( take a walk with me along the shore )
take a walk with me along the shore
I have a process to get started so that we can both learn enough about one another to make the best decision we could possibly make before we get started.
My process allows us to wade in, so to speak, and test the waters before we get in over our heads. It allows us to look past the initial ‘getting to know you’ phase and peek at what things might be like six, twelve, thirty months down the road. It helps us see beneath the reflective surface of the water and really look at not just what gifts we share out into the world, but how we share them.
Here’s how we get started:
( Assessment )
Assessment
I send you a quick-to-complete, five-minute assessment. A quick scale of 1–5 type of thing that communicates a little bit more about you and how you work. You simply complete it and return it to me before we talk.
( Say Hello )
Say Hello
We get acquainted as individuals and we hear one another for the first time. No business: just backgrounds, experiences, and interests. Who we each are individually is an important part of working together, and really helps us know if we want to get to know one another more.
If things flow well and we both agree to move forward, I send you a questionnaire via email that you will complete and return before our second call. Don’t worry, I send you my answers to the same questions, so as I am getting to know more about you, you can read more about me.
( Questionnaire )
Questionnaire
Your answers to this questionnaire tell me a bit more about what you are looking for in a virtual assistant or online business manager. It will also help you develop a list of specific administrative tasks that you might want me to handle. The answers to these questions and the subsequent list of tasks they create become the basis for our next phone discussion on whether or not how I work works with how you work and visa-versa.
( Wading in )
Wading In
During this call, we wade into your business, including your goals and your timelines for achieving those goals.
We go over the assessment and your administrative task list and talk about additional ways to free up your time. We delve into your current processes and procedures and what needs work and what doesn’t, and we discuss how we both see a VA partnering with you to achieve your goals.
( Deeper Waters )
Deeper Waters
During this call, we dive deeply into working together, virtually, and what that really means for both of us. We talk tools & preferences and get better acquainted with how we can best accomplish things, delving deeply into the core of working together. Often collaborative partnerships fail because these deeper issues were avoided.
We’ll focus on our different (and like) perspectives on:
- Work Style: My clients and I don’t work 24/7 and we believe in self-care. We also believe in strong communication, keeping our word, and being respectful.
- Standards: My clients and I have strong standards which govern the work we do for and with others, and how we run our businesses.
- Boundaries: My clients and I both have great boundaries around our work and our lives.
- Problem Solving: My clients and I work together to solve problems for the greater good.
- Conflict Resolution: My clients and I are upfront with one another about issues, maintain respect, and give one another the benefit of the doubt when things go awry.
- Communication and Collaboration: My clients love having me help navigate so that they can focus on where they are going and I can help with direction, overcoming obstacles, and keeping them on time. No one is left in the dark without the tools to do what needs to be done.
- Service Gaps: I have a very strong core skill set, but no one can do it all, well. There are things my clients need from time to time that fall outside of that skill set, so we have a plan of action to tackle those things together with other resources.
- Equality: My clients and I are both business owners, and my business and I support my clients as an equal.
- Fees: My clients know I am not the cheapest VA out there nor am I the most expensive. They find value in the gifts, skills, and work I bring to their businesses and lives.
- Processes: My clients and I both have to have them. Period. There is time each month spent creating and maintaining processes so that while I help them navigate their business, share their gifts, and live their purpose, they retain the tools they need to have the greatest success.
These topics are by no means all-inclusive, this is the call where it all boils down to whether or not how I work works with how you work and visa-versa.
When this final deeper waters discussion call has been completed (if we have really been open, honest, and put ourselves out there) we will both know about as well as we can (without actually working together) if we are ready to get started.
If we both determine we are a good fit for one another, and we’re both confident and enthusiastic about collaborating, we enter into our new working relationship.
You’ll receive my welcome kit, which you will complete and return. Then, we go through a set-up process to get things in place for a smooth start, and we’re up and running!
Ready now? Email me at amy @ amykazor dot com or call me at 248–923-1662.