Are you currently reading this by the backlight of your phone while huddled beneath a mountain of post-it notes, to-do lists, and general dread when it comes to administrative tasks?
Did you think that being an online business owner would swerve you away from paperwork duties?
Didn’t you hire an assistant to handle this stuff?
Okay, friends. We’re going to get through this.
We just need to make it automatic. Systematic. Hyyyydromatic.
Getting your backend business in tip-top CEO shape is all about having processes and systems that you can replicate.
Create these 3 templates one time, and just fill them out each time the task comes up.
You’ll save yourself a lot of time, a TON of mental energy, and you can finally start to find your way out of that mountain.
Not sure where to start?
Choose the task that you dread the most. The one that you put on the back-back-back of the backburner. And then you take down to the neighbour’s house to see if you can borrow her stove to put it on HER backburner so you don’t have to look at the damn thing anymore.
Yeah. You know the one.
Start there.
Without further ado, here are the 3 essential templates every business owner needs:
When you see a call for VAs on a job board or Facebook group, you’re not going to send them a resume. That’s not the way of the online world.
Instead, you’re going to prepare a beautiful, branded, clear, and customized proposal and send it their way. You’ll share your skills and experience, and outline why you’re the person they should want on their team.
If you provide design, copywriting, website, social media, or curriculum development services, you’re going to want to have a portfolio to share as well.
Lead with the outcomes you can deliver, your philosophy for getting sh*t done, and some guidance on how to make their decisions.
Include your pricing and make your deliverables crystal clear.
Ideally, you’re going to want to work with a lawyer to create your contracts so you can ensure you are protected and that they are legally enforceable. That being said, there are free (or free trial) websites where you can get contract templates made to use for all of your services.
These should cover things like scope of work, exclusions from the scope of work, additional services that are available for an extra fee, the deliverables each person in the contract agrees to, cancellation and termination clauses, payment terms, what happens in terms of disagreement or conflict, and any deadlines.
Again, I’ll strongly recommend looping in a contract lawyer to create your template. They can create it one time, make it super specific to your services, and then you can customize that template for each client and use it hundreds of times.
Check out my blog post about the client journey for more info on this, but having a well-crafted welcome email for a client is essential to laying the groundwork for your relationship with your new client.
Outline what they need to do next, what you’re going to do, and remind them of your processes. Get them excited to work with you, keep them feeling as empowered and confident as the day they hired you, and get yourself ready to go to work.
Need some help setting up these templates and more?
If you’re a VA, OBM, or other digital service provider, you’re invited to join The Referable Right Hand and learn how to create all of these templates and more.
The Referable Right Hand is a training ground to help digital support staff uplevel their execution skills, nurture deeper relationships with their clients, and build stronger businesses through referrals.
Check out The Referable Right Hand Accelerator and hop on the wait list for the next time we open our doors.
