Ryan McLean : Slightly Unconventional

The Perks of Outsourcing

I went for a surf yesterday and never stopped working. I went to sleep last night and never stopped working. I watched a movie with my wife and never stopped working. All because I am outsourcing.

Sometimes I go through days where my mind is not really in the game, so instead I will do other fun things that fill my time. But when this happens I feel bad because I get no work done. But with outsourcing I can have these days and it is fine, because someone is still working on my behalf…for just $1/hour.

Here are some things I am thinking of outsourcing once my suburb profiles are done.

– Collecting data and creating ebooks or email responder lessons from rewriting that data (thanks for that idea Casey)
– Looking for positive cashflow properties
– I will draw up a template email so that my VA can make offers on properties on my behalf (then I only have to deal with the properties where my offer gets accepted…if it turns out I don’t like the property then I withdraw my offer at no cost)
– Uploading articles of mine to EzineArticles.com and other article databases
– Finding affiliate products for my email newsletter list
– Researching property stuff such as DA approval, subdividing, development etc…anything I need to know
– Bookeeping (Dont worry I don’t need to give them access to my bank account)
– Finding possible joint venture partners for property deals
– Finding real estate investors who have done what I want to do

There is so much fun with this. I think the main perk of having a VA is that I can give them things to do which I don’t have the headspace for.

For example, for ages I have wanted to create a course on making money with aweber, but don’t have the headspace for it. So now I can outsource it and I will probably outsource it with loads of products I want to create.

Another perk is that you can find more opportunities in less time. For example, if I hire someone to research properties for me they can simply sift through the chaff and email me properties that fit into my criteria. They can email agents and find out rents and other details before passing the information onto me. I might be able to look for property 5-10 hours per week without pulling my hair out and going insane. But now I can pay someone $10 and I can spend just 1 hour per week looking at the best properties. Or I can pay someone $40 per week and I can find loads of opportunities to do myself or to present to my investors. Way more than I ever could achieve myself.

If that works I may even take it to the next level and get my VA to make offers for me. Then I don’t have to email 100 agents, all I have to do is email the agents who are considering my offer. But I will do the previous one first and see how it goes.

For $20/week I have complete peace of mind because I am working hard even when I do nothing. If one property deal comes out of that $20/week then it completely pays for itself. Two property deals might make me $40/week and I can hire someone full time. I will start small (maybe 10 hours per week) and learn the ropes of having a VA and then work my way up. I can afford $10 per week. $10 buys me a tub of icecream, or it buys a teeny tiny bottle of fake tan for my wife, or 2 beers at the pub, or a meal at Maccas. $10 is cheap and what it buys me is worth so much more. It buys me time and peace of mind.

I encourage anyone to at least try using a VA. I found mine on www.oDesk.com. Before you start using a Virtual Assistant you won’t think you have anything to outsource, but once you start using one you find more things to outsource.

Think of it, how many opportunities could you take if it didn’t take up any of your time? The answer is near unlimited!

The more you outsource the more opportunities you have because they don’t have to run through you as a bottleneck. So the more you use a VA the more you will need one.

Why not try for fun. $10/week can buy you 10 hours of someones time. Have fun with it, get them to send emails for you or plan imaginary holidays to the Maldives. Give it a go.


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