I’m not here to debate what Tim Ferriss teaches, I’m just here to sprinkle a little reality on the concept. Mainly, one very important part of the theory on “how to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want”. This is in quotes as it’s taken as a direct description from his book.
I love a lot about the goal of getting to a 4 hour work week and I believe it’s possible for many business owners that have a model that allows for rinse and repeat, cookie-cutter service offerings. The reality is that most businesses have more complexity, otherwise all businesses could be turned into franchises.
So let’s break this down into two parts; outsourcing and who to outsource to.
You can definitely save yourself a ton of time, money, and energy by outsourcing into two categories of experts and doers. First, finding those things in your business that require specific expertise or certification that you don’t have is the best way to start. This is one of the clarification points for me in that it’s not a recommendation I would make to have someone you pay $5 an hour to do your bookkeeping and invoicing to clients.
Virtual Assistants can support businesses in so many ways that create space for opportunities for owners to truly do the thing they love most. Building a business takes a lot of passion, determination, and time – being choosy about how you spend that time is important. My advice; spend it doing the things you love in your business and the things that move your business forward, let someone else (the doers) do all the things that are necessary for your business just not your idea of “fun”.
Now I want to finish with the idea of “overseas” virtual assistants, it’s important to me that everyone has the ability to make their own choices and if that choice is to go outside their own community or country then they should be able to do that.
The great news? Whatever decision you make to get support is a step on the way to a 4-hour workweek.
CEO Bibi Goldstein