Recently we left wintery dark and gloomy Sydney in search for some warmer weather up North.
Hopping into my husband’s beloved Land Rover Defender we set off for Fraser Island where we saw whales jumping, dolphins gliding and dingos roaming.
We camped like ferals and then on the way home spent some time in Noosa in the luxury of Peppers Resort with proper beds, showers, room service and a roof over our heads again.
Together we spent time as a family, forgot about our busy lives in Sydney for a while, enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air and visited relatives along the way.
My husband had suggested we go a week before hand and I nodded my head half listening and said ‘sounds great babe’ with a subconscious thought that I will bring my laptop and log in to work along the way.
I didn’t think too much further into it.
Most of the time I tend to be one of those people that aren’t great forward planners and I have a chronic ‘leave it to the last minute’ type of personality, but it works for me.
I am a ‘in the moment’ type of person and like to feel things out before committing to big plans in general life situations.
Saturday morning came and we chucked some stuff and the kids in the car and set off.
On our way down the highway with music playing, the kids occupied and the sun shining I started to process in my mind how lucky I am to be able to just up and leave for holidays whenever I want.
There was no boss I needed to ask permission to take time off.
There were no other colleagues who I needed to work my holidays around.
There were no business duties forcing me to stay home because I had to pick and pack orders, or make products, or anything.
Such is life with a business that truly affords me freedom.
All I needed was my laptop which is like my third arm and wifi.
I get to dictate my life and my business fits in around it.
And, the best part is my business does not stop making money just because I stop.
In fact, over $7000 of new work and income from multiple income streams was generated in the 10 days I was away.
We drove off the ferry onto Fraser Island, and I had a sudden thought. Farrkkkk….
I forgot to check whether I was going to be able to get phone and internet service.
It sort of seems obvious that you wouldn’t, right? It is an island. Offshore. Surrounded by water and wilderness.
Faarrk, farrrkkk, farrk.
My husband glanced over at me, the corner of his mouth ever so slightly smirked.
Bastard.
He knows to get me offline, I literally need to have everything ‘not available’ and away from my ‘I’ll just quickly check’ itching little fingers.
In my mind, I rolled over my systems again…
New Clients:
If someone enquiries about a business we have for sale they get popped into a 7 email ‘potential new customer’ sequence which provides them with all the information they need and even follows up with them if they don’t reply.
e-Courses:
If someone wants to join one of my online e-courses Zapier will organise this for me by sending the new customer all the e-course enrollment details on receipt of payment. They can create their new account and request to join our exclusive Facebook groups automatically.
e-Book Sales:
All happen inside my email automation and funnels, customers instantly download the e-book after payment.
Lead Generation:
My Facebook ads had been tested and measured and would continue to generate new leads, of which get popped into various email sequences I have setup so we can get to know new members of the Business Jump audience, and they can get to know us.
Social Media:
Runs seamlessly with the assistance of my awesome Project Coordinator and in addition we use Post Planner for scheduling and repeating blogs.
New Content:
New blogs and newsletters continued to be created by my Project Coordinator and traffic continued to be generated to my website of which my Facebook ads were retargeting with profit producing content.
Client Communication and Current WIP:
Handled by my Project Coordinator whom all my clients past and present have raved about. I knew they’d be in safe hands with her.
Anything Else:
Can wait until I am finished my holiday.
After making my husband drive up and down the beach with my hand and phone out the window desperately searching for a signal, I surrendered and decided to use the time to switch off, recharge and reflect on the amazing year that Business Jump has had.
For when I do mentally sign off I always log back on completely refreshed with my creativity and ideas in full force, and the honest truth that I acknowledged to myself was I was burned out. I needed it.
So, from when we left home to when we arrived home all up I worked for approx 3 hours which consisted of mainly checking in on various areas of my business, replying to comments in my Facebook groups, liaising with my Project Coordinator, replying to potential client emails, and two phone calls with new clients.
My automations, systems and amazing team handled the rest.
The beauty of this, is it not for just while I am away on holiday.
This is just how my business functions every day.
Being a Mum and having two businesses, my time is like gold dust. I go into everything thinking to myself how can I maximise and work as smartly as possible.
We’ve all heard the saying you should be working ‘on’ your business instead of ‘in’ it and adopting this method is how my business turned over six-figures in its first year.
Creating my team and outsourcing was another key game-changer and many people come to me not knowing how to start, or saying ‘I will wait until I can afford it’ but here is a secret…
Your actions unfold the path you want to walk on, so start outsourcing and know in your heart the money to cover it will come.
Every now and then, I need to find someone extra to complete a task or add a new admin to the team for ongoing work.
To be honest, finding the right person at the right price is not always such an easy feat.
If you are new in business I also think it must be quite easy to fall into the trap of being over-quoted for work and paying more than you should or picking a bad egg.
So, here are my tips to outsourcing:
Never pay 100% upfront:
Or even over 50%. If they ask for this and you really want to work with them try and negotiate this down to a smaller % and preferably nothing until you’ve seen some of their work first.
Always ask around to get an idea of how long the job should take:
Eg if you ask in a Facebook group and the general response is 1 hour, but the quote comes back at 5 hours I suggest running a mile. If outsourcing overseas, it is VERY common for them to have a super low hourly rate but they make it up by over quoting the hours it will take to complete the work.
Find someone who is on your level:
For example, I hate talking on the phone with service providers and much prefer email because then I have a record but still some people insist on a phone call, or sometimes even a meeting!! I usually don’t proceed in this case as the purpose of outsourcing is to save time, of course, questions to clarify is fine but essentially I need someone who can take a written brief and be proactive about implementing it without needing loads of my time or coming to me for every tiny detail.
Hire quick but fire quicker:
I am very picky with who I work with and if they don’t gel I let them go super fast. My worst hiring mistake was when I didn’t listen to my gut feeling and they turned out to be a nutter. Just because they have been referred by a friend doesn’t mean they will be good or you will have a good experience with them.
Quotes for the same job can come in at all difference prices:
Contrary to belief, don’t feel the most expensive one is always in the best one. In fact, I hired a local developer at $75ph thinking he would get the job done quickly and properly and he was worse than some of the $10ph developers I have used on Upwork.
Pay close attention to how quickly they reply to your emails:
The last thing you want is to be waiting on someone who is slow to get work done or even worse doesn’t deliver on time. I always pay close attention to how quickly people reply to my initial emails before I’ve given them the job because in my mind if they aren’t eager for the work then chances are they aren’t going to be eager to complete the work.
Be aware of unscrupulous recommendations:
In Facebook groups, be mindful there are people who will recommend other people because they have a plan to recommend each other anytime someone posts looking for a service they provide. They make their recommendation appear like they have genuinely worked with them, however behind the scene’s it is nothing more than an attempt to get your business and they are acting out of their own best interests, not yours. Further more, someone of these people will even receive some type of kick back commission for referring this person to you so don’t believe everything you see.
Despite the above, my general rule of thumb is easy jobs I outsource offshore via Upwork. For more complicated work I hire local and am willing to pay a bit more.
With the service providers who do an amazing job, treat them like gold. For example, I give my Project Coordinator bonuses because she has proven herself to be an invaluable asset for my business. I am so grateful for her managing the team and all the work she does which allows me to focus on growing the business and she helps keep all the balls rolling when I am offline. And ofcourse I am so grateful to have additional members of my team who help me grow my business to new heights every day.
So, with each step you take into the business world, never be complacent.
Always be asking yourself, how can I ensure my business affords me a life of profit AND freedom?
