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Inside episode 32 on Outsourcing Live, I interview another fellow Aussie entrepreneur where we
talk about minimalistic outsourcing. Itís where you do outsourcing with less to achieve
more. Also, in the inside info section, I have a tool that allows you to connect to
multiple social networks all at once to save time. All right, letís rock the music.
[audio effects]
VO: This is Outsourcing Live with Tyrone Shum. Outsourcing on the hot stuff so you can focus
on the fun stuff.
Tyrone:
Hey there, and welcome to another exciting episode on the Outsourcing Live podcast. My
nameís Tyrone Shum and today, Iíve got a special guest that Iíve invited over to talk
a little bit more about minimalistic outsourcing. But before I do jump into that, let me just
share with you whatís been going on in my life in the most recent weeks. In actual fact,
in the last couple of weeks, weíve been celebrating Chinese New Year, a very, very big event that
runs off about 2 weeks. I know my relatives over in Malaysia have been celebrating this
and weíre going to each and everyone of each personís house.
And we drop over, give them some gifts and also receive some red packet which in other
terms is moolah or money for us so thatís been great. But Iíve just recently got married
only a few months ago, actually it was about mid last year, I now have the responsibility
to give out red packets. And Iím located in Sydney and I was just talking about my
extended family thatís in Malaysia, they do that over 2-week period where they visit
people. Whereas in Sydney, we just have like this one big celebration where all our families
come together and pretty much eat dinner and just get wasted with food.
Itís like a 10-course meal where you just get so stuffed that you canít move right
at the end. But Iíve learned that over the years after eating those kind of feeds thatís
only want to eat what I want to eat which is like lobsters, aplonis, and all the yummy
seafood and then the rest I just donít eat at all. I know it sounds like as though Iím
disrespecting to the Chinese culture and thatís what it is but you donít want to be eating
until youíre stuffed and full and Iíve learned that lesson over the years of growing up.
Anyway, coming back to it, as Iíve mentioned, Iíve got married and being married in the
Chinese culture, itís our turn to be giving to the younger generation red packer or red
money. So this year, it was our first time over to be able to go after every one of our
nephews, nieces and to younger generation and hand them these red packets. And it was
a great feeling because it was just like a turn for us to give back and I just felt so,
so good to be able to do that. I thought oh man, itís my turn. I usually receive money
every year and this year itís changed. So after 30 years, itís my turn to give back.
But in saying that, itís funny because in our Shum family, the eldest still gave us
red packet money so I actually didnít go without any so ñ it was actually pretty good
for me still. And my wife even was very, very happy and she asked me the same question and
said, ìHey darling, are we supposed to be the only ones giving it out and not be receiving?î
I said well, I guess the Shum family continues on the tradition, the eldest always give back
to the younger so we still receive even though we are now married.
Anyway thatís whatís been happening and thatís just been pretty fun and exciting
and this is the tradition that goes on around this time either late January or early February
where thereís a Chinese new year tradition and we go out there and celebrate it with
families. Also too, I might as well mentioned, previously in my own business that I have
dragonboating, itís that time of the year where we have those big festivity events and
down at Darling Harbour, youíll probably see that if you live in Sydney that you can
go down to Darling Harbour and watch these dragonboat races that happen on the weekend
where theyíre just racing like have got like 5 boats that go down a lane or this wide lane
racing for about 200 or 300 meters and competing for a gold medal for their team. So thatís
some of the additional outside things that are happening inside the Chinese New Year
festivities and thereís plenty of other things that go on. But anyway, I thought Iíd just
share that with you as part of my Chinese culture and heritage and interesting things
thatís been going on in my life as well.
All right, coming back to outsourcing, I wanted to share with you today inside this really
exciting interview Iíve actually invited over the Outsourcing Queen. She actually owns
the website OutsourcingQueen.com and her name is Katey Shaw. So what Katey has done in the
past is sheís come together and found a lot of great systems and implemented a lot of
great things from what sheís been doing in her own business. She comes from a virtual
assistant background and therefore very, very systematized but what she has learned over
the years is to actually keep it at a minimal in order to be able to get the work done because
we are in a society, even myself on a day to day basis just get caught up in so much
stuff. So what weíll find out from Katey is that sheíll talk about how to go about
in approaching the minimalistic outsourcing types of systems and the way she does it.
So letís just jump straight into this interview with Katey.
Katey:
This is all part of the minimalistic lifestyle but Iíve actually taken out because being
2 hours out of Brisbane, Iím also only like 2 and half hours at the Golf Coast and Sunshine
Coast so I have the best life, I have the city lifestyle with the country home living.
Tyrone:
I like the sound of that. Well talking about minimalistic outsourcing, letís talk a little
bit more about that and maybe first thing, letís define what this is and how it can
apply to any business.
Katey:
I really personally, I love Zen Habits, whatís his name? Leo?
Tyrone:
Leo Babauta.
Katey:
Yes and Iím reading his book and people often get minimalistic confused with being frugal,
theyíre not the same thing. Minimalistic is just having the things you need to function
the way you want to live your life. So for instance, itís easy to apply it in terms
of your house. You donít need the latest plasma TV, you do not need 3 bedrooms or even
a giant house with furniture. You donít need those things, you just need the amount of
rooms that fit the people in your house, a table, and a computer if you are obviously
in a digital business.
Tyrone:
Yep, yep.
Katey:
You know, itís about keeping it small but enjoying what you have.
Tyrone:
Hmm, absolutely.
Katey:
Thatís probably the better way to put it.
Tyrone:
So really the term that a lot of people call is less is more?
Katey:
Yes. Thatís the nicest way to put it.
Tyrone:
Yeah, you keep the minimal things that help you de-clutter life and making sure that you
just focus on whatís most important and I think at the end of the day, it depends on
what lifestyle you want. If youíre on a minimalistic lifestyle where you just have the centrals
in life and you just have a business thatís on a side on your living and experiencing
life, traveling, visiting family, friends, etc. Really, you donít need to be sitting
a boxed old TV or flat screen plasma every night or something like that. Right?
Katey:
Absolutely. I donít have a TV, I donít actually have a TV anymore because I always get the
TV on the mono like computer.
Tyrone:
Youtube is perfect. And letís talk a little bit more about how this minimalistic apply
to outsourcing. How can we look at from that perspective?
Katey:
Well ñ okay so Iím also I guess where internet entrepreneurs so I focus around those terminologies
as such because when you actually start an internet marketing, thereís so many things
going on. You need SEO, you need social media, you need your website, you need to ñ have
this tactic employed. I ñ Iím not an SEO person because ñ I do do the basics of SEO
but I donít do heaps because Iím a social person -
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
And I get a better referral for people but I have found other people switch the other
way. Usually you choose one over the other to get your resources. So to keep it simple,
all I have is a blog, a contact form on it and social media, thatís all I do. And to
maintain that, I have a project manager who looks after my website, I have a customer
service person who looks after my customer service enquiries and I handle all my social
media.
Tyrone:
Thatís yeah, I mean thatís keeping it really simple because there can be so many things.
It could have Youtube channel, iTunes podcast, you could have Google Plus, Facebook, we can
go on for days. Itís a lot of these things.
Katey:
I have all those things but I really only focus on Facebook and Twitter for my social
media because thatís Iíve learned where my audience is and who are my clients and
who are my friends and what works the most. So I use the tools that are most effective
and I systemize it so that it only takes me ñ I say less than 10 minutes for beginners
but it takes me like 2 minutes in a day to maintain those things.
Tyrone:
Wow, thatís really fast. I mean when I hope on Facebook or Twitter, it takes me a lot
longer than that to be able to look at those stuff. How do you do it?
Katey:
Well I use HootSuite. It has a scheduling tool and usually, you donít need to talk
to people that often online I must say. I love people and you know me Iím a people
connector -
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
But I think itís information overload and spending too much scrolling, and finding hints
and tons of information so I actually have a list now of the areas I love. So I got what
is going on in the social enterprise, what is going on in social media and what is going
on in social media.
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
And then I have fun things I love to do, whatís going on in adventure as in four-wheel driving,
and fishing and fashion and then I recycle all of that information and I put out anything
that applies to those situations out there.
Tyrone:
Okay so from what I can understand, when you do hop onto say Twitter or Facebook using
HootSuite, youíre marketing those items that youíve got focused dedicated on. Is that
what youíre doing?
Katey:
Yes and so and with the beauty of HootSuite, is that you can shut your things.
Tyrone:
Ah, of course.
Katey:
You can put it out so youíre not going to blah, blah and spamming people with all your
comments and what not, you can time it to go out at different times. And then I check-in
ñ like I have a check-in time so 10AM is my usual check-in time for having conversations.
And I donít ñ you know, to actually type a response takes less than 5 seconds, I time
myself just to see because Iím taking a whole measurable approach to what I do.
Tyrone:
Yeah so itís all about productivity and also keeping the time down as minimal as possible
so you do the least you can to get the most effective result hopefully from what youíre
seeing from your results.
Katey:
Yeah and Iím still making friends, meeting people and having fun.
Tyrone:
Yeah, absolutely. You also mentioned just not long ago about a project manager and thatís
what you have in your team plus also a customer service person in your team, letís talk a
little bit more about that. How firstly did you get started to find that project manager
and also the customer service because most people start out usually just go out and find
a virtual assistant and find someone who they need in their team to start off with to handle
administration tasks and stuff. What was your approach in this?
Katey:
Well unlike other internet marketers, before I begin to become even remarkably within that
industry, I was actually a virtual assistant so it was my job to do these things so I know
what I was looking for and I know what a pain in the *** some people are.
Tyrone:
Haha.
Katey:
Itís just so ñ and it wasnít their fault, it was my fault because I wasnít clear on
what I wanted so I did what everybody else does when they start out and test.
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
You know I love that whole 4-hour Work Week process so I went in and I negotiate with
my hideout and I did ñ I think itís VA4U thatís a site. I also was personally because
I was a virtual assistant ñ you know, a virtual assistant program called VAPlacements so I
had a network and I was ñ and I just attest. In short, I tested and tweaked until I got
sick of it.
Tyrone:
Ah okay.
Katey:
Ah and ñ thatís ñ to do it.
Tyrone:
So basically as a virtual assistant, you kind of already had say for example clients that
were coming in and asking you to do certain types of work and then from there, youíve
pretty much formulated in the system which you could just find someone else in replacement
to take over that role. Is that what happened?
Katey:
It has but I ended up just meeting friends who look after and call me because I ñ I
did have a really great project manager in the Philippines through YourWebPA.
Tyrone:
Yeah.
Katey:
Shaley, she was amazing but for other things, I just needed a more holistic approach to
handle it and so I found that ñ I love the number 3 for some reasons so everything happens
in 3. Bottom one, I have a project manager for web because sometimes those 2 people donít
meet up, customer service and web, their brains are way differently.
Tyrone:
Yeah differently, I know that for a fact. I got a team like that too thatís why I need
a virtual assistant and customer support and then you got someone whoís a WebPA or sorry
ñ a web developer.
Katey:
Yeah and so I let Shaley go even if she was awesome because I really needed to split it
for myself to function better.
Tyrone:
Okay.
Katey:
And so I guess to answer your question, really I think I made a lot of errors and trials
in figuring out what I wanted and how to make it work and then realizing the people who
can make it work for me and knew the information without having to train them.
Tyrone:
Itís good to be able to share that and I think for listeners on this call, they wouldnít
mind finding out some of the trials and errors that youíve done like we didnít have to
go through every one of them but maybe if you wouldnít mind sharing just some stuff
that they can learn from mistakes because we all make mistakes. When I first started
out, I made tons of mistakes and I always share those things so people can learn from
it. But what was it that you found why did you let go of ñ was it Shaley that you say?
Katey:
Shaley.
Tyrone:
Yeah Shaley. What was the reason behind that and what happened to lead you that to make
the decision?
Katey:
Well, I didnít know what I wanted to be honest. I was ñ thatís probably it in a summary.
I was moving at gun hole speeds and when you have a full time or youíre paying someone
full time, you want to occupy their time and so I was occupying her time with things that actually werenít going to go through
and I had to step back and go what is it I wanted to do and I realized that having her
ñ because sheís in the Philippines, whilst she can do my emails, she couldnít do telephone
calls because in Australia, it just doesnít transcend well.
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
You know and I needed someone who could do both so thatís why I have a customer service
passed in and then when it came to managing the things, I needed somebody who got it to
have the conversation with me and once she got it, she was still technically my personal
assistant and I needed somebody who could balance off me to make it function and use
the strategic process of what I took to create a website. So most people in the industry
actually know that website designers and developers are 2 different things but for the average
person, they think itís just one thing.
Tyrone:
Hmm, thatís right. Thatís so true. I can see where youíre coming from because if youíve
got like maybe executive assistant, not a personal assistant but maybe executive assistant/managerial
type of person, they can probably more or less your project manager. Is that correct
to say from that point of view?
Katey:
Yes.
Tyrone:
So youíre sort of going even a higher level up like youíre looking more or less like
a CEO for your company to run everything day to day, manage everything. Rather than the
virtual assistant coming back to you and go and say whatís next.
Katey:
Yeah.
Tyrone:
Yeah, okay. That makes absolute sense because thatís where everybody should be heading
anyway eventually but when theyíre first starting out depending on your budget or depending
on what youíre looking for, youíve got to start somewhere on that side of things.
Katey:
Well what worked really in it for me is I actually donít have them on a salary and
I donít pay them monthly, I pay them project-ly.
Tyrone:
Ah, okay.
Katey:
So you know, Iím ñ so my problem with Shaley was not because she was anything wrong but
I was filling her time because I was paying her -
Tyrone:
On a monthly basis.
Katey:
For a certain amount of hours whereas with my customer service person and my project
manager, I go these are the projects and then I pay them by project, itís much more manageable
and Iím not feeling tired.
Tyrone:
Yeah definitely and also too I guess when youíre paying by project, it should be a
little bit less right because youíre not having to pay a monthly fee?
Katey:
Ah it works out better, it works out better for me.
Tyrone:
Yeah.
Katey:
I couldnít say itís less or more ñ because ñ Iím just trying to think but you know,
whatís in an hour, whatís the value of an hour -
Tyrone:
Yeah in comparison to whatís value in a task to be completed and delivered. Yeah, definitely.
Katey:
Yeah.
Tyrone:
So yeah thatís really, really good that youíve talked about that because I think itís just
changing your mindset on how to go about it. So mostly focus on trying to find that high
level team player that could fit in the role that you could actually hire on a project
basis rather than on a monthly basis to be able to run the business. So right now then,
what youíre currently doing? If youíve started out as a virtual assistant and youíve got
a virtual assistant business, what are you currently doing right now? What is your main
core business?
Katey:
So my main core business is project managing for a high-end internet marketers, social
enterprises and online retailers.
Tyrone:
Wow, okay.
Katey:
Haha. Oh.
Tyrone:
Very, very high-tech terms.
Katey:
Sorry. Ah so high end internet marketers, these people make millions of dollars marketing
on the internet. They rather do that and they might be seeing ___ from the friends of ours.
They actually have other projects going on behind the scenes that nobody else sees. So
you know, Iím involved in those things that nobody else sees.
Tyrone:
Ah okay so you help them out in terms of putting together the whole project and finding the
right people for it.
Katey:
Hmm and this goes from managing their digital media to outsourcing to social media.
Tyrone:
Wow, okay thatís very, very interesting. Well letís talk a little bit more ñ since
this podcast is based on outsourcing, talk a little bit more about outsourcing these
projects then say one of these high end marketers come to you and say Katey, I want this to
be done. Whatís the process that you go through to be able to find these people or how this
all work?
Katey:
Well, I go to pen and paper first.
Tyrone:
Okay letís start with that.
Katey:
And I write out the project title. So I write out my clientís name, what is their goal
and I summarize it. I tweet-isized it as what I call it because I do it up to 140 characters.
This is so about me minimalizing it just going dot, dot, dot. I donít write out whole paragraphs
and sentence okay. So it could be the personís name, the company name, whatís their goal,
140 characters or less, what is the next step I need to do then I do it. Then I do whatís
the next step after that and then I do it and it really depends. So for instance if
youíre starting with ñ for instance I have an online retailer and she hasnít got a website
yet and sheís wanting to make it an easy process to do because sheís just been using
Facebook is the next step after talking to her is to get a brief.
Get a brief of what the website is, what it consists of, what it needs and then I send
that off to my website project manager to organize and approach on -
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
So after that, the website brief is done. It sort of includes the social media brief
at the same time but I do that and then I have the customer service and sometimes training.
So itís just going what other 3 strings that make the project work and then do them.
Tyrone:
Do them. So pretty much youíll have your web project manager write up the specs or
the brief for the client and therefore send it back to you and then youíll add your social
media aspect and then send it back to the client. Coming back together with a full proposal
which has probably costings and time frames and all that kind of stuff in it?
Katey:
Yes. But it takes me less than 5 minutes for me to organize all that.
Tyrone:
Thatís the thing, Iím kind of curious. Youíve kind of got me interested in this aspect,
5 minues is a very short period of time. What is it that you do that you keep it to that
minimal because I put proposals together and it doesnít take me 5 minutes?
Katey:
I said it takes me 5 minutes to organize it. It doesnít actually take me 5 minutes to
put the proposal together.
Tyrone:
Okay, all right so 5 minutes to think it out then, to write down what needs to be done
so really the planning stage.
Katey:
Well and I guess from what it helps that I actually came from a legal secretarial background.
Tyrone:
Ah okay.
Katey:
You know, that you get performance when you do legal secretarial work so you have your
guidelines of what you need to do, what it needs to consist of, what are the outcomes
as a result of doing this? When you actually have a set performer as what we call it, you
can go fill in, fill in, fill in ñ send. And when you clearly know what youíre doing,
and you can go this is done, this is done, it makes it 5 minutes or less to do. So itís
really going through your checklist and shutting down your head to the other north east of
other projects and other things you have to do that makes it 5 minutes or less.
Tyrone:
Which is the reason why the checklist is so powerful because now weíre talking about
checklist as you said, itís just basically a tick function and you just go to complete
those tasks and once those tasks have been done, you can move onto the next thing. So
are you working on one a project at a time or have you got multiple projects on the go?
Katey:
Iím an entrepreneur, Iíll never stick to one.
Tyrone:
But the thing is, this is the argument that we place up on these kind of things. In many
conversations Iíve had with other entrepreneurs, particularly with a few ones that you probably
know like I speak to Gideon regularly and we talk about just focusing on one project
and I totally agree with that because once youíve got your mental focus on that one
project and you get it complete, we feel as though we can get it completed much faster.
Sort of the hedgehog conversation, you focus on just that one part and get it done then
you can have your mental capacity released to focus on the next project. How do you do
that with multiple projects?
Katey:
Well what I do is I set time. I have this brilliant diary. Oops ñ so Iím just going
to show you a blank page so that you donít see all my stuff. So this brilliant diary,
it has a Personal and Community, Business. And itís like a task checklist and itís
a 24-hour timeline here that I can fill in. I have journal notes but what also is brilliant
about it is it has a month at a glance goal at the beginning of the month ñ Iím not
sure if you can see that.
Tyrone:
Yes I can see that.
Katey:
And it has my Masters, Personal Projects and Hobbies. It has a year like calendar with
these little things and so really comes down to effective planning. So in my day, for instance
today, your ñ the first thing thatís happening to me and technically this is a project for
me -
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
Because you know, I have to focus and I have to be able to deliver I guess value information
and prepared work and so ñ thatís what I did. I wrote it down, I focused on it, I finished
it. Now whatís next. And so when youíre doing multiple things, I think it ñ you can
actually ñ how I put it. It comes down to focusing on one task in hand. Sometimes you
wait for information, so what do you do next while youíre waiting? You do the next project.
Tyrone:
So really I guess itís short tasks that really the projects that youíre just focusing on.
Once that short task is done for whichever project then you move onto the next one and
just keep turning it through I guess you can say until it gets coming through. Itís so
easy though just to let the tasks run because I personally have a whole list of it sitting
right next to me right now for today that I need to get done and whichever I feel like
I can do first, Iíll do first. If I donít feel like doing it, I usually put it off to
the end of the day but then, if it doesnít get done by the end of the day, the next day
Iíll do it and actually this morning I said I got to finish these 3 important tasks which
will generate revenue because if I donít invoice my clients, I wonít get paid so that
was my motivation behind getting those tasks done. So with a strong incentive I will do
it.
Katey:
So with me, this is what I do in my day itís going what is important, what actually gets
me money. I am ñ I love money, it helps me have fun.
Tyrone:
Oh I think thatís true in every aspect. Hopefully everyone thinks that.
Katey:
And you know, so you focus on that and you go what ñ so I have ñ like you I have checklist
and I make it a habit of finishing my checklist and I tick it off. And instead of thinking
oh my gosh I have lots of checklist today okay. How long does this task going to take
me? You know, if itís focused, you can do them all in one time and often you think oh
my gosh I have to call them, theyíre going to check but I guess maybe, my brilliancy
of learning in a call center bank ñ you have this process of -
Tyrone:
Youíve got to be ñ yeah.
Katey:
Guiding the conversation.
Tyrone:
Yeah, thatís right, I notice. And making sure that is short otherwise theyíll just
keep yabbing on. Iíve had that issue before, people will sit on the phone and talk to you
for 10, 15 minutes and before you know it, itís already half an hour gone. That happens.
Katey:
Yeah so you guide the conversation and so I think really you have to think of it ñ
itís not about the people but just the task. The task honestly doesnít take that long.
Tyrone:
Sure anyway, depending on what it is.
Katey:
Most times definitely. I think most times, we spend our times thinking about the task.
Tyrone:
Yeah, I totally agree with you. So pretty much what youíve got in place is a diary.
I should ask you, where did you get those kind of diaries from because I havenít seen
them before. Thatís probably the first one Iíve ever seen with Personal, Hobbies, 24
hours, itís got like literally everything that you could have.
Katey:
It is brilliant. And it has even financial. I got this as a Christmas present from my
sister and she probably got it ñ you know what, I will find out whoís the supplier.
I think itís one of those Colliers people, one of those diary makers and then you know,
if your guess is a smart one, they can go find it.
Tyrone:
I mean is itís not something that you just walk in and find in a newsstand and see or
a bookstore. I havenít seen that one before because I go to bookstores for diaries and
never heard of them.
Katey:
I have to ask my sister where she got it from.
Tyrone:
Find it out.
Katey:
It has a memory dragger in everything in it like itís brilliant.
Tyrone:
Itís got everything there. I guess depends on how you are. Iím also still a book person
because I like having my notebook next to my trusty notebook. Itís like the yellow
type of paper that people talk about in there like legal pad. Yeah exactly, Iím like that
too but I still have all my electronic stuff like my electronic calendar and all that kind
of stuff so it just sort of depends on how you work and how you run. But most important
thing is as long as you have something thatís there and you can write down quickly or you
can jot down your ideas quickly then it works for whoever it is.
Well letís change up the gears a little bit.
Katey:
Yeah.
Tyrone:
I wanted to ask you a little bit more about systems and processes that you run with your
team so youíve got your project manager and also too your customer service manager or
customer service person, how are you communicating with them on a daily basis or weekly or whatever.
Or do you communicate with them on a daily or weekly basis?
Katey:
Ah what I do on a daily basis because weíre both on Skype and weíre both internet marketers,
so itís just easy to Skype each other and so with that I do and we are also doing other
things outside of thsi project managing, I guess thatís the brilliancy with working
with entrepreneurs sometimes. The third thing that I use is just Gmail, Skype and Dropbox,
thatís it. Maybe my mobile phone.
Tyrone:
Well thatís really minimalistic and I like the sound of that, keeping it simple and effective.
The thing is, is though letís break it down then. What do you usually use on Dropbox,
what is it that you share on Dropbox? Is it -
Katey:
Ah big files. With website design, you actually need copywriting done, images and these other
big files and itís just so easy just to get into Dropbox because obviously email canít
handle it. And it organizes it. I also put my proposals in there, I put ñ documentation
in there, and I have what I call a running agenda. So you know, instead of us having
to do heaps and heaps of emails -
Tyrone:
Yes.
Katey:
And also having to keep in touch with everything, and I go ñ it starts off ñ and I donít
have to ask them what to do, they do it themselves because thatís the system that they follow.
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
Is that everyday they tell me what theyíre working on and then theyíll close the day
with what they achieved and what they need to me. And then I respond at that same sheet
what they need, anything else thatís new and thatís done.
Tyrone:
Yeah, thatís actually thatís what I do except I do it via email. What we usually try to
do is we ñ she sends me and my team sends me a daily accountability of what theyíve
completed for the day. If thereís anything I need to reply, I just reply back in the
email. But the way that you do the agendas also work as well. And Dropbox, I mean in
many ways itís very much the same. I put all our large documentation, any files, any
images and all that gets all stored on Dropbox because that way we can share and sync with
all the rest of our team.
Yeah so itís very similar. I mean like thereís not much difference in that side. Itís just
minimalistic is probably best less is going to provide you with more because then itís
so much easier for you to find things and you donít have to go through all these mess
that we all get ourselves into.
Katey:
Yeah and I guess you know, where you come from, what are the experiences you had prior
to becoming a business person counts for heaps. Because as a legal secretary, filing is hangout.
Tyrone:
Yes I agree.
Katey:
And keeping file notes. Like I actually keep file notes of discussions and things like
that so I know what is happening.
Tyrone:
Yeah absolutely.
Katey:
And I give that to my clients and even to my project manager so they know that weíve
had this discussion.
Tyrone:
Yeah well thatís good because thereís consistency throughout your clients and yourself as well.
Do you store anything on your computer as well?
Katey:
No.
Tyrone:
So everythingís pretty much on the cloud? Yeah. Thatís good because I think thatís
where people should be heading anyway. Eventually, I think most people will be using the cloud
to do most of the processing. Even today now Iím using Google Docs to write documents
and spreadsheets and everything all like that so itís pretty powerful therefore you donít
lose anything on your computer.
Katey:
Well Google does that for me. Like I use Gmail and in Gmail alone, I use Boomerang for email,
canned responses, and multiple logins because I have more than one Gmail accounts and when
you have canned responses, it makes it easy just to reply to people and thereís ways
that you can actually setup automatic responses with that canned responses and mail it out.
And thatís also targeting their form of excel spreadsheet on Google Docs and things like
that.
Tyrone:
Yeah and you can share that as well which is really good so I think thatís really,
really powerful. Any other tools that youíve been using lately that has helped you and
your team in the business?
Katey:
Ah ñ honestly, itís very minimal. So Gmail is what I do. With my business I probably
ñ see I wrote note.
Tyrone:
Yeah.
Katey:
So I can look at my notes. Fiverr is the place I go to if I want to just test something or
if I need a graphic design, a small graphic design quickly I just go to Fiverr and I think
really what helps is being clear on the goal and knowing what needs to be done and not
over analyzing the actual task. Itís a simple task, just do it.
Tyrone:
Yeah.
Katey:
So I think Gmail and with I guess social media, I use ShortStack a lot because it just plugs,
plays and Iím liking ShortStack app to WordPress for websites as ShortStack app is for Facebook.
Tyrone:
Ah okay yeah thatís really good because I think you mentioned that recently to me ShortStack
app and I said Iíll definitely be checking it out. How does it work though? Like you
said itís like WordPress for Facebook, how does it work?
Katey:
Websites are awesome unless you use WordPress because you can just plug it in and upload
it.
Tyrone:
Yes.
Katey:
So Facebook and ShortStack app is the same process. So we plug in, and you upload your
header, your tabs, itís like a mini website on Facebook. So you just put in whatever you
want in ShortStack app to appear in your Facebook page and it plugs in all stuff for you.
Tyrone:
Wow thatís quick. So therefore you donít have to go through the process of how to use
Facebook because personally I donít use Facebook Page often enough because I just found it
a bit complicated and I just donít have the time to look at it so I gave it to my team
to do. But I donít know, I donít find Facebook as effective as other things that we do on
our business so yeah depends on what you were doing.
Katey:
Well I donít -
Tyrone:
Sorry?
Katey:
I actually donít use Facebook Pages for myself. I do that for my clients.
Tyrone:
For clients yep.
Katey:
As you have found for yourself, itís not that effective but you have to know your industry.
So Twitter works well in my industry in what I do but Facebook Pages donít. So Iím happy
ñ so I know what I need to do for my clients and I do it really well and thatís ñ I donít
do it for me but itís really about knowing your market.
Tyrone:
Exactly and thatís the good thing that you talked about on what your market wants and
focusing on the things that are important rather than go out and do everything. Itís
not possible to do everything unfortunately and you donít want that anyway which is cool.
Katey:
Cool.
Tyrone:
I also want to talk about your website Katey. OutsourcingQueen.com ñ when I hopped on there
recently, itís very minimalistic, itís just got a blog post, the heading, some titles
and thatís it. What the reasoning behind it and what do you want to share? What do
you share on that particular site?
Katey:
Well honestly, I took a year of blogging. I shut down, I got overwhelmed and so it took
a year off and I shut down all my websites. Nothing is online but Iím still doing business
and ñ networking and all those things and people wanted to meet me so you really need
a website.
Tyrone:
Yeah, of course.
Katey:
Actually I only really started it I think at the beginning of December re-born it, like
a better word. And I just started. I thought Iím an over-analyzer and in my head, Iím
not a swear-out-louder but I do say it a lot in my head. Iím just going to do it you know
what I mean?
Tyrone:
Yep.
Katey:
I think at that point, Iím sick of being one of those people who knows what Iím supposed
to do but I was not doing it.
Tyrone:
Hmm.
Katey:
And so I thought I need to show by example what Iím doing and so Iím going to start
simple and Iím going to start with a blog ìWhy I Quit Bloggingî as my first blog.
And just keep it minimalistic and I just see what responses I get and I am honestly surprised
by the feedback, the ñ you know, how many people identified with what I was doing so
after a few discussions with you, Ethan and some of my other friends, Iíve moved it from
ñ because Iíve just started off the blog with ìGet Started, Just Do Itî. And that
was the initial part of this blog and Iím now Iím moving it into tips, hints and ninja
tricks to hacking outsourcing.
Tyrone:
Thatís really good and itís funny because it takes time to evolve like when I first
started, just like you I started blogging and I started using my own name to build up
the branding behind outsourcing but it took a long, long time to even try to rank for
the keyword outsourcing for a long time. So I made a decision just like you to change
and just focus on something and only last year, and around about June I decided okay
get Outsourcing Live which is the reason why just focused and dedicated just talking about
outsourcing. Since then, itís been ranked on the first page of Google for the keyword
term of outsourcing.
So it made a huge change so I think thatís the thing. It takes time, itís not something
that will happen immediately when you first started blogging or when you first started
running a business. You just throw up whatever you can up on the wall and whatever works,
run with it and I can see thatís what happened for you.
Katey:
Well I blog Tuesdays, thatís it. Iíve kept it so simple because when you do get into
this industry, you see them writing daily, three daily, whatever.
Tyrone:
Yeah, thatís full on.
Katey:
You know, it can take a good 2 hours, maybe even 4 hours for me to write a blog post because
I write something, I donít like it, I need to edit it. And I want at the end of the day,
my whole purpose in life is making a positive difference to the lives of others. You know,
sometimes you start off this me-me-me focused blogging then you go, not about me, itís
about them and then you take it.
Tyrone:
Yeah I think thatís a good approach and I think thatís what people need to do on a
day to day basis even just in business if youíre trying to help your client, youíll
get a better result rather than trying to think okay how much can I make from it from
this. So itís definitely going to be that approach. Otherwise you wonít succeed in
business. Absolutely.
Well Katey, thank you so much for coming onto the interview today, itís been a real pleasure
to have you on. If people want to get in contact with you and find out more about what youíre
currently doing and more about the outsourcing tips and hacks for outsourcing, how can they
get in contact with you?
Katey:
OutsourcingQueen.com.
Tyrone:
Okay, excellent.
Katey:
Simple, easy and memorable.
Tyrone:
Awesome.
VO: This is Outsourcing Live Inside Info.
All right, as youíve seen and heard as well, Katey was talking about a really amazing tool
that she uses to manage all her social media accounts. Nowadays, thereís just so many
things that go on and it just takes time to sign in, sign out and log in and tweet or
like or put a message inside these social media networks. So whatís happened is that
now, a really amazing tool which has been around for quite some but Iíve only started
to use myself is called HootSuite which Katey mentioned inside the podcast. And I thought
Iíd just share that with you as well so that you can check it out and start using it for
your business.
And the reason why Iím recommending this tool is because itís an all-in-one solution
where you can just log into this one dashboard and see all your social media accounts all
inside all at once and that would save you a lot of time. Now Iíve also set this up
so that my virtual team can also access it particularly when weíre posting out specific
videos from the blog I get them to post it out here, saves them in having to log in to
each and every single account. This way they just log in one time, post what they need
to do and then finish and that will definitely cut down a lot of time. Now to get access
to this software and use it, itís all for free, itís ñ you can actually go to Outsourcinglive.com/HootSuite.
And thatís spelled H-O-O-T-S-U-I-T-E and it integrates with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
Google Plus, Iíve also seen which I think is a little bit outdated but also too a few
other things and itís recommended by a lot of big companies such as like Fox, Time, NBA,
etc and yeah itís used anywhere.
And the great thing about it is that itís also mobile accessible so therefore you can
access it pretty much on any mobile device thatís around. Now if you do have more than
5 social media accounts and you want to integrate that in, there is a monthly fee which is a
very, very low fee, I think itís about 5bucks a month. So itís actually still pretty worthwhile
if you do sign up for that pro package. And you can do unlimited things.
Also too, Katey mentioned that there is a scheduling function where you can schedule
in tweets and messages that go in HootSuite and thatís another cool feature that you
can setup and use as well. So instead of you sitting there and logging in at specific times,
you can just set it up to send messages all spaced out a period of time. And at the end
of the day, I guess the whole idea behind a social media network or social media is
to spread good content. And yes, you can go in there and chat to people and communicate
with people but I think the power of this is to be able to get your message out there
much quicker and waiting for your site to be ranked on Google for example if youíre
to develop that way.
So definitely check out HootSuite which is at Outsourcinglive.com/HootSuite. Iíll spell
again, H-O-O-T-S-U-I-T-E. And also too, Iíll make sure Iíll put it down the shownotes
which this is episode 32 which you can go and check it out at Outsourcinglive.com/episode32.
So all the notes and also the details of this link will be there as well for you to check
out. All right so enjoy and Iíll talk to you inside the next podcast.
VO: Discover more resources to grow your business inside Mass Outsource Mastermind. Watch the
video tutorials and follow the easy instructions to take your business to the next level. Start
your 30-day no risk trial membership at FreeVideoSet.com. Thatís FreeVideoSet.com. This has been Outsourcing
Live with Tyrone Shum, outsourcing the hot stuff so you can focus on the fun stuff.