New week, new topic.

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The third most-voted subject was mobile lifestyle/outsourcing. Let's explore that because a mobile and free lifestyle is unattainable without outsourcing.

Mobile Lifestyle, Part 1, let’s go!

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain.

Remember the New Rich?

The key skills of the NR are remote management and communication. Here's some advice from Timothy Ferriss, author of "The 4-Hour Work Week," to get your feet wet with these skills.

Hiring a remote personal assistant is a significant step. It marks the moment you learn to give orders and become the leader instead of the follower.

You need to learn how to be the boss. For a few weeks, a low-cost and low-risk way to do that is to use a Virtual Assistant.

Becoming a member of the NR is about working smarter and building systems to replace yourself.

Just preparing someone to replace you will create an ultrarefined set of rules that will eliminate the remaining fat and redundancy from your schedule.

Lingering and unimportant tasks disappear when someone else is paid to do them.

-> Do this small exercise at least for 1 week for the experience (2-4 weeks would be ideal). This is not a cost it’s an investment with incredible ROI!

Before Delegation:

Eliminate before you delegate. Unless something is well-defined and important, no one should do it.

Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. 

Define rules and processes before adding people. Using people to leverage a refined process multiplies production, but using people as a solution to a poor process multiplies problems.

What to delegate is up to you! It can be personal tasks or work tasks. I can't help you with that, but here are 2 guidelines:

1.Each delegated task must be both time-consuming and well-defined;

2.Have some fun with it. Being effective doesn't mean being serious all the time. 

-> Some task examples: web research, errands, document creation, etc. 

This is an experiment more than anything else, and it’s for you!

Basic choices:

How do you find your VA? Start by deciding where: remote or local? USA or abroad?

Remember the pros of jumping time zones: People work while you sleep, and the per-hour expense is less in developing countries.

VAs in developing countries can charge between $4 and $25 an hour, with the lower end for simple tasks and the higher end for more skilled tasks, including the equivalent of Harvard MBAs.

The biggest challenge with overseas help will be the language barrier, but this can be managed by testing assistants.

To overcome challenges, you can hire a VA from a VA firm. This way, you have a backup team and not just a solo worker. 

-> Using a VA firm does not increase the cost but increases safety and productivity. 

You never know if this exercise will lead to long-term personal assistance...

Dealing with fears:

A good prevention measure is never to use a new hire and prohibit small-operation VAs from subcontracting work to untested freelancers without your written permission.

Choose more established higher-end firms and set additional rules:

1.Never use debit cards for online transactions or with remote assistants. Reversing unauthorized credit card charges or recovering funds withdrawn can be a pain in the ass.

2.If your VA will be accessing websites on your behalf, create a new, unique login and password for each site.

-> Don't let fear be an excuse not to do this! 

Fear can make you exist instead of truly living...

Avoid stupid mistakes:

How to avoid the “my assistant is an idiot!” sentence – because honestly, it can mostly be your fault…

1.Request someone with "excellent" English, indicate that phone calls will be required, and be quick to request a replacement if there are repeated communication issues.

2.Give precise directions and complete information. Sentences should have one possible interpretation and be suitable for a 10-year-old to understand.

3.Request a status update after a few hours of work on a task to ensure that it is understood and achievable.

4.Use Parkinson's Law and assign tasks that must be completed within 72 hours (24-48 hours ideally).

5.If possible, send one task at a time, no more than two, and always set the order of importance.

-> This exercise will teach you how you are as a boss. 

This is an experiment more than anything else and it’s for you!

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Last thoughts:

This exercise will show you how well you manage others and give proper instructions, how well you are as an entrepreneur, and, more importantly, where you need to improve.

Also, remember, practice makes perfect. Practice for you and your VA will make the perfect team.

-> If you don’t have a budget for this now, you can do it with a friend for testing your communication skills. Just don’t forget to ask for feedback!

See you in a week.

Your Zine.