virtual assistant creative business

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Are You Afraid of Taking A Break With Your Business?

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Happy last-Monday-before-summer-sabbatical, my friends!

If you read last week’s newsletter, then you know I’m taking a five week break from these Monday morning missives.

As much as it pains me, I really feel that it’s important to practice what I preach when it comes to building a sustainable, well-balanced business and creative practice, and part of that means taking time to reconnect to my own voice and to refill my creativity tank.

I’ll admit though, that doesn’t mean this type of break doesn’t come without its own set of fears.

No matter what stage you’re in with your business (or heck, your life), every few months or years it's like you get issued this shiny NEW set of fears.

You start your business and you have this little arsenal of terrified voices saying: 

What if no one buys, what if no one cares, what if I fail, what if I have to pack it up and go back to a 9-to-5 job, what if I’m not good enough, etc.

THEN, once you’ve been at it a while (you’ve experimented and explored, you’ve gotten more comfortable with putting your work out there), it's like you finally graduate from your white belt to getting your yellow belt. You celebrate the quieting of those first fear gremlins to an almost undetectable level and then... SURPRISE! New fears, ahoy!

For me, my Yellow Belt Fears came once Made Vibrant was making enough money every month for me to live on. I was so thrilled that this was actually working, and I celebrated for about half a second before the NEW fear gremlins starting to rear their ugly heads: 

What if you make a wrong turn and this all goes away, what if the creative well runs dry, what if they get tired of what you have to say, what if you take a break and they forget about you, etc.

That last one's a doozy for me: What if they forget about you.

For whatever reason, I have this irrational fear that if I take time for myself, if I cut the cord even just a little, that it’ll all come crashing down. I have so much I still want to say, and I guess I'm afraid that one day I'll wake up and have no one to say it TO.

BUT, I’m finally ready to challenge those fears.

I’m ready to unpack them and understand them and DARE them to materialize so that I can prove to myself they’re really just constructions of my insecure psyche.

Despite knowing this is something I’m ready to confront, I still spent last week wondering if I was doing the right thing.

Is it too late to call it off? I have plenty of things to write about! Maybe I’ll just send out an email saying JUST KIDDING and I won’t have to see how it feels to walk away for a few weeks.

Then, last week’s #theimperfectboss campaign happened.

Did you all see this on Instagram? Ashley from Fire & Wind Co. decided to create a 3-day awareness campaign encouraging entrepreneurs to share their vulnerabilities, their confessions and their missteps in an effort to promote REALNESS among a community that is often all glossy, glamorous girlboss stock photos. She wanted to offer up an opportunity for people to share how it ACTUALLY feels to run a business, especially imperfectly (as we all do.)

If you have ever felt alone on your creative journey, I highly recommend scrolling through the hashtag feed because I know it will provide you with an amazing and overwhelming sense of comfort seeing so many fellow solopreneurs post their truths. I found the whole thing very moving. (I shared my own confession here about my tendency to hide behind my confidence in my work rather than my appearance.)

The timing of this movement could not have been better, because as I read through these different fears, post after post after post, it shined a spotlight on this simple truth: We’re ALL scared of something.

We create these stories in our heads and when we hear them enough times in our minds, they feel true.

But that's exactly why we have to bring those fears, those stories out of our HEADS and into reality so that we can upend their power. 

“We have to bring our fears out of our heads and into reality so we can upend their power.”

Now I know many of you on this list are still at Square One, working up the courage to even create in the first place. And I hope you’ve found discovered some of these weekly letters that have brought you one step closer to making that happen and unseating your own White Belt Fears. 

But I also know that there is a large group of you that have worked so hard to get to Square Two and you’re desperately afraid, like me, that if you take a week off for vacation, or go silent on social media, or pause for a moment just to BREATHE... that it all might come crashing down.

So I’m taking this break for me AND I’m taking this break for you.

To show you that these stories are just that -- stories.

We as creatives HAVE to find a way to deal with this false belief or we’ll run ourselves ragged.

So...here’s my plan.

I’ve decided to think of myself as a musician (mainly to further indulge my own fantasy of becoming Taylor Swift, OBVIOUSLY...)

Think for a moment about how musicians and recording artists view their work.

They disappear, often for months if not years, to craft and create an entire album. They immerse themselves in their process. They remove themselves from the burden of promotion and performance so they can simply MAKE. They evaporate from radio play and interviews and in many ways they disconnect from the general public.

BUT, when they emerge, they present the public with something they’ve painstakingly created, something they’re proud of as if to say “I went away to make this for you and now here I am again. I hope you like it.”

When Justin Timberlake goes virtually silent musically for 7 years between albums , do we forget how awesome he is? When Adele peaces out for four years to hang with her new baby and write gut-wrenchingly beautiful songs, and then comes back with a new album are we all like... YAWN, Adele, you’re old news.

HECK NO.

Because here’s the truth:

Good work is always good work.

A message that resonates is always a message that resonates, whether it’s delivered for 120 weeks straight or not.

Yes, consistency is key in building an audience from scratch, I still believe that. But if you’ve been delivering good work consistently, if you have a mission and a message that connects, taking a break won’t erase that.

The truth is, I’m not taking these five weeks off because I’m tapped out. Quite the opposite actually, I feel more inspired to write than ever.

But, the fact that I don’t feel I NEED this break is all the more reason to take it because I know that the next challenge I need to master in running an authentic business is the challenge of walking away.

I need to learn to be present in my own life even when it feels uncomfortable. 

“I need to learn to be present in my own life even when it feels uncomfortable.”

Because when we challenge ourselves to do the thing that feels uncomfortable, that usually means we’re growing.

So, that's my small challenge to you this week.

Ask yourself: what do you need to take a break from that you've been too scared to until now?

It might sound cliché, but I seriously am going to miss you guys over the next five weeks!

 
 
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How To Grow Your Team While Staying True To Your Business Vision

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Well, I have to admit, quite a lot has changed in the past two weeks around here!

If you read last week’s newsletter, than you know… Made Vibrant is now a team effort!

Two weeks ago, I hired my first ever assistant, the wonderful and talented Laura. I definitely plan to introduce you properly to Laura in the future, but for now I want to share with you a bit about what the process of hiring was like for me, and how I managed to overcome the big fear I had that the magic and mission of what I’ve built might become diluted with the addition of a new person.

To kick things off, how did I know it was time to consider hiring?

Over the past two years, growing Made Vibrant has been such an enjoyable experience. I’ve had the freedom and flexibility to experiment with different revenue models, and I’ve had the luxury of teaching myself everything on my own time without having to worry about anyone else. For a while it felt like maybe I might always want things to remain this way. Maximum simplicity, minimum responsibility to anyone else but myself.

That is until about two months ago. That’s when I looked up and realized running the day to day of the business was starting to make me feel a bit like one of those circus performers spinning plates on broomsticks.

Slowly I’ve been adding each new spinning plate -- an Instagram challenge here, another new product there, a blog strategy, a creative practice, a Slack community. The list goes on.

And all of those things have been wonderful. They’ve brought me joy, they’ve brought my business profit and they’ve brought you guys value.

But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a tad exhausting, what with all the constant running around and trying to keep all the plates from falling.

I was starting to feel a lot more reactive and a lot less creative.

That’s when I started considering the notion that an assistant might be the right way to go.

Then, two Thursdays ago I was sitting at my computer literally just staring blankly at my calendar, almost on the verge of tears because the minutia of all the spinning plates I had in the air felt virtually paralyzing. I had no energy to even tackle my to-do list because the weight of the whole thing had me in a choke hold.

That’s when I asked myself these two simple questions: 1) Is my business making enough money that I can afford to pay someone part-time and 2) am I willing to let go of some aspects of my business in order to make room for more of what I value in my life (creativity, curiosity, ease).

The answer to both questions was yes.

So what do you do once you're ready to hire?

The first thing I did was ask my close business peers about their experience with virtual assistants/hiring just so I could get a baseline understanding of what I was getting myself into.

I’ll be honest though, while getting outside feedback helped warm me up to the idea that this could be a great and helpful thing, it also actually made the process feel a bit more overwhelming than it needed to be because I realized there is no uniform way that people go about hiring assistants. 

As I’ve shared time and time again, every business is different and every business owner is different, so it’s no surprise that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

But the more people I talked to, the more I realized I just needed to figure out what worked for me:

  • What kind of work did I want an assistant to do?
  • What kind of person did I want to be working with?
  • How much was I willing to pay them?
  • How did I want to communicate with them and manage our projects together?

Once I realized it was my business and I could run it however I wanted to, the process felt less overwhelming because I realized I was free to just be myself.

One other thing I did find helpful in the “research” phase was downloading Indigo Colton’s short ebook, Your Ultimate VA Crash Course ($14.) It was an awesome and affordable way for me to not only get a basic understanding of what I should be considering as I hire someone, but there are some good worksheets that forced me to sit down and write out exactly what work I would want someone to be taking on. Definitely recommend starting there if you’re curious!

Now, before we move on to the process of actually finding my assistant, let’s wade together through some of the big fears that came up for me once I decided to dive in.  
 

MY FEARS

1. Fear of the unknown.

Ahhh yes. That all-terrifying, unpredictable, sneaky little booger called The Unknown. As with all things that I’ve never done before, my assembly of what-ifs received their call to arms and started showing up in record numbers once I decided to finally hire someone.

What if we’re not a good fit and I have to fire someone? What if I decide to shut down my business and move to Fiji? What if he/she steals all of my secrets and starts their own business and then convinces all my customers to leave me for his/her cooler, newer, better, more awesome business? (ps. I have no secrets so that one is especially suspect.)

As in all cases of the great fear of the unknown, I simply had to remind myself to, hello, breathe, but then also to accept that I don’t know what the future holds and that’s okay. I’m a big girl and I can trust myself to know that I’ll figure out whatever gets hurled at me.

Yes, all of those big scary things are what-ifs, but there’s also a great number of what-ifs that could mean wonderful things too:

What if this hire allows me to sleep easier at night while also impacting more people? What if I can go on vacation and actually be on vacation? What if there’s a glorious, more creative future for Made Vibrant that I can’t even imagine because it’s just me by my lonesome. What if?

Basically, my tip for silencing the fear of the unknown is simply to say, “Hey fear, yeah I know we’re flying blind here but I’m a pretty seasoned pilot by this point so just trust me, I got this. Now sit back and enjoy the flight.”
 

2. Fear of the collaborative process (as an introvert).

This is probably going to seem like a weird one, but I was literally afraid of being required to talk to another human on a regular basis.

Now, before you internalize how bizarre that sounds, just know that I am in fact an introvert. I enjoy the deep thought that comes with being alone, in my own head, and while I can definitely enjoy connecting with people under the right circumstances, sometimes interacting at all can leave me feeling a bit… drained.

So, I think a part of me was a bit apprehensive about the whole communication part of the process. Would it drain me to be in constant contact with someone? Would it leave me feeling overwhelmed?

Again, though, once I realized that it was my business and I could mold the relationship to reflect my introverted self, the fear subsided. (Also, I’ve found in recent weeks that if you’re just honest with people in telling them what you need and how you work best, they’re usually pretty cool with being accommodating.)
 

3. Fear of losing the magic.

Okay, so here’s the biggest fear of all. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had to acknowledge:

I was afraid that getting bigger might mean losing some of the magic.

How arrogant is that?! The truth is, I’m not the magic. Maybe I’m an instrument of it, maybe I help the magic get out into the world, but it’s not me or even the business itself; the magic is in what the business stands for. It’s in the honesty of telling one’s story, the beauty of listening when inspiration calls, the connection that comes from supporting other soulful creatives worlds away from you.

And that means that someone else out there can be an instrument of all that too.

If the right person shares my same values and can get behind the mission of Made Vibrant, then if anything, the magic of the business becomes stronger.

Which brings me to...
 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Based on the fact that my biggest fear was diluting the core of Made Vibrant, I know that the single most important thing that I was looking for in the assistant applications was a deep understanding and whole-hearted commitment to the mission of my business.

I mean it when I say: everything else was secondary to this priority.

Because even if someone was the most organized, most detail-oriented, most effective assistant ever, if what I’m doing doesn’t resonate with them in their bones, then I don’t think I would fully trust them to interact with the Made Vibrant community and pour that passion into whatever task they’re doing.

As an aside, my favorite and most unexpected part about hiring someone who believes in your mission? They can actually help ground you in your WHY.

After simply interviewing Laura and chatting about Made Vibrant, she reminded me of the fact that among the various personal and professional development sites across the web, to her Made Vibrant stood out as a resource rooted in authenticity and relatability. When she said that, it actually served as a powerful reminder that I need to be doubling down on those things. It effectively helped me find my way back to the heart of why I started my own business.

Which is to say:

If you hire the right person, they have the ability to strengthen your core purpose, not to dilute it.

“If you hire the right person, they have the ability to strengthen your core purpose, not to dilute it.”


THE PROCESS

Here are the simple steps I went through to find the right assistant for me.

1. Post the position listing on my blog and social media.

I went to my audience FIRST. If I’m going to find someone that is aligned my core mission, there is no group better qualified than my own audience. That’s why I started from the inside. I listed out the basic requirements of the position, what I was looking for and how to apply. (Note: I included instructions to submit an email as an application rather than to simply fill out the form because I wanted to immediately be able to tell if people could follow instructions. You want to look for ways to further qualify your candidates so the actual process of submitting an application is one way to do that.) [Here’s the original post] Things you definitely want to include:

  • Basic responsibilities included in the position
  • Any necessary technology experience/skills required (for me that was Photoshop)
  • A  general idea of the time commitment and request for pay rate
     

2. Go through applications and pull those that immediately stand out.  

I made it a point to read and give my full attention to every email that came through. If the email followed instructions, the candidate had the skills/experience that I required and if the email was well-written with strong communication, I immediately whittled the stack down to those candidates. From, there I went back through again and made note of those that felt particularly invested in Made Vibrant’s mission. I opened the door on this a bit when I asked applicants to include why they felt they were right for the position, but those that stood out to me were the ones that took that opportunity to communicate why their values were deeply aligned with those of the business.
 

3. Follow-up with additional questions.

Lastly, I knew that I wanted to narrow the field down to just a handful of applicants for live interviews. I simply didn’t have time to interview more than two or three candidates, so to get my list down to those few, I sent the top applicants some last final questions to dive a bit deeper. Some were skills-based, some were scenario-based to get a sense of how they’d respond to different situations, and others were simply to get an idea of how the relationship could grow in the future. Here are the exact questions I asked:

  • How comfortable are you working with Google Calendar (adding appointments, updating appointments, managing timelines, etc.) and with Google Docs?
  • How comfortable are you using Dropbox to manage/keep track of files?
  • Do you have any experience working in MailChimp?
  • How many hours a week are you able/willing to work on Made Vibrant? (Starting out we’d be agreeing to probably 20 hours a month, but if it works out and our relationship grows, I’d like to have a sense of how much time you could work on the business.)
  • Do have any scheduling restrictions throughout the week? Times when you’re not able to work?
  • How do you typically respond when you don’t know how to do a task you’ve been given?
  • Do you prefer explicit instructions for things or do you prefer to get a task/goal and to figure it out on your own?
  • If you had to pick one quality that makes you uniquely qualified for this position, what would it be?

The answers to these types of specific questions actually made it fairly easy to identify three top candidates. Once they responded, we set up a time for a Skype interview the following day.
 

4. Set up Skype interviews with your final top candidates.

This step for me was more about finding the best personality fit. I knew going into it that I didn’t need to find a best friend, someone JUST like me, but I did want someone that I would enjoy communicating with on a regular basis and I wanted to make that personal connection before agreeing to set up the professional relationship.

This is when the choice became really clear for me. I think even in a virtual interview, you can get a sense of how you click with someone, where the conversation goes, how enthusiastic they are about working with you, etc.

My conversation with Laura flowed naturally and I got off the call feeling not only like she was the right fit, but I actually felt re-energized about my own business. I knew that was the kind of energy that was worth risking all the scary unknowns for!
 

5. Draw up a contract and get to work!

Once I contacted Laura to tell her she got the gig, we got to work right away! I sent over a contract with payment terms, “termination” terms (ie. what happens if either of you want to end the relationship, and the basis agreement that she’d be acting as a contractor rather than an employee.) **Note: I’m not a lawyer so if you are going to draw up a contract, I recommend at least consulting with a lawyer.

Then we set up a kick-off call to bring her up to speed on what’s going on with Made Vibrant and train her on some tasks. As we move along, we’ve been updating and evolving the tools/processes that we use to manage our workflow, but for now we’re using a combination of Slack, Google Docs, and Wunderlist to manage tasks and it’s been working really well.

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I’ll be formally introducing you to Laura soon so you can get to know her better. Until then, just know that she’s AWESOME and that her heart is already rooted in the mission behind Made Vibrant. If you see an email from her, I hope you’ll welcome her to the team and treat her as an extension of the Made Vibrant family!

Lesson here: Growing a team can be unsettling if you’ve never done it before, but so far it has been MORE than worth it to feel like I have someone on my team rooting me on and who is investing in seeing the Made Vibrant vision come to life.

I can’t wait to see where things go from here and to report back on what I learn!

Let me know if you have any questions about hiring in the comments!
 

I’d love to share my experience since I know there aren’t that many great resources out there that peel back the curtain on growing a team!

 
 
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Are You The Virtual Assistant I've Been Dreaming Of?

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Update: I'm currently interviewing a handful of candidates and will be moving forward with one of them soon. Thanks to everyone who applied!

I'm hoping your answer is a whopping YES!

So... over the past few weeks it has become ABUNDANTLY clear to me that I simply can't do it all myself anymore. (A hard thing to admit for any independent creative!)

Up until this point I've kept Made Vibrant intentionally small because I like the flexibility of being able to experiment with different ideas, growth tactics, etc.

However, now that I'm about a year and a half into the business, with steadier income and finally feeling like I have a strong vision for what I want Made Vibrant to look like in the future, I'm now ready to bring someone on to help me execute on that vision! 

Could that be you? I hope so!  

 
 

I'm looking for someone that can complement my passion for big picture thinking and creative whimsy with their passion for organization, planning, and good ol' fashioned execution.

Or, as my friends @orgcreatives like to call it, the tasky stuff.

  • If you looooove that feeling of crossing off items on your to-do list...
  • If you're a fan of forward progress and project completion...
  • And if you enjoy working with creative people who have a strong vision...

Then keep reading because this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

Here's why I need you (and why I'm hoping you're excited about working with Made Vibrant):

Business is personal to me. 

There is no work/life balance for me -- it's all one big, blurry, beautiful life. That's why I don't want to waste one second of it. Made Vibrant isn't just my means of making money; it's the way I share my gifts with the world. It's how I contribute. Make a difference. 

And I want to help you feel the same way. If Made Vibrant can become just another way that you share your gifts with the world, a way for you to feel meaningful and valuable, then that's twice as awesome. I guess what I'm saying is: I want this collaboration to be conducive to your Purpose as much as it is to mine.

I'm also not content with following the status quo of the traditional online business world. Sure, I adopt best practices when they feel aligned with my mission, but I like to try new things, deviate from the pack when I can, and think outside the box. I especially want to do more of this in the future. I want to dream up ways to rethink how creative business is done. If you enjoy that kind of creative thinking and would like to be a part of that exploration, I hope you'll consider joining the team.

Here's a refresher on the Made Vibrant core values so you can decide if these align with who you are:

Now, on to the nitty gritty...

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Quick Disclaimer: I’m all about helping people live their brightest lives, and you better believe I especially want that for the people I work with! I want to utilize your unique gifts and your talents, and I want you to enjoy what you’re doing. That’s why I encourage you to look at the details below and please be honest with yourself about whether this type of work excites you!

If big picture creative thinking is your super power and all those minute details get under your skin, this gig will probably not be the right fit for you. If spreadsheets and completed task lists make you want to have a dance party? This is all you, baby!

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The Skinny

  • Looking for a contract-based part-time virtual assistant. Job will likely start with 10-20 hours of work per month but could grow depending on your skills and the relationship we develop
  • Position begins immediately. I’m ready to dive in head first if you are! As soon as I find the right fit I have a list of projects ready for your lovely touch!
  • Schedule is flexible. Totally up to you how and when you work on projects, as long as our agreed upon deadlines are met. Communication will likely include weekly time/task updates and the occasional Skype party/coffee chat (I mean… “meeting.”)

Potential tasks may include (depending on your unique strengths & skills):

  • Blog updates -- post scheduling & image editing
  • Customer service -- emailing and gift certificate creation
  • Proofreading -- posts, resources, sales copy, etc.
  • Email management -- interview requests & scheduling, form submissions
  • Promotion/giveaway management
  • Slack and social media content planning

Your Gifts & Skills

This position is right for you if:

  • You are an effective communicator! I believe in over-communication (especially in today's digital, text-heavy age) so I need someone who can be clear in what they need from me, as well as tactful and helpful when it comes to emailing with customers or potential collaborators.
  • You have no problem taking initiative and making things happen! I'm totally willing to answer questions and work with you to explain anything that doesn’t make sense (especially in the beginning!) but it’s important to remember that I’m hiring you to reclaim hours in my day! I want to work with someone who can take ideas and run with them, not someone who needs explicit instructions for every task.
  • You have experience working in both Photoshop and Squarespace. This position will require you to edit photoshop templates and schedule blog posts, so it’s preferable if you have experience using both of those tools!
  • You have a sense of humor and a collaborative spirit. Listen, if we’re gonna be working together, it’s important we get along! I want someone who can appreciate the occasional hilarious gif or cryptic emoji string. I want someone who recognizes that working together effectively requires a desire to reach a common goal (and to have fun while doing it.)

This position is not right for you if:

  • You’re not interested in a long-term commitment. (Yep, I'm "that girl." The long-term relationship girl. 💍)I’m not looking for a temporary intern or for someone to "pick my brain" for a few months. Ideally if we work well together, this will be a long and prosperous working relationship.
  • You don’t like being told what to do. Okay, that was a hard one for me to write, but it’s true! I have no intention of barking out orders or meaningless tasks or going all power trippy on you, so no fear on that front, but I do honestly need someone that is willing to receive direction (and constructive feedback, when necessary). If you don't like being managed, this won't be right for you.

Okay, if at this point you’re screaming to yourself, That’s me, you’re talking about me! then...

How To Apply

Send an email to caroline@madevibrant.com with the email subject “Virtual Assistant Of Your Dreams!” and include answers to the following questions.

  1. Why you think this could be just the gig for you! Include any strengths, personal details or values that speak to why you're interested in working together.
  2. A little bit about your work background and any other current work commitments you have (a part-time job, other VA clients, etc.)
  3. Please describe your experience/skill level with the following programs/platforms:
    • Photoshop (required)
    • Squarespace (preferred)
    • Any other programs/technical skills worth mentioning (InDesign, Illustrator, CSS knowledge, etc.)
  4. Your fee structure (hourly, flat fee, a fee per project, etc.) and the rate you'd be seeking (keeping in mind about 10-20 hours for the first month.)
  5. Your most pertinent social media/website links (so I can get to know the virtual you a bit more!)

After submitting, I’ll contact you within a week of your submission if you’ve been selected for a Skype interview. If you don’t hear from me, I’m sorry but it just wasn’t the right fit this time around and I'll reach out to you if anything changes! 

Truly hoping to find someone excited, driven and fun to be around. I hope it's you! 

 
 
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