What You Need to Accomplish With a First Project
If you have been reading this blog for awhile you know that we don’t recommend outsourcing one-off projects.
Instead we recommend that you find someone you can work with on a regular basis, who can handle a variety of similar projects for you.
When you are looking for someone you can have a longer relationship with, the first project is important.
You need to find out several things:
1. Can they do the work?
Yes, they looked good on paper and sounded good on the phone. Now you need to see if they can actually do the type of work you need done.
You need to find out… Did they do the work right? Did they pay attention to the details? Was it what you asked for? Was it the level of quality you need?
2. Do you like working with them?
Are they reliable? Did they understand what you wanted? Did they deliver work as promised? Do the two of you get along? Can you see yourself working with them over the long term?
3. Is the price right?
Did they take a reasonable amount of time to do the work? Is the price what you were quoted?
4. How much training do they need?
How quickly did they understand what you were looking for? Did they ask good questions? Did they listen to your answers and act on them? How much more education will they need if they are going to take on bigger projects? How do they learn best?
Choosing that first project…
A good first project is one that lets you answer all of those questions.
It should be something that takes relatively little of your time to pull together.
It should not require you to do a lot of training.
And ideally it should deliver something that will be useful to you whether or not you continue working with this person.
For more tips on choosing a good first project, check out this week’s free template:
What Makes a Good First Project?
And when you sign up for our email newsletter, one of the free reports you get tells you what is the very best first project you can give a new virtual assistant (or anyone who is just starting to work with you).
Sign up here
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