say. So Jen and I were just like, “That’s hilarious.” Now Jen at that event coined the well the fact that I am now called by some people in some places the “British Amy Porterfield” because Jen and I sat in a session that was How to Become a Speaker at Social Media Marketing World. And she has said to me, “Oh my god, Teresa. You’re like the British Amy Porterfield.” Like we have the same color hair and some similar characteristics. And she was like, “That’s amazing.”

So anyway, a whole year later I’m going back to Social Media Marketing World again huge event for 5,000 people. I’m walking into the event. I don’t think I’d really had much to do with Jen in that year. I’d walk into the event and someone’s shouts, “Hey, British Amy Porterfield and I turned around and there was Jen, absolutely howling like I don’t know what’s best.. but first off she shouted it or second that I actually turned around as if I knew it was me. So anyway bit of a long story but it was so cool and it was almost like the universe was saying to us, you two need to be friends. I’m going to keep chucking you into the same place. And then since then I’ve met Jen a few different times at different conferences and we now are good friends and I love seeing her so to get her on the podcast is a real treat.

The other thing that I’ve bought on the podcast for which is kind of brilliant is I’ve got it to talk about bringing on a V.A. now I don’t know whether you’ve ever thought about bringing on a V.A. I don’t know whether you ever thought about expanding the business whether it terrifies you, whether you think you can afford it whether you think you can’t be bothered with the hassle of training someone but we’re going to address all these things today and she’s going to talk you through how she successfully is brought on V.A.’s to her business how obviously she’s helped me bring on a V.A. my business. So now the team has grown way more than that one V.A. I initially got and how basically I would put down a lot of my growth to the fact of the size of the team that I’d been bringing on. So it’s a really really good one today. And there’s lots of good tips and information in there for you. So I hope this is going to be fab. Now before I jump into the interview, let me tell you a little bit more about Jen.

So Jen is a digital marketing strategist. She’s a professor of digital marketing at Cleveland State University. She’s a podcaster, an author of a brand new book called “How to Create Alexa Flash Briefing”. She’s a contributor for Social Media Examiner and her online community the front row was recently featured in the Fast Company magazine as one of the top 12 Facebook groups to join before quitting your day job. Jenn lives in Shaker Heights in Ohio with her husband and three beautiful children and her 15 year old golden retriever.

I know you’re going to love her because she’s such a nice lady. She also has so much cool stuff for you to go and look at lots of free content out there. So I’ve hooked up to all that and the show notes. So please go and check that out. But I know you’re going to love today’s interview so here it is.

Teresa: So I am so excited today to welcome my very dear friend Jen to the podcast. Welcome Jen.

Jen: Hi Teresa. So good to be here.

Teresa: You know what I am so pleased to have you on now I have told the story in the intro but let me just recap slightly. So Jen and I met three years ago at Social Media Marketing World and what’s really hilarious. So there’s a few hilarious things about how Jen and I met. The universe definitely wanted destiny. So the first thing is that I had downloaded something of Jen’s before I even met her. And when I sat in Social Media Marketing World, on the front row which is another funny story on the front row, with this lady I met her. Thought you’re ace. Got her details. Went back to my room that evening and to find Jen online, found her and so I know you. And it was because I download a lead magnet of hers already which when you think about it is crazyness. Like the amount of content there is in the world the amount of people are in the world and I happen to find your one thing and then sit next to you at Social Media Marketing World, but not just once. It was like three occasions, was it? It was. It was Amy’s pants. I think Pat you were in front of me and then it was the How to Become a Speaker in Social Media Marketing World. So the other cool thing about the fact that we were on front row is that Jen has her whole branding and her whole business around being the front row enterpreneur and being someone who sits on the front row. Because Jen and I come from the same school. If you go to a conference she sit front and center like you get eye contact with those people on stage and it kind of just proves that your you’re all in on you’re kind of like that at the front ready to learn, ready to go. So it was such a cool meeting. And we’ve met lots of times since and we got to spend a whole few days together at the Kajabi Impact Summit which is great. And anyway, we’ve talked about getting Jen in the podcast for ages. I’m so glad you are on. So thank you for coming on.

Jen: So are you kidding me. Thank you. This is so exciting.

Teresa: It’s gonna be cool. So before we get into the topic, let’s just for my audience can you give us a brief overview of who you are and how you got to do what you do?

Jen: Sure. So I’m a digital marketing strategies and I just I just love all things marketing. I always have ever since I was a little kid. I do think some people are just born as entrepreneurs or marketers and and so I got into what I’m doing now. I think I was... I was in marketing in the corporate world for years and years and then my first child was born, I took a break, stayed home with the kids and when it was time to think about going back to work, doing marketing just seemed like the logical thing to do. But I just didn’t know exactly what that was going to look like. So I sort of did and offered everything and I did local consulting and I was really surprised that you know it’s it’s like anything that you’re good at. I think that we take it for granted because it comes easy to us that we assume that it that it’s also comes easy to other people. And I was really surprised at the things people would pay for. So so it was it was an exciting time. And and...