301: Stop Doing Everything Yourself And Start Leading Like A CEO

Camille 0:00

So you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business, sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO. Hello, hello, everyone. This is Camille from CamilleWalker.co, and I am here to help you understand how to master the art of delegation and build a reliable team for your business. Now, I am a mother of four. I've been running online business now for about 14 years. This is getting crazy. The longer it goes, I'm like, gosh, it's been so long. But here's the thing: I talked to so many amazing mom business owners who started their business because they were looking for time freedom. And that is the best thing about online businesses is that you have so much more flexibility. You have you're calling the shots for when you go on vacation or being able to go to your kids' events or whatever the thing is. However, when you start a business, you are wearing all of the hats. A lot of times it's completely overwhelming, but you have more time than you have money. So you do it and you figure out how to do the different things and how to send the emails or to do the customer processes or acquire the clients or do the social media or the emails or whatever, the administrative tasks. Now there will come a time when you get to a place where perhaps you have more money than you have time, which hallelujah. I think the very first thing that can be a mistake that people make is they wait too long to hire support because the number one person of your business is you. You're the CEO. No one is going to care about the business as much as you do. The number two thing you need to remember is that you need someone to help you. A virtual assistant is the very first hire that I suggest that people make because it helps to free up your time and your space so that you can continue doing the things that make your business money and you can offload some of those tasks that you are doing every day that are super important, but are taking that time and that decision making and that visionary time that only you can do for your business. So between emails, social media, customer service, never-ending to-do lists, it's easy to feel like you are drowning and you don't have to do it all. And you don't have to know everything. In fact, I suggest that if you can find someone who knows how to do something better than you, that is all the better. That is one of the best scenarios because delegation is the number one way to growing a team in a way that makes it bigger than you can even imagine. And holding on to things so tight is what can actually stunt you from getting to that next level. So today we're going to talk about stepping into your role as a CEO of your business and finally getting your time back. And this is something that I coach people on all of the time. And so if this is something that you need help with, or if you're thinking, I want to start, but I just don't know how, I do offer free discovery calls to help walk you through maybe what to hire out first, or knowing what skill set you want to use to find, or what complements your personality the best, what kind of person you are looking for. But let's start with identifying what to delegate first. This is a great first step towards understanding what you want to do first. If you are thinking, I don't know what to outsource, you're not alone, most entrepreneurs struggle with this at first. And here is the first exercise that I want you to do. I want you to write everything that you do for your business in a week. Every email, every post, every admin task, every call that you make, infrastructure, anything that you're doing, even idea ideation, write everything down. And what you'll find is that number one, there will be tasks that repeat. Okay. So I want you to go through and write, let's say Monday through Sunday, if you're working every day, which I hope you're not. I hope you're taking time off. But I want you to look at what are some repetitive tasks that take a ton of your time. Okay. So repetition is one. Number two, what are tasks that you are doing that drain your energy? And this is specifically what are tasks that are draining your energy of growing your business. Now, something that may drain you could be life-giving and energy fulfilling for me, or the opposite. It's not the same

Why Hiring Support Is Crucial

Camille 5:00

for every person. And that is by design. We are all different. And so the things that I might need help with initially are not maybe the things that you would need help with initially. And what's been really interesting of doing this and helping a lot of entrepreneurs through this process is that it is so freeing to recognize that A, you may be really great at something, but it doesn't mean that you're the best for doing that thing because it may drain your energy. Let me repeat that again. You don't have to keep doing something just because you're good at it and you've done it for a long time, so it's easy. Okay. It's about freeing up that time. A good analogy for something like this is loading the dishwasher. When we teach our kids how to load a dishwasher, they may not do it the way you like it done. Maybe the silverware is a big heap of a mess. Maybe the bowls aren't lined up exactly how you like to have it done. However, it is through letting go of a task like loading the dishwasher that allows you to do other things. And also by training your children, or in this case, a virtual assistant, there are ways that you can work together to get the task done and make it so that you can move on to other things that need doing. Number three is what are things that only you can do? And what can someone else handle? Now, this is a question that I like to have you think of like shoulder and above work and shoulder and below work, below your shoulder work. And what do I mean by that? That means that anything that requires your likeness, your face, your voice, your decision making, um, something that you physically actually have to be there for, those are shoulder and above, okay? Your likeness, your mind, your voice. This is not something that I could offsource or outsource recording this podcast episode. It has to be me, okay? However, there are things that are administrative that are like shoulder and below that I could ask or get another team member involved to do. Now, these are things that are more administrative, they're task-oriented, they don't require your likeness or your decision-making powers. Okay. That doesn't mean that that person can't make decisions and do amazing things, but it means that it's something that you could pass off. Okay. Now, as you're looking at your list and looking at what things you should delegate, some of the number one things that come to mind that people want to do immediately are inbox management, whether it's your email. Another big one is social media scheduling. Another really popular one is customer support. Another one that comes up a lot is calendaring and appointment scheduling. And number five that comes up a lot is content repurposing. So turning a blog post into Instagram captions, a YouTube video into short clips. These are tasks that you could pass along and help to move your business forward, but they're keeping you busy. And busy doesn't always mean productive. Okay. There's never a task that I want you to pass on that you have you don't have an understanding of for yourself. And there are also things like editing this podcast. That is something that I have someone on my team who is way better at doing that than I am. And so passing that along frees up

Step 1: Identifying What to Delegate

Camille 8:30

so much time and is a huge weight off of my shoulders. So as you're going through this, be really reflective of what you enjoy doing and also perhaps filling your time with the things that really require you and your likeness. Now, step two is finding the right team members. Now you know, now that you know what to delegate, delegate, let's talk about what you want for the person you want, who you want to hire. And no, you don't need a full-time employee. Hiring a virtual assistant is one of the easiest ways to get started. So I have pretty strong opinions about this. Um number one is starting with referrals. Asking fellow entrepreneurs who they recommend is an amazing way to get started, especially if you have a very niche understanding of a business or a specific skill set that perhaps, let's say you work at an insurance agency and you have fellow insurance agents. Maybe there are people that they work with that know the industry or know the programming within the field of what you're in. However, there are people who have training programs, like my 60-day to VA graduates who have been trained exceptionally well. And I also help with connecting people who have been vetted through my program. It's a very personal one-on-one connection in that regard. And it's been so wonderful to connect people who have gone through my program with amazing mom entrepreneurs who are looking for the help that a virtual assistant can bring. Now, there are platforms available like Upwork, Fiverr, and LinkedIn that can help you to find professionals. I've had good luck with that, and I've also had not so great luck. So depending on if it's someone that you want for like a very specific project that you're doing, or if it's something where you have ongoing connections with people that are helping you, I think that can help you determine is this someone that I need specifically for creating a digital media product or maybe a workbook or whatever the thing is, or is this someone that's more like, I need a right-hand person who's going to be there for me and help me really stay on task with growing this business. Before you hire anyone, you need to come up with a clear job description and being very specific. Instead of saying, I need help with social media, I want you to think, I need someone to schedule my posts, engage with comments, and repurpose my content. The clarity will give you way less headaches for later. So really identify what it is that is going to help you to move that needle and be really specific about what those tasks look like. And that's where your time audit, which I have for free, it's in the link below, can help you to go through that process. Also, number two, if you need more detailed work or ideas of questions, how to be very specific about what you need and how much you need it and what that looks like. I do have a workbook that's $27 that is in the link below. So step number three, setting up your VA for success. So a great hire won't solve your problems if you don't set them up for success. And here's how to make sure your new team member is on board with you. So on board with intention. Schedule a kickoff call and help them walk through your system and expectations. I, you know, it's interesting depending on how much workload you give this person. I say it's always a good idea to start with a small task. And as you build rapport and as you build trust that they're do what that they're going to do what they say they're going to do, that that's when you give them more and more responsibility. So it doesn't have to be an all or nothing. And I think that's a big misconception that I get a lot that people think, oh, well, I have to bring someone on and it's going to be 40 hours a week. No, a lot of the people that I help, it's three to five hours a week to start. And then eventually, maybe they might become a part of your team and a much longer partnership, which is awesome. Another thing that's really good to use is tools like Trello, Asana, or ClickUp to keep communication and tasks organized. I really like using Google Calendar and also another one I've liked too is communicating through just all of the tools, Google Drive, Google Calendar. I like Google a lot. I've also had a lot of luck with Trello and ClickUp as well. Um, Slack is also another great way. If you have a big team that needs to communicate back and forth with each other, that's a great tool. Give them SOP standing operating procedures, simple step-by-step guides to help them to do things your way. And this takes some

The Shoulder Test for Task Delegation

Camille 13:30

time for you to sort out. If you don't have an SOP set up, that's a good place to start of knowing what or how you like things done so that they feel like they're on the same page. Communicating consistently is key. So in the beginning, it could be daily for 15 to 30 minutes. I feel like usually within the first week, you can then break it down to weekly, giving giving feedback and then also celebrating wins of what is working well and maybe some changes that you need to do or they need to do to celebrate together. When you set your virtual assistant up for success, they'll not only take tasks off of your plate, but they'll help your business grow faster than you could ever imagine. I know that letting go is hard. That is probably one of the hardest things, whether it's that you've been burned in the past or you have a very specific way of things that you like done, like that dishwasher. And trust me, building a business is like growing a baby. Like it really is so personal. But trying to do everything yourself is the fastest way to burn out. So I want to make this super easy for you, which is why I've created the hiring a VA cheat sheet for only $27. This will help you to identify the right tasks to delegate, finding a top-tier VA candidate for your business, communicating your goals effectively so that your VA can actually help you, and building a long-term successful working relationship. If you're ready to free up your time and finally scale your business, you can grab your copy and I have the link below. So that is all that I have for you today. But make sure to check out Hiring a VA cheat sheet. I'm doing more of these solo episodes. So if you have a question or you even just want to do a free discovery call with me to see if I have someone who might be a great fit for you, I would love to help you. So let's connect. And I hope you have a great time working and building towards building the life that you would love. So thank you for tuning in. Thank you for being a support here and for subscribing and making any referrals of this podcast is a huge help to me to help mothers really identify opportunity that's available for them. There's so much opportunity, and helping mothers to have access to that is my fondest work. I love it so much. So I'll see you next time. Thanks for tuning in.

Step 2: Finding the Right Team Members

Camille 20:38

Sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? Well, listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO. Hello, hello, everyone. This is Camille from CamilleWalker.co, and I am here to help you understand how to master the art of delegation and build a reliable team for your business. Now, I am a mother of four. I've been running online business now for about 14 years. This is getting crazy. The longer it goes, I'm like, gosh, it's been so long. But here's the thing: I talked to so many amazing mom business owners who started their business because they were looking for time freedom. And that is the best thing about online businesses is that you have so much more flexibility. You have you're calling the shots for when you go on vacation or being able to go to your kids' events or whatever the thing is. However, when you start a business, you are wearing all of the hats. A lot of times it's completely overwhelming, but you have more time than you have money. So you do it and you figure out how to do the different things and how to send the emails or to do the customer processes or acquire the clients or do Social media or the emails or whatever, the administrative tasks. Now there will come a time when you get to a place where perhaps you have more money than you have time, which hallelujah. I think the very first thing that can be a mistake that people make is they wait too long to hire support because the number one person of your business is you. You're the CEO. No one is going to care about the business as much as you do. The number two thing you need to remember is that you need someone to help you. A virtual assistant is the very first hire that I suggest that people make because it helps to free up your time and your space so that you can continue doing the things that make your business money and you can offload some of those tasks that you are doing every day that are super important, but are taking that time and that decision making and that visionary time that only you can do for your business. So between emails, social media, customer service, never-ending to-do lists, it's easy to feel like you are drowning and you don't have to do it all. And you don't have to know everything. In fact, I suggest that if you can find someone who knows how to do something better than you, that is all the better. That is one of the best scenarios because delegation is the number one way to growing a team in a way that makes it bigger than you can even imagine. And holding on to things so tight is what can actually stunt you from getting to that next level. So today we're going to talk about stepping into your role as a CEO of your business and finally getting your time back. And this is something that I coach people on all of the time. And so if this is something that you need help with, or if you're thinking, I want to start, but I just don't know how, I do offer free discovery calls to help walk you through maybe what to hire out first, or knowing what skill set you want to use to find, or what complements

Step 3: Setting Your VA Up for Success

Camille 24:10

your personality the best, what kind of person you are looking for. But let's start with identifying what to delegate first. This is a great first step towards understanding what you want to do first. If you are thinking, I don't know what to outsource, you're not alone, most entrepreneurs struggle with this at first. And here is the first exercise that I want you to do. I want you to write everything that you do for your business in a week. Every email, every post, every admin task, every call that you make, infrastructure, anything that you're doing, even idea ideation, write everything down. And what you'll find is that number one, there will be tasks that repeat. Okay. So I want you to go through and write, let's say Monday through Sunday, if you're working every day, which I hope you're not. I hope you're taking time off. But I want you to look at what are some repetitive tasks that take a ton of your time. Okay. So repetition is one. Number two, what are tasks that you are doing that drain your energy? And this is specifically what are tasks that are draining your energy of growing your business. Now, something that may drain you could be life-giving and energy fulfilling for me, or the opposite. It's not the same for every person. And that is by design. We are all different. And so the things that I might need help with initially are not maybe the things that you would need help with initially. And what's been really interesting of doing this and helping a lot of entrepreneurs through this process is that it is so freeing to recognize that A, you may be really great at something, but it doesn't mean that you're the best for doing that thing because it may drain your energy. Let me repeat that again. You don't have to keep doing something just because you're good at it and you've done it for a long time, so it's easy. Okay. It's about freeing up that time. A good analogy for something like this is loading the dishwasher. When we teach our kids how to load a dishwasher, they may not do it the way you like it done. Maybe the silverware is a big heap of a mess. Maybe the bowls aren't lined up exactly how you like to have it done. However, it is through letting go of a task like loading the dishwasher that allows you to do other things. And also by training your children, or in this case, a virtual assistant, there are ways that you can work together to get the task done and make it so that you can move on to other things that need doing. Number three is what are things that only you can do? And what can someone else handle? Now, this is a question that I like to have you think of like shoulder and above work and shoulder and below work, below your shoulder work. And what do I mean by that? That means that anything that requires your likeness, your face, your voice, your decision making, um, something that you physically actually have to be there for, those are shoulder and above, okay? Your likeness, your mind, your voice. This is not something that I could offsource or outsource recording this podcast episode. It has to be me, okay? Hey, my friends, just popping in here really quick to say if you are drowning in a to-do list but never actually getting anything done, I hear you. This is the time to take back control of your day. And I've created a product for you for free that will help you to do this. It's called the Ultimate Time Audit and Productivity System. It is a free resource to help you pinpoint exactly where your time is going and what you should be delegating. My coaching involves a lot of time spent with business owners who are losing time, valuable time, on menial tasks that they could either delegate or create a system around, but first needing to understand how their time is being used. So imagine having more time for your family, your business, and yourself without the constant overwhelm. You can grab your free copy in the link below or at CamilleWalker.co and start working smarter, not harder. CamilleWalker.co is the website, but go ahead and grab that link below. And I would love to help you take back your time right now. However, there are things that are administrative that are like shoulder and below that I could ask or get another team member involved to do. Now, these are things that are more administrative, they're task-oriented, they don't require your likeness or your decision-making powers. Okay. That doesn't mean that that person can't make decisions and do amazing things, but it means that it's something that you could pass off. Okay. Now, as you're looking at your list and looking at what things you should delegate, some of the number one things that come to mind that people want to do immediately are inbox management, whether it's your email, another big one is social media scheduling. Another really popular one is customer support. Another one that comes up a lot is calendaring and appointment scheduling. And number five that comes up a lot is content repurposing. So turning a blog post into Instagram captions, a YouTube video into short clips. These are tasks that you could pass along and help to move your business forward, but they're keeping you busy. And busy doesn't always mean productive. Okay. There's never a task that I want you to pass on that you don't have an understanding of for yourself. And there are also things like editing this podcast. That is something that I have someone on my team who is way better at doing that than I am. And so passing that along frees up so much time and is a huge weight off of my shoulders. So as you're going through this, be really reflective of what you enjoy doing and also perhaps filling your time with the things that really require you and your likeness. Now, step two is finding

Resources to Help You Start Delegating

Camille 30:25

the right team members. Now you know, now that you know what to delegate, delegate, let's talk about what you want for the person you want, who you want to hire. And no, you don't need a full-time employee. Hiring a virtual assistant is one of the easiest ways to get started. So I have pretty strong opinions about this. Um, number one is starting with referrals. Asking fellow entrepreneurs who they recommend is an amazing way to get started, especially if you have a very niche understanding of a business or a specific skill set that perhaps, let's say you work at an insurance agency and you have fellow insurance agents. Maybe there are people that they work with that know the industry or know the programming within the field of what you're in. However, there are people who have training programs, like my 60-day to VA graduates who have been trained exceptionally well. And I also help with connecting people who have been vetted through my program. It's a very personal one-on-one connection in that regard. And it's been so wonderful to connect people who have gone through my program with amazing mom entrepreneurs who are looking for the help that a virtual assistant can bring. Now, there are platforms available like Upwork, Fiverr, and LinkedIn that can help you to find professionals. I've had good luck with that, and I've also had not so great luck. So depending on if it's someone that you want for like a very specific project that you're doing, or if it's something where you have ongoing connections with people that are helping you, I think that can help you determine is this someone that I need specifically for creating a digital media product or a maybe a workbook or whatever the thing is, or is this someone that's more like, I need a right-hand person who's going to be there for me and help me really stay on task with growing this business. Before you hire anyone, you need to come up with a clear job description and being very specific. Instead of saying, I need help with social media, I want you to think, I need someone to schedule my posts, engage with comments, and repurpose my content. The clarity will give you way less headaches for later. So really identify what it is that is going to help you to move that needle and be really specific about what those tasks look like. And that's where your time audit, which I have for free, it's in the link below, can help you to go through that process. Also, number two, if you need more detailed work or ideas of questions, how to be very specific about what you need and how much you need it and what that looks like. I do have a workbook that's $27 that is in the link below. So step number three, setting up your VA for success. So a great hire won't solve your problems if you don't set them up for success. And here's how to make sure your new team member is on board with you. So on board with intention. Schedule a kickoff call and help them walk through your system and expectations. I, you know, it's interesting depending on how much workload you give this person. I say it's always a good idea to start with a small task. And as you build rapport and as you build trust that they're do with that they're going to do what they say they're going to do, that that's when you give them more and more responsibility. So it doesn't have to be an all or nothing. And I think that's a big misconception that I get a lot that people think, oh, well, I have to bring someone on and it's going to be 40 hours a week. No, a lot of the people that I help, it's three to five hours a week to start. And then eventually, maybe they might become a part of your team and a much longer partnership, which is awesome. Another thing that's really good to use is tools like Trello, Asana, or ClickUp to keep communication and tasks organized. I really like using Google Calendar and also another one I've liked too is communicating through just all of the tools, Google Drive, Google Calendar. I like Google a lot. I've also had a lot of luck with Trello and ClickUp as well. Um, Slack is also another great way. If you have a big team that needs to communicate back and forth with each other, that's a great tool. Give them SOP standard operating procedures, simple step-by-step guides to help them to do things your way. And this takes some time for you to sort out. If you don't have an SOP set up, that's a good place to start of knowing what or how you like things done so that they feel like they're on the same page. Communicating consistently is key. So in the beginning, it could be daily for 15 to 30 minutes. I feel like usually within the first week, you can then break it down to weekly, giving giving feedback and then also celebrating wins of what is working well and maybe some changes that you need to do or they need to do to celebrate together. When you set your virtual assistant up for success, they'll not only take tasks off of your plate, but they'll help your business grow faster than you could ever imagine. I know that letting go is hard. That is probably one of the hardest things, whether it's that you've been burned in the past or you have a very specific way of things that you like done, like that dishwasher. And trust me, building a business is like growing a baby. Like it really is so personal. But trying to do everything yourself is the fastest way to burn out. So I want to make this super easy for you, which is why I've created the hiring a VA cheat sheet for only $27. This will help you to identify the right tasks to delegate, finding a top-tier VA candidate for your business, communicating your goals effectively so that your VA can actually help you, and building a long-term successful working relationship. If you're ready to free up your time and finally scale your business, you can grab your

Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Camille 36:45

copy and I have the link below. So that is all that I have for you today. But make sure to check out Hiring a VA cheat sheet. I'm doing more of these solo episodes. So if you have a question or you even just want to do a free discovery call with me to see if I have someone who might be a great fit for you, I would love to help you. So let's connect. And I hope you have a great time working and building towards building the life that you would love. So thank you for tuning in. Thank you for being a support here and for subscribing and making any referrals of this podcast is a huge help to me to help mothers really identify opportunity that's available for them. There's so much opportunity, and helping mothers to have access to that is is my fondest work. I love it so much. So I'll see you next time. Thanks for tuning in. Hey CEOs, thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment in a five star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram at call me CEO Podcast. And remember, you are the boss.