AUGUST 6, 2024

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Welcome to The Tilt, a twice-weekly newsletter for content entrepreneurs.

Don’t Wait To Hire Until You’re Ready To Quit

Heading into a new school year can also be a good time for entrepreneurs to revisit their business operations. For some of you, it may be time to revisit our content about virtual assistants.

Waiting a while to hire help for your content business can be a big mistake. It can delay growth or, worse, lead you to become so overwhelmed you quit the business altogether.

Decide how their help can best help you and your business. With the help of the ChatGPT tool, I pulled together this list of things virtual assistants in creator businesses might do:

• Administrative tasks – data entry, email management, calendar schedule, and document preparation
• Audience and customer service – responding to inquiries, comments, complaints, etc.
• Marketing assistance – social media management, email marketing, content creation
• Business operations – invoicing, expense tracking, financial reports
• Project management – project planning, research, and execution
• Research – conducting online research, compiling data, interviewing sources
• Content creation – writing articles, shooting videos, finding images
• Tech support – troubleshooting, backing up data, maintaining software licenses

These individuals work remotely as far as the “virtual” part of the job. In many cases, they operate as independent contractors — a good arrangement for entrepreneurs who aren’t ready to invest in a traditional hourly or salaried employee and all the regulatory (taxes, etc.) requirements in that model. Of course, as independent contractors, they can decide when and how to get the work done (in consultation with but not mandated by you.)

​Erin Booth, a virtual assistant mentor, says entrepreneurs usually hire a VA to serve as a jack of all trades or for specific skills needed for their business.

General VAs typically offer admin services, such as managing calendars, travel, inboxes, digital organization, bookkeeping, etc. “Think of them like the admin wheels that keep your back-of-house running,” Erin says.

Specialty VAs offer services in addition to general administration work, usually based on their education or prior work history. “It’s not uncommon to find VAs who specialize in things like brand management, social media management, copyediting, video and podcast editing, community management, and more,” Erin says.

Rates differ for the two VA categories. According to Erin, a typical general VA rate in the US is $20 to $35 an hour, while specialty VAs can charge $40 to $75 an hour.

Identify what’s important to you and your business

Think about which of those services might be the most helpful to your business. Figure out what you don’t like to do and/or what you’re not the best at.

Here’s an easy way to figure that out: Look at your to-do lists from the past few weeks. Which ones do you keep pushing to the bottom? Which items never get done?

Now, with your virtual assistant wish list in hand, rank the services and eliminate ones that aren’t practical or appropriate to outsource.

For example, yes, you may get writer’s block and want to give up creating content for your products. But that’s not practical when the business is built around content from you. Or maybe you hate paying the bills and want someone else to do that. But do you want to give your new assistant access to your bank accounts? Will you require them to be bonded?

From your ranked list, pick the top two or three services you want to hire someone to do.

Craft the VA job description

“To get quality candidates, however, you need a quality job listing. If your job listing isn’t precise, explicit, and thorough, you’ll end up sorting through piles of resumes from candidates that don’t meet your requirements,” Erin says.

In your job listing, you should:

• Explain your company: Describe your business, its purpose, etc., in a few sentences. (Look to your about-us page, so you don’t have to start from scratch.)
• Detail the position: Create a one- or two-sentence introduction followed by a bulleted list of the services this person would provide.
• Note the experience required: Detail any specific skills or software knowledge necessary to do the job.
• Give them a why: Explain why they would want to work in your business and who would most enjoy or benefit from the position (i.e., a self-starter who wants to have an impact on the business).
• Specify the compensation: Stating a range of what you expect to pay — depending on experience — helps applicants decide if the financial package would work well for them. It also indicates that you’re an entrepreneur who believes in transparency and fairness.
• Tell them how to apply: Provide an email address and deadline along with what information you want them to send along, such as a resume, cover letter, references, etc.

It usually makes sense to publish this job posting on your website, then share an abbreviated version and link. Promote the vacancy on your owned channels, share in social media groups visited by virtual assistants, and ask your network and audience for suggestions.

After sifting through the application, it’s important to hop on a phone call or video chat with the finalists. “Ultimately, virtual assistants are business owners themselves. A call between the entrepreneur and the VA is important for both parties to get a better sense for cultural fit,” Erin says.

During the interview, consider asking questions such as:

• How long have you been a virtual assistant?
• What services do you offer? Do you have any specialty or niche skills?
• What is your availability? Do you prefer synchronous or async work?
• What are your rates?
• What is your work style?
• How do you handle challenging clients?
• What would you do if I gave you a task that you didn’t fully understand?
• How do you handle mistakes that you make?

“Behavioral questions can help assess a VA’s problem-solving skills and how they handle challenges. Don’t be afraid to ask these tough questions,” Erin advises.

Once you’ve selected your virtual assistant, the next step is to create a written contract and get it signed by both of you. Consult with an attorney or other legal expert resource to develop a contract that covers all the necessary points. This important document can detail the relationship, from required turnaround time to tasks to communication frequencies, etc.

With the contract signed, your virtual assistant can begin, and you can breathe at least a small sigh of relief.

-Ann Gynn

Entrepreneur: Cat Margulis

Biz: Passion Project​

Tilt: Helping speakers, coaches, experts, and thought leaders write, finish, publish, and market their books

Primary Channel: Newsletter (2.5K)

Other Channels: Website, LinkedIn (1.8K), Instagram (1K), X (1.6K), Substack​

Time to First Dollar: 12 months

Rev Streams: Book coaching, membership​

Our Favorite Actionable Advice

• Look for unexpected opportunities: Book coaching as a service line came about through unsolicited referrals. Cat’s success led her to make it her primary offering.
• Stay focused: Cat closed her content agency so she could put all her energies into her content tilt with a membership program and coaching services.
• Be strategic: A few months after launching her podcast, Cat created a newsletter partly to drive listeners to join the email database.

-Marc Maxhimer

​Read Cat’s story.​

Know a content creator who’s going full tilt? DM us. Or email tilt@thetilt.com.

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