PressFixer

WordPress Maintenance and Support for Entrepreneurs

Outsourcing

Can you afford to hire help?

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Your team doesn’t cost you anything.

Your customers pay for them, not you. Your job is to build a business that can afford to have you operating at your peak and a team to support you in doing that.  If you don’t what’s the point?

As CEO, if your business doesn’t generate enough revenue to sustain itself, you must make that your Number 1 objective. If you’re not sure how, get help. Whether it’s reading business books, doing online research or finding a mentor… either figure it out  before you do anything else, or go out and get a job.

Telling you to get a job might seem like the equivalent of me giving you the finger, BUT working for the right employer is a masterclass in building/ running a business. Not only does it provide you with cash flow and the breathing room to invest in your business, it gives you access to mentors (who also pay you to be there).  

Let’s knock these other “reasons” off the table shall we?

“I don’t know how to build a team”

A team starts with one hire. Don’t try to get 10 people at once. You can also start with one hourly or part time person, they don’t need a 40-hour week right away. I guarantee you that the things taking up alot of your time only do so because they’re outside of your genius. A dedicated person can plough through them in no time. Case in point… the first week I hired my assistant, I gave him a MASSIVE to do list. I thought it would take him a week – he was done in a two days.  

That brings me to my next point – when hiring someone you must know in advance exactly what you want them to do. Earlier, I shared with you my list of things I said “No” to… this becomes the to-do list for your new hire. Prioritize it and then delegate it.


“I don’t know where to find people”

I’ve been hiring people through Upwork for years. I generally have gotten some great hires, but my winning process is always to start with a small test and never a big project. See how you work together and how they perform before giving them a larger undertaking. “Hire slow, fire fast.” I don’t know who said that, but I always hire and fire fast. LOL  Why? Because I need my roles filled quickly, so I can move on with the important stuff. Once I’ve onboarded one person for the role, it’s quite easy to add another person because the process is established and it’s just a matter of switching names.

Other sources for finding team members – friends, family, entrepreneurship organizations, facebook groups, LinkedIn, job sites, government programs/ schools (apprenticeships, internships), clients, neighbourhood postings, craigslist/kijiji, church, community centers, local groups, meetups… is it clear that this is a bullshit excuse yet?


“I don’t have the time to train people”

Don’t! Teach them as you go and document every step of the way.

Everytime I did a task for the first time, I opened a google doc called  “Team Training” and documented the process. I also used Loom to make videos of my screen doing these tasks.

Let them train themselves

My policy is “Google First. Ask Second.” It’s actually my status on Slack, so my team is constantly reminded not to ask me things they can find on the internet. I also encourage collaboration between team members –  that’s what slack is for. I’ve grouped members of the team according to their role so they have a dedicated channel to “talk shop”. I also ask them to document all their steps in our internal company files so that, whether they forget or we hire someone else to join the team, the knowledge exists beyond someone’s brain.

Explain the vision.

This isn’t some airy fairy mission statement. Explain to them why you’re building this business, the impact you want to have and how their role fits in the greater picture. This not only gets them excited, it also gives them ideas to support the realization of that vision.

 

Here’s the vision I’ve shared with our team:

At PressFixer, we make it possible for people with big ideas to change the world by removing items from their to do list. Our goal is to provide a service so valuable, our clients feel like they’re ripping us off.

 

Now that the excuses are gone. Let me show you how it’s done…

 

How to Get Maximum ROI From Your PressFixer Service

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We created this service because we want you to have a dedicated webmaster for less than $7 a day. In this article, we’ll share some tips for getting the most out of every dollar you spend with us. After all, our goal is to provide service so valuable, it feels like you’re stealing.

1) Give us all the info up front (we love bullet points and videos).

We’ll handle an unlimited number of tasks for you each month, but only one at a time. That means the better your intel on the mission, the faster we can respond and complete more tasks for you. We strongly recommend that clients send us a video or a bullet point list outlining their needs. We love Loom, the free screen-sharing extension for Google Chrome. It allows you to record your screen and share a link of the recording with us, so we can see exactly what you are seeing. This makes it more likely that we’ll get it right the first time. If you do choose to send a bulleted list, please don’t forget the attachments!

2) Prioritize your tasks. We can only handle one at a time.

We know you’ve got big goals and the excitement of having your very own webmaster can make you want to send a ton of stuff our way. We expect that and we’re going to crank through it all in no time. HOWEVER, we can only handle one task at a time, so please send us your highest priorities first. Also, be sure to check our Service Menu, because only tasks on that list are covered by your monthly plan. If you need something more, we’re happy to help. Just keep in mind that there might be an extra cost if it’s a big request. Don’t worry, we’ll always inform you of any additional expenses before we start on a project.

3) If you need a bug fixed, tell us what operating system and web browser you’re using, so we can replicate the issue.

Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Explorer – they are all different, and each can cause variations across your site that are dependent on your operating system. The only way to track down, and ultimately fix these issues, is to know which operating system and web browser you are using. Same thing goes for problems on mobile devices. Not providing this information up front can result in a lot of wasted time – and you know what they say – time is money!

4) Let us handle it!

Having someone update your blog or products is one thing – but allowing multiple people to mess with code and change content, especially without communicating with one another, is a recipe for disaster. We can’t be held responsible for what others do, so it’s pretty hard to guarantee your site’s performance if you have other people meddling with it. You hired us to keep things running smoothly, so just let us do our job and send the tasks our way. Too many cooks spoil the broth code.

5) Always clear your cache to make sure it’s a real problem.

Lots of people don’t understand cache, so let’s clear that up first. Every time you visit a website, files are stored on you computer to allow that site to load faster the next time you visit. These files are eventually deleted and replaced with more up-to-date versions, but sometimes errors occur and they can look a bit funky. Before contacting us, try clearing your cache to see if the problem corrects itself. If you’re not sure how to do that, here’s a pretty comprehensive resource that covers clearing your cache.

6) Use the right channel to prevent your request from getting lost.

We’re here to help and we’ve built a support process that ensures we get your tasks completed quickly. However, if you send your requests via Skype, live chat or personal email, there’s a good chance that your tasks may not be seen by our team. We’ve created a system that works, but only with your cooperation!

 

Thank you for taking the time to read these tips. If you’re not yet a client, we can’t wait to help you free up more time and generate more profit from your WordPress site. Check out our plans and services to choose the right option for you. If you’re already a client, thank you for trusting us with your online business. We’re standing by to assist with your next task – and remember – we’re always an email away!