I am sure we can all agree on these:

• The economy currently sucks, right?
• Lots of us are losing, or have already lost, jobs and/or income, right?
• Plenty of you are either thinking of starting your own business, or already have, right?
• Theoretically speaking, you would want your new small-et-awesome business to look and act like a well-iled machine with the least amount of money spent, right?  (Because none of us have buckets of money stashed in the basement, yes?)

Why would you go somewhere else when you already know ME?

No, seriously!  Did you know I proof, beautify, print, bind and ship your training materials directly to your client?

Did you know I do newsletters and email campaigns?  And that I do proposals, contracts and RFPs?

Did you know that I can help you stay organized by booking your travel, setting up office systems and maintaining your vendor relationships?

Did you know that I would rather work for people who already know me?  Yep, I sure would.  Because I love all of you, and it would give me no greater joy than to help you make your small business the most awesome small business ever!

So, I’m completely serious here.  You need to hire me.

And if you can’t hire me yet, you need to talk to me about it.  Who knows, you might be able to afford me and you will never know unless you try!

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Sundi

PS – Another person who gets it helped me write this blog post.  You should check out Rachael at Antiethete.

If you don’t normally start a book on p. 116 then you should hit these posts first: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.  Hey, if you normally start a book on p. 116 then you’re cool, carry on!

This is it!  The end of the Even freelancers need a team series.  You made it!  When you finishing reading this go check out Freelance Folder and get yourself a copy of The Unlimited Freelancer.  That way you won’t miss one single little tidbit – besides that your favorites are sure to be slightly different than mine.

Before I get on with the series I have to tell you a story.  Well, really I just want to share part of on email with you.  I received it yesterday from a potential client of mine.  Since then I’ve wondered if she has been reading my blog.  It is official!  I’m part of a team!

Following an email from Sundi, I realized Shirley could help with some design work and allow Sundi to do the work she is good at and allow me to go ahead and keep working on my own work!  Shirley and Sundi – I hope you will work together to be my North Work Team!

Is that not the coolest thing?  Some people are getting this teambuilding thing.  Yah for freelancers everywhere!

Alright, enough party!  Back to the series…

We talked about the Big Question and the Big Answer, suggested reasons why you should work with others, asked another Big Question (to which only you know the answer), busted some myths, covered the different ways to build your team and now we are going to talk about building the relationships of your team.  Amazingly enough it will sound similar to being a good employer with a few freelancer tweeks!

• Reward people.  If the job was well done then say so.
• Reward people more.  If it is frequently top-notch then take the next step to show even more appreciation.
• Relax.  We’re freelancers!  Not co-workers.
• Be prompt.  Don’t be the thing that keeps your teammate from hitting the deadline you imposed!
• Be a team player.  A freelance team is way less competitive than a team in Corporate America.  You’ve picked each other after all, so act like it!
• Accept feedback.  This isn’t criticism.  Your teammate genuinely likes you.  Really.
• Offer feedback.  Life is just better on a two-way street.  After all, if you live on a one-way street, half the time you venture out you’re traveling the opposite direction of the way you wanted to go!
• Give testimonials.  You’ve used your team members services so act like a customer.  Talk them up so they can truly build their business.
• Be sympathetic.  Because freelancers tend to work off hours we all understand a call on a Sunday afternoon might interrupt a family dinner.  Be sensitive to their boundaries.
• Take a day off.  If your team is local make time for ‘tinis together.  Now this is teambuilding in the true sense of the word!

That was the list from Mason and James.  You know I have two cents, right?

Since becoming an itty biz owner I’ve met some of the coolest people.  Seeing these cool people grow a great business gets me all excited.  I’m not talking about just clients – I’m talking about real people I get genuinely excited to see succeed.  There are tons of successful itty biz’s out there and the world is a better place because of it!

Build your biz, build a team and conquer the world!

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Sundi

Would you really want to start a book in the middle or end?  I thought not.  Check it all out: part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

Mason and James, authors of The Unlimited Freelancer, refer to cross-sourcing and hiring freelancers as “hiring an otherwise equal freelancer to complete a task for your business.”

This was a new twist for me because in the past I’d just thought about all of it as outsourcing!

Here are some examples they provide for cross-sourcing:

• skilled graphic design.
• copywriting, ebook authoring, and blogging.
• project management and oversight.

Their point which really hit home for me is cross-sourcing is a way to put your business on an even plain – filling in the cracks when you’ve neglected your sales funnel and reining in the wild times when your stars really align.

OK, who doesn’t love that!  I can’t think of a single freelancer I know who doesn’t go through growth spurts and down times which they had no conscious intention of creating.

Now I’m trying to decide if I should throw this in for good measure or not.  Who out there doesn’t know what it means to partner?  You know, when you meet a cool person, come up with a cool project together, hammer it out, then launch it in all its co-built coolness!  Yeah, you get half the money.

Guess how you find these people you’d like to outsource, cross-source and partner with?

Chances are good you already know them!  It goes back to the whole six degrees of separate concept.  You might need to a small shift in how you think and talk.

Go through your CRM and think about people differently than when you first entered the contact information.  Who do you remember sharing conversations with around similar business ethics and beliefs?  Think of at least one person who you thought was just cool.  If the two of you were in a room together what stellar ideas could you create?

Now think about something you’ve always wanted to do.  Something that is a bit dreamy and pushes your skills way over the top!  Call the person you know who seems to know everybody and tell them what you want to do.  Ask if they know someone who could get it done with you.

Start talking about collaborating when you are at networking events or interacting with potential clients.  You just never know what team member might come out of the wood work!

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Sundi

Hold it!  Please start at the beginning … See The Big Question in part 1.  See more reasons to work with others in part 2.  See the next Big Question in part 3.  Because I know some people who read my blog CAN’T STAND suspense you can go to Freelance Folder and buy The Unlimited Freelancer right now!

This might drive Mason and James crazy but I’m chopping their list, 7 Myths About Outsourcing.  Some of these myths really hit home for me so I’m going to address them.

Myth 1: Outsourcing means hiring cheap labor.
Myth 3: Outsourcing equals cheap quality.
Myth 4: Outsourcing means hiring overseas.

Wowza!  Outsourcing has nothing to do with what someone charges, the quality of work they do or where they live.  Simply put you are hiring a source outside your company to do something for you.  Period.

Sure, you could find it cheap if you wanted to…just like everything in life, you get what you pay for!

Cheap quality – no way!  From my perspective the stuff I send out represents me and my ittybiz OR my clients’ ittybiz to their clients.  Hello?  Is there a faster way to put yourself out of business?  Just find the right fit.

I know some top notch virtual assistants who work in the UK, Spain, England and Canada.  There is nothing wrong with hiring overseas, across country or across town – if the work gets done and you are satisfied I don’t really see that it matters where your service provider resides!

Myth 6: Outsourcing means loss of control.

OK, I’ll give you that one if you’re a control freak.  If that is the case then find a perfectionist with the freelance skills you need.  Again, fit.

Myth 8: Outsourcing is expensive.  (Yes, I know I said the list was 7 – this was their bonus!)

Let me put it to you this way.  Say you make an average of $400 an hour as a speaker, trainer or coach.  How long do you think it would take you to build your own website; write your own sales copy; or print, bind and ship your next batch of workshop materials?

For simplicity sake we’ll use the easy example - at least an hour to write some new sales copy but you could find someone to do it for you charging $100 an hour.  Which do you choose (a) pay yourself $400 for the copy or (b) pay a freelance writer $100 for the copy and save yourself $300?

Say you sweeten the deal by spending that hour on follow up calls with past clients and book a gig from your efforts.  What is your personal ROI on saving $300?  Do you see where I’m headed here?

More team building to come!

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Sundi

Who doesn’t like to save money?  You guys know about my thing with F R E E!

Here are some things to get the ball rolling…

$50 Spa Gift Card (Time sensitive, until June 19)

Free Harlequin Romance Audio Book Download

Symbol Signs Font, Good For Designers

Take Dad Out For Dinner For 60% Less

Save $75 Off Blogsville Blogger’s Conference

This will be my younger brother’s first Father’s Day…what a special day indeed.  Happy Father’s Day to all of you who have touched some one’s life in a special way.

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Sundi

Surprise! I read your blogs.  Well, I’m making my way though them anyway.  I read all kinds of blogs every day.  Coaching blogs of potential clients; training blogs of dream clients; speaker client blogs; blogs of coaches, trainers and speakers I’d love to be potential clients…  The stalker list goes on and on.

Today, I found a post by Steve Scott, Referrals: Running your own business in a bad economy.  In his post Steve says, “Small business growth and growing small business are not done by accident. They are done by design.”  He followed up with the ultimate question, “How do you get referrals?”

I can’t agree more with Steve’s statements.  Great small businesses don’t happen purely on luck.  The deal is, the person working so hard to build a great small business loves what they do so much they don’t realize they are actually w.o.r.k.i.n.g.

So, here are my top three ways to get the easiest referrals:

Get ‘em while they’re HOT!  When I client gives you a compliment immediately say thank you and ask if they know someone else who could benefit from your _____ skill.

Make an offer!  Go through all the people you know and find the top two or three who have referred to you in the past or who you feel could be perfect for this opportunity.  Send these three people a personal communication offering a set amount from contracts generated by their referrals for the next three months.  Make the time long enough they have opportunity but brief enough to create urgency.  Adjust the $ or % depending on your comfort level.

Diversify your connections!  Look for individuals who compliment your service and also know companies or individuals in your niche.  Make a similar offer as above or enter into a mutual agreement with them.

My most impressive referrals for my virtual assistant services have come from these three avenues.  How about you – What do you do to get referrals?

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Sundi

The series was inspired by The Unlimited Freelancer from Freelance Folder.  Missed The Big Question? Go back to part 1.  Need more reasons? Go back to part 2.

The next Big Question

What do you want?  Wouldn’t it be great if life was as easy as dining out?  Of course, you might be limited to what was on the menu but you’d pretty much get what you ordered.  There is no menu here so dream big!

This question is so important because you have to decide this before you can figure out what you are missing .  If you don’t figure out where you are headed you won’t know what you need to get you there.

There is no Big Answer

Or maybe I should say there isn’t ONE Big Answer.  Nothing you say could be wrong at this point.  Your answer will be unique to you.  Just don’t say you want to suffer alone forever and you’ll get there by yourself!  If that was your answer go back to the beginning and start over.  It’s ok, successful people start over all the time.

Based on your answer you could decide you want someone who provides the same services you do because you like working with people and bouncing stuff around gets you juices flowing.  Perhaps a potential client on your radar is too big for you to tackle successfully alone – have you ever presented in a tag-team fashion?  It is energizing and adds a great twist for your attendees!

The Unlimited Freelancer suggests a few options here:

Someone who offers identical services…like my example above.
Someone who offers related services…sales copy writer and a press release writer.
Someone with services in a related industry…content writer or coder in your graphics design business.
Someone who can handle various small tasks…a virtual assistant to increase your efficiency and free time.
Someone who can improve your business…what you need now in order to get ahead faster.

Deciding where you are and where you want to go is a very important step before you start building a team at random.  Spend some time here.

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Sundi

If you missed it go back and answer The Big Question in Even freelancers need a team – part 1.

If you’re on the fence about The Big Answer everyone else would like to give you some more time to think about leveraging a team to make your business stronger.

Here are 5 reasons to work with others:

Reason 1 – Hello, when was the last time you met a ”successful person” who didn’t have people on their team? Face it, the nice lady who comes every-other-week to vacuum your home is on your team because she does something you don’t like to do which needs to be done and it frees up more time for you to do what you LOVE!

Reason 2 – It is easy!  You get introduced to someone you think is pretty cool, you discover their skill (service), then think, “Ugh, I hate to do that!”  Voila! Teammate number 1.  You don’t have to go buy a desk and computer, run an ad, screen resumes, etc.  Call that cool person only when you need that specific skill on your team!

Reason 3 – You get to help other people!  I haven’t met a trainer, coach or speaker yet who didn’t do what they do because they love to help or touch people.  This is just another way to do that.

Reason 4 – You can build the perfect fit every time.  When you need a little help you call in a couple people.  When you are working on a whopper of a project and need all the resources you can find you can create a team specifically for that too.

Reason 5 – Regardless what you call yourself, folks like us are in the freelance industry.  There are little asides to that: virtual assistant industry, copy writing industry, graphics design industry, blah, blah, blah.  Bottom line is we are all one big happy industry.  By building a team you help your industry!

Now, go back and think about The Big Question again.

If you can’t stand it anymore and want to read it all NOW then by all means go get The Unlimited Freelancer!  Next time – ways to use a team!

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Sundi

I recently purchased The Unlimited Freelancer at Freelance Folder.  One of the authors touched a soft spot on my heart by saying he was getting married and needed money for his honeymoon – well, it was a great deal too!

I’ve read it three times now, find a new favorite tidbit each time.  Then I realized all my favorite stuff was coming out of section three – Building a Freelance Team!

We’re going to talk about team building Freelance Folder style, mainly, “how to outsource, partner and work with other people to create a scalable team.”  Granted, you aren’t going to get the entire section here.  Just my favorite pieces.  If you want the whole shebang you’ll have to click over to The Unlimited Freelancer and get yourself a copy – proceeds will probably go towards paying off wedding debt!

The Big Question

Do you run your business like this:

YOU receive a project from your client, YOU do all the work, YOU wrap it up and deliver it to your client.  [This is all you baby!]

Or do you run your business like this:

YOU receive work from your client, YOU design the content and concepts, outsource the pieces you don’t love like copy writing, design work, binding and shipping, YOU wrap it up and deliver it to your client.  [This is you minus half the time which you can spend an another project!]

The Big Answer

If you run your business like the first option wouldn’t you rather run it like the second option?  Just think how many more clients you could serve if you were present for only items you had to touch and only parts you love!

Obviously you wouldn’t want someone else accepting a project on your behalf and, if delivery is something you love, you want to provide the final product too.  But what about the stuff in the middle like copy writing, design, binding and shipping.

This is where building a team can help you be more productive and profitable!  Build a team of fellow freelancers who love to perfect your content, to make things beautiful and create the final product.  That way, you’re left to deliver it with energetic flash to your satisfied customer.

As a Virtual Assistant I consider myself a team member with many of my clients.  I’m in the process of building a team for my Virtual Assistant business too.  Think of this series as my positive self-talk (a smack down on my inner critic!) which you’ll learn something from too.

Next time…Why the heck should I do this?

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Sundi

Can you break yourself down into three words or less?  If so, please move onto the next blog in your reader because this post isn’t for you!  Need more like 200 words to describe yourself?

My theory is that the more words it takes the busier you are.

Say you’re…

an OD coach who volunteers at your church, leads a master mind group, attends monthly organization events which you of course head a committee, parent of one, coach of a little league team, book re-shelfer at the grade school library one day a week and mentor to a pre-teen boy.

Or maybe…

a change agent/speaker who also works with at-risk girls, sits on the board of the local animal shelter, teaches English as second language courses and volunteers at the food pantry.

How about me?

I’m a full-time employed business owner, mom of three boys who happen to be soccer players, monthly GSA breakfast attendee, devout church goer, active virtual assistant peer group member and weekly Get Clients NOW! groupie!

I’m trying to tell you we’re busy people!  I can’t remember it all…or do it all either.  If any of this is starting to sound like you then try this.

 There are very smart people out there who are just as busy as we are – when I say smart I mean programmer types, which I clearly am not!  They are feeling our pain and trying to give us solutions.  It is our job to just find the right one for us!  Try Evernote.  If it doesn’t work then try the next one and the next and the next.

There is a perfect fit out there for you!

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Sundi