Tips for Finding Help as a Professional

Important Questions
What would you do with one extra hour per week?
What is your hourly worth?
Would one more new client a week be helpful?

QR codes: Use QR codes as much as possilbe. Direct clients to on-line documents and forms. Google chrome has built-in functionality to generate QR codes for webpages.

Online Freelancers: There are online freelances who can do a lot of tasks for you. There three common sites are Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, and Freelancer.com.

Local Freelancers: Look for local freelancers. There may be advantages to be able to work in person on some projects. Tapping into local professional networks have a lot of synergy.

Join the Local Chamber of Commerce or other Business Group: This is a great way to find local freelancers and contractors with trusted recommendations.

Data Entry and Transcription: Many professional and small businesses end up doing a data entry. Adding a business card to your address list. Collecting names off of sign-in list. Transcribing an view interview and checking for accuracy. You can find a freelancer to help with at low cost and save time. With data entry, look for ways to avoid having to re-enter the data such as online forms.

Create Online Forms and Landing Pages: There are many ways to create places for clients and team members to enter information so that it is stored electronically. A web developer can create a few landing pages connected to your website. Mailchimp.com can be used to make simple landing pages. Online forms can be made with Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, or SurveyMonkey.

Stop Printing: How much time is involved in printing, collating, stapling, distributing, and storing printed documents. Look at ways to share documents electronically. Google drive is a good place to start. Posting documents like board meeting agenda on your website adds to your online presence.

Tech Platform Automation: There are many great tech platforms that do one thing well. These platforms do not communicate. There are several intermediary platform forms that will get different programs talking to each other. Zapier and Microsoft PowerBuilder are platforms that work be connect programs. For example, you can receive an email when someone registers for your webinar. You can have data collected with a Microsoft Form transferreding into a existing spreadsheet. Look for freelancers who can help you with these tasks.

Use 3-D Printing: If you work with parts and items, get to know a local 3-D printing shop. A replacement part or a slight modification could increase efficiency in your process. Ask your local shop about the types of projects they have done for other clients.

Virtual Assistants: A virtual assistance can help your business in many ways. You may not be ready for a full time on-site assistant or adminstrator. Look for virtual assistants who may be able to start help you with tasks. Simera.io is one virtual assistant service that allows clients to review video interview of candidates. Consider time zones when deciding on a virtual assistant. Do you work late and could benefit from an assistant in a later time zone? Are many of your clients in an earlier time zone where a virtual assitant in that time zome could be an asset?

Collaborate with a local college, high school, or vocational school: These collaborations could take on many forms. Many college clubs will partner with businesses for a donation to the club. Can the Art Club paint the windows of your business for the holiday season? Many high schools and colleges are looking intern opportunities for their students. Some teachers are looking for real life projects for their classes.

Improve your delegation skills: Many small business people enjoy being hands-on with everything. This has advantages and disadvantages. Improving delegation skills will help with involving freelancers, team members, and contractors in your operations. Look for online mini-courses on delegation at LinkedIn Learning and Udemy.

Use collaboration platforms: Many people find text messages useful for short questions, answers, and updates. Look for business platforms that include chat features such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Workplace, WhatsApp, Discord, and GroupMe. Teams, Slack, and Google Workplace are also great places to manage and share documents. As you look for freelancers and virtual assistants, select those who are familiar with your collaboration platform.

Pay for Household Tasks: It may not seem like much time to do laundry or keep up on your landscaping. You may find household tasks theraputic. Consider that one hour save on household task. How can that improve your business? How can improve your personal life?

Fax maching replacement: Some businesses still use fax machines for some documents. If you must have ability, consider electronic fax service. eFax.com allows you to send and receive faxes with a dedicated number. The smart phone app Genius Fax is another option for sending and receiving fax messages.

Productivity Software: One good questions to task in a networking situations is, “What productivity software do you use?”. There are some many programs that you should be constantly collecting information on this topic. Trello is a task management platform that you can use by yourself or with others. Trello helps you manage your to-do list without having to rewrite the list every couple days.