Is what Timothy Ferriss teaches about Virtual Assistance Plausible?

In his book 4 hour work week, Timothy Ferriss paints a very attractive picture of virtual assistance as the key to an automated lifestyle most only dream of. Can you really outsource most of the mundane details of your life and business creating a carefree existence rarely seen outside of the movies and a business that pours cash into your account on autopilot?

Or is it just hype to sell books?

Here, I will give you my perspective as the owner and operator of a virtual assistant company, LongerDays.com. I’ve seen firsthand how people are leveraging (or failing to) their assistants time so I feel qualified to remark on the claims made by Ferriss. First, an excerpt from the book:

“At a Glance: Where You Will Be

Here is a sneak preview of full automation. I woke up this morning, and given that it’s Monday, I checked my email for one hour after an extquisite Buenos Aires breakfast. Sowmya from India had found a long-lost high school classmate of mine, and Anakool from YMII had put together Excel research reports for retiree happiness and the average annual hours worked on different fields. Interviews for this week had been set by a third Indian virtual assistant, who had also found contact information for the best Kendo schools in Japan and the top salsa teachers in Cuba. In the next email folder, I was pleased to see that my fulfillment account manager in Tennesseee, Beth, had resolved nearly two dozen problems in the last week – keeping our largest clients in China and South America smiling – had also coordinated California sales tax filing with my accountants in Michigan. The taxes had been paid via my credit card on file, and a quick glance at my bank accounts confirmed that Shane and the rest of the team at my credit card processor were depositing more cash than last month. All was right in the world of automation.”

For most small and micro business owners, this is a page torn from a fantasy novel. Less work, more productivity, a growing bank account, and all I have to do is check my email a couple of times a week?

Yes, please!

Let me begin by saying that I do not think that what Mr. Ferriss portrays is infeasible, unrealistic, or that he is a liar. I think the lifestyle he describes is fully attainable through the use of a team of assistants.

However, I do think his is a very high-level use of virtual assistance… not something that the average Joe is going to be able to step into – not immediately and not without significant effort anyway. Most people can’t get their businesses functioning at this level with a team of inhouse employees – it’s even more challenging working with remote employees.

Timothy Ferriss is obviously gifted in the use of systems, automation, and has exquisite management skills. Combined with virtual assistance, he’s been able to create a profitable business that runs on very little input from him freeing him to travel the world and focus on self-actualization.

The key to what he has accomplished is virtual assistance combined with solid systems, automation where possible, and great management working up from the foundation of a good business model. To think that working with a virtual assistant alone will be the key to the lifestyle Tim describes is, frankly, absurd. Virtual assistance in itself will yield limited improvements until your business has clear, defined direction, is effectively using systems, you’ve eliminated inefficiencies, and you’ve honed your management and delegation abilities.

I’ve observed hundreds of people begin the process of delegating to a virtual assistant for the first time, I’ve seen most of the mistakes people make and it is frustrating to observe. Tim gives some fantastic suggestions, tips, and warnings in The 4-Hour Work Week (page 121: “Delegation Dangers: Before Getting Started”). In fact, I think he hits on most of the basic advice I would give to someone getting started. (Someday I’ll write a comprehensive post going into more detail about what new clients can do to avoid common pitfalls. For now, suffice it to say that Tim gives you the warnings and advice you need but it should have received more emphasis. Of course, it wasn’t a book about how to successfully use a virtual assistant so only so much space could be devoted to the subject.)

But, to get the results that Tim is talking about you need to do a little more reading than just The 4 Hour Work Week. Here’s my prescription:

First, to create an organized, focused, evolving small business see “The 6 Disciplines for Excellence” by Gary Harpst. This little known gem has been the only book I’ve been able to connect with – probably because it is for small business owners – very few books you’ll find at the bookstore are. This book has become my small business Bible and I can’t speak highly enough of it. It will give your company focused direction and then help you get there by breaking goals and objectives into progressively smaller chunks. Once you’ve got the direction and goals, you’ll know exactly what to put your VA to work on. Without that, you can never be sure you that your virtual assistant is working on what they should be.

Then, to become a good manager of your remote assistant, I recommend “It’s Okay to Be The Boss: The Step by Step Guide to Becoming the Manger Your Employees Need” by Bruce Tulgan. I think calling this book a step-by-step approach is a little misleading. But, what it will do is thoroughly impress upon you the need to regularly meet with the people you are managing. If there is one critical piece of managing it is regular communication. The physical distance between you and your virtual assistance makes communication even more important. Regular meetings are a MUST, not an option. I recommend that clients schedule a weekly phone call with their VA – frustratingly few heed the advice.

Creating systems is not a difficult thing to do… but it is necessary. If you haven’t already done this, perhaps you don’t appreciate what it means to your business. To gain this appreciation, I recommend the popular “E-myth Revisted” by Michael Gerber. As an added bonus to the section on systems, there will be useful guidance on the difference between working “on” and “in” your business. Once your business is systematized, it’s easy to outsource and delegate to a team of VAs.

After you learn and apply the lessons of these three books, in addition to those found in The 4 Hour Work Week, you can then effectively leverage the time of a virtual assistant or a team of virtual assistants and build the kind of hands-free empire Tim has given you the hope you can achieve. It is this knowledge that bridges the gap between virtual assistance being a time-saving convenience and it being the key to a dramatic lifestyle change and a booming, automated business.

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Tagged as: 4 hour work week, delegating, outsourcing, timothy ferriss