Voyagner

Everyone wants to outsource but it can be a minefield for unmet expectations and other difficulties. The answer is in systems.

Outsourcing requires systems to be truly worthwhile, without them it can quickly cost you more time than you save so it pays to really know how to effectively use a VA before you jump into hiring one.

So I’ve just reread David Walsh’ guide to outsourcing, I’ve been meaning to write about it since I read it the first time but I’m glad I’ve read it again. Visually the book is at the high end as eBooks go, this reflects the quality of the content more than some fancy designer. It’s also import to know how this book came about, here are David’s own words…

Once I quit my job a few years ago, everything changed. I spent months traveling the world and at the same time, built the most serious company I’ve ever been a part of. I did it all from a backpack and my Mac, and it was an absolutely life-altering experience. I don’t say that to be all “Ooh, look at you Mr. Lifestyle Design.” I say it because it was the trial-by-fire I needed to learn two things: ultramobility & outsourcing. I had no choice. It was either spend every waking moment working when I’d rather be seeing the world, or find better ways to get work done.

I was spending countless hours in breathtaking cities around the world, doing intense, specialized work that made me want to kill myself.

Hating what you’re doing from your cubicle in an office feels natural. It feels right. Hating what you’re doing while sitting in a Stockholm cafe surrounded by gorgeous blondes you can’t talk to because you need to hit a deadline – that sucks. This book comes from my experiments in changing that.

What’s in it? I wanted to list it all here but the best way to see what you get is to go to http://source.muselife.com/ and scroll down to the section titled The Sourcecontrol Package. There you can see the four main sections of the book and what they cover plus what is included in the resource pack.

Please note, this is not for those after someone to organize their shopping list, this is beyond outsourcing as the novelty Tim Ferris sold it as.

The most important things to take away is how to make systems and present them to your VAs so that they can train themselves and effectively use them to produce the exact outcomes you need.

Sourcecontrol extols the virtues of Google apps for collaboration and comes with resources you can copy straight into your Google docs account, there are templates and documents that will help you hire your VAs, assign tasks, keep track of important information, effectively communicate with your VAs and more. These resources also include samples that will guide you on how to best make use of them. These resources alone are worth the $44 for the eBook package but it is these resources combined with the information in the eBook that make it invaluable.

David has obviously got this outsourcing caper down to a fine art. He has made the mistakes and produced a product that will guide you around the obstacles you will no doubt encounter if you go into this without the knowledge or guidance someone who has been there can give you.

If you’re thinking about outsourcing but you feel you need some guidance before taking the step towards employing a VA and knowing you can make effective use of them, this eBook and a few hours to put it into practice will give you the confidence you’re looking for. Get it here http://source.muselife.com/

I’m a great fan of David an I’m eagerly waiting on his M6 system to launch. If you are into internet marketing go and get on the priority notification list. It’s going to be awesome. If this review has perked your interest I also recommend reading this important post by David, A Lifestyle Design Intervention. You can follow him @dvdwlsh.