Using Virtual Assistants and other forms of delegation for Lean Startups

As an entrepreneur, there are always a ton of things to do. Some of those tasks have to be done, but they may not have to be done by you. With Elance and Odesk and other market places, it is possible to get someone to handle many of the administrative tasks that might be piling up. Lindsey Engh will discuss the process of how to be effective with task delegation to remote assistants.

Lindsey Engh is co-founder at Impact Hub Seattle, where she directs day-to-day operations, membercare, programming, and partnerships. Right now, she’s focused on creating business models that prioritize Impact Hub’s member’s individual g

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rowth and impact. She has worked with numerous nonprofits and social enterprises across Seattle and globally - including Lumana, Social Venture Partners Seattle, Global Washington, Social Innovation Fast Pitch, #SocEnt Weekend, and Art Sumo - to use marketing in order to build profit, engaged communities, and positive impact. She’s passionate about alternative currency modeling, Pioneer Square, solution-based products/services, and sustainable growth, and she enjoys non-fiction, yoga, cycling, a good cup of tea and adventuring around the world.

Outsourcing & Delegation: Breaking down a large project into outsourcable tasks.

Why are you here? You’re busy. You probably have a million projects that you’re currently working on, not to mention the loonnnggg laundry list of projects on the back burner that you hope to get to in the next quarter-century. You are a consultant, freelancer, serial entrepreneur, or perhaps a FT or PT employee of a local Seattle company hoping to break off on your own one day. Either way, you’ve tasted the entrepreneur lifestyle at least once, and you want to make that lifestyle sustainable for you and/or your family. You may not want to start your own business, but you’ve decided that part of your happiness quota includes managing your own schedule, making your own connections, handling your own projects, and choosing who you do business with.

The problem? You can’t do it all on your own, and you can’t clone yourself to ensure perfection. Luckily, in a globalized, technological-savvy world, you’re able to outsource delegatable tasks to people that you can trust to finalize to completion - with the sole purpose of owning your time. This workshop will teach you three things:
A simple guide on how to break down a large project into outsourcable tasks.
How to hire someone to complete your task well in a saturated market.
A guide to the different platforms you can use to outsource a variety of tasks.
You may want to learn how to delegate within your own company. You may be wanting to create a structure around your own business so it doesn’t fall to the bottom of your priority list amongst a laundry list of other obligations. Or, you may just be trying to figure out how to stay motivated, inspired, and organized while working on a healthier schedule toward owning your own time.

Lean Startup Seattle is for anyone interested in the application of Lean Startup Principles and the Customer Development process developed by Steve Blank and refined by Eric Ries. We are bringing the Seattle Lean Startup community together in a variety of formats to learn from each other.

Agenda

6:00 - Registration

6:30 - Start w/ Intro & Scope

6:35 - "15 Second” Spotlights

6:45 - "15 Minute" Networking (Pizza Included)

7:00 - Presenter and Discussion

8:00 - Closing Remarks

8:15 - Networking Hour