To automate your business process, you must identify which workflow takes up most of your time. Then outsource the work.

To be honest, nothing is truly, fully automated, because you as the business owner have to check to see if the well oiled machine still has its oil and if its in good shape to continue running. It also has to keep up with time.

The well oiled machine needs the perfect amount of grease for it to run smoothly and not squeak.

The well oiled machine needs its source of power, in this case, traffic or else the whole machine won’t be doing its job.

The well oiled machine needs to be updated to modern standards. If your hub looks like it exists in 1997 and not 202X, then people would just exit out and think its too outdated so therefore the information on it is outdated.

Everything needs to be running to your standards, but you’ll have to work on it to achieve that. Once you know the ins and outs of your machine, you can outsource the work to other people if you choose to go the automated route.

Websites To Outsource Small Jobs

The two of the best sites I use for outsourcing my work has always been Upwork and Fiverr for my art projects that I’ve worked on in the past.

Fiverr seems to be the cheaper route but the quality also matches the amount you pay. You should always review their previous works to see if they are the perfect match for you. Prices range from $5/hr. to $50/hr. at the time of writing.

Upwork offers are more expensive but also better quality (Speaking in terms of multiple commissioned vector artwork experience.) Like Fiverr, you’ll just have to view samples of previous works. Prices range from $10/hr. to $45/hr. at the time of writing.

Both of these websites have people that offer their professional virtual assistance. What you’ll have to do is find out what part of your affiliate marketing process you find yourself too repetitive to keep yourself sane, you can teach how you do it to your virtual assistant.

Outsourcing For Long Term Jobs

There are other sites such as BruntWork that primarily focuses on virtual assistance. Their staff are located in the Philippines and their headquarters is located in Australia. The reason why people hire offshore virtual assistance is because you pay a lot less, meaning more profit for you. BruntWork starts at $5/hour at the time of writing

You may at first think it’s unethical, but let me tell you this. They do it because its lucrative for them. Living in America is expensive compared to many countries. You may not be able to survive on $5/hr., but the people in the Philippines can. $5/hr. is their national average salary. For virtual assistance, most people work on more than 1 job, especially as a virtual assistance because working remotely from home allows them to care for their families, be comfortable and just allows them to have that freedom. 

Companies such as Apple News, MarketWatch, Fox, Digital Journal, Yahoo Finance and Business Insider all have conducted services with Bruntwork.

One of my mentors in the past is from the Philippines and he’s essentially the one that taught me about outsourcing. No one can truly run such an intricate business operation alone, unless you’re superman or batman. I was one of those that thought it was unethical to pay such a low wage and my mentor at the time insisted that the pay we give them is actually very good for their lifestyles and when he outsourced some work to his relatives in the Philippines, they were super grateful.

I hope you found this session helpful and has opened your eyes to outsourcing your work with virtual assistants because this may be one of those that can save your business if you are at the brink of giving up, thinking its too much work. Just think back on the mind training and keep pushing through. 

There’s no shame in receiving help especially if its your business, your livelihood you’re working on. It’s worth it in the long run, trust me.

I’ll see you on the other side.

PS
What part of your business are you looking to automate?