Session Description:
How do you know if it’s the right time to start outsourcing and delegating some of your to-do list? With the rise of organizations utilizing the expertise of virtual assistants and other outsourced service providers to help manage their to-do lists, is this an option you should consider to scale your own business?
If you’re at a point in your business where you feel over-capacity, or you’re going through a growth spurt, or you struggle to navigate through busy business cycles and maintain a healthy work-life balance, then it might be time for you to start delegating some of your to-do list to administrative experts. And leveraging the expertise of virtual service providers can be the perfect path to help you efficiently and cost-effectively grow your business.
In this session, you’ll be given insight into knowing when it’s time to add virtual support staff to your team. You’ll also learn the importance of delegation, and how eventually it starts to cost you money if you don’t delegate. You’ll also be educated on some important considerations and distinctions between contracting with virtual staff and hiring traditional employees (because yes, there are important differences!).
You’ll walk away with actionable steps to take before you bring on virtual team members, tips and tools to establish a successful working partnership with your virtual assistant(s), and how to recognize when your investment in adding to your team is paying off.
Learning objectives:
- Identify When to Delegate – Learn to recognize key business indicators, such as over-capacity and growth spurts, that signal it’s time to start outsourcing tasks.
- Differentiate Between Contractors and Employees – Explore the critical distinctions between hiring virtual assistants, independent contractors, and traditional employees.
- Prepare for a Successful Partnership – Ensure a seamless and productive working relationship by preparing for virtual team members.
- Measure Delegation ROI – Learn how to evaluate the success of your investment in virtual support and recognize when your delegation strategy is driving business growth.
Registration for Spring 2025
Location: Online (Zoom link will be sent shortly before session date)
Schedule: 2:00 pm- 3:15 pm CST
Date: February 25, 2025
Fee: WEDC and the Mainstreet Bounceback Program are covering the $99 cost of this webinar for operating, for-profit businesses under 500 employees. These businesses should register here:
Businesses <500 employees, Register here for Spring 2025
Fee: We have a limited number of seats available for nonprofits, pre-venture (not yet started) businesses, and those participants from a company of over 500 employees thanks to the generosity of UW-Madison SBDC’s supporters. These organizations should use the link below to register.
Cancellation Policy: Due to program costs and space limitations for these programs, participants are expected to cancel their registration at least 24 hours ahead of the program. Cancellations that occur less than 24 hours prior to the start of the program will be considered no-shows and may be removed from future programming and/or charged a course fee.
Disability Statement: Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UW-Madison SBDC office at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu to request accommodations.
Presenter: Rachel Rasmussen
Rachel Rasmussen founded Rescue Desk Virtual Assistant Services in 2008 and has been helping any small business owner that crosses her path ever since. She and her team have built a successful firm that works behind the scenes helping solopreneurs, small business owners, nonprofits, associations, and busy executives manage their to-do lists and teaching them how to delegate and leverage their time more effectively. She has partnered with WWBIC to teach introductory business classes, and has participated in initiatives spearheaded by the UW SBDC. Over the years, she has been invited to speak at local business events on the topics such as marketing, small business, virtual assistance, delegation, and networking, and she has mentored aspiring small business owners in how to build a sustainable, service-based, client-focused business.
On her downtime, she can usually be found hiking with her dog, hiding out at a remote cabin in the Wisconsin north woods, or curled up in her little Sun Prairie house with her husband, a pile of books, and any number of animals she fosters for the local humane society.
The Wisconsin SBDC Network is a proud part of the Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship in the University of Wisconsin System.
It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact us at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-2221.