How many times have you said, “If I only had a little more help I could …”?
I remember my first opportunity to provide outsourced work for a client. It was in the 90’s and I had started my own medical transcription business while at home with two children under age three. I had completed my training and the last thing I learned was that it was time to step out with my business cards, so naively I did! I went to several medical practices in my area and dropped off my card. I received a call the next day … OH NO! Now what?
Although I was confident that I could perform the task at hand, I had to explain a “new” concept called outsourcing. How could I be of benefit to this office? What value did I bring? As we talked, the practice manager explained that they were weeks behind in their patient chart documentation. I knew in that moment that it was my time to shine. We discussed the specifics of my contract and I picked up tapes (oh my that seems like a long time ago now!) and brought them back with the completed work in 24-48 hours. The staff was shocked. How had they gotten so far behind when they had people designated to do the task? How did full time team members NOT get the work completed and worse yet get behind? Those days were defining moments for me and also a learning moment for local businesses who learned to trust that I would do what I said I would do, in the time required and at a fair cost, saving the company the expense of employee payroll and benefits and paying for nonproductive time. I went on to provide transcription for more than 25 local offices during that season of life.
Did you know?? The average employee in an 8-hour day is actually productive an average of 3.5 hours and part-time employees 1.5 hours? Let that sink in …
Fast forward to today, I’ve found my joy in being a trustworthy strategic partner to businesses who need important tasks completed, but do not need to have the expense associated with hiring more employees. I like helping a business discover what strategic tasks are being missed or are slow to complete that could help progress the business towards their organizational goals steadily.
Over the years I have had opportunities to work as an employee at various organizations. It has been very difficult for me at times because I would feel guilt associated with not being as productive as I wanted to be. As a business owner and then employee, I compared it to being in a bathtub full of drains with business $$ slipping away as people stopped by to chat, phone calls or emails were sorted or handled, or distractions etc. made my own productivity less than stellar at times. Time is money and all businesses are either making money or spending money.
So, I hope that if you haven’t considered outsourcing, you’ll be open to the thought. It can reduce overhead, bring energy to an idea that needs focused attention or just keep things moving forward towards your business goals. I think you could be surprised by the outcome. Just fill out the contact form and we’ll chat at our free consult! Contact Your New Virtual Assistant | Integrity Admin Support