How to outsource your inbox...

[Chris H.]

Hi all,

I've been following Tim's process for outsourcing my email (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/01/21/the-holy-grail-how-to-outsource-the-inbox-and-never-check-email-again/) for the past 4 weeks.

I use gmail and have all of my email accounts dumped into one main account that my VA manages. The only twist on Tim's process is that I also have my postal mail delivered to my inbox via earthclassmail.com and my voice mail delivered via GoogleVoice. My VA handles all of this per "processing rules" as Tim calls them.

This is working out well and getting more streamlined as we continue to move forward. Here's the issue I'm having that I could use some help with--My assistant and I talk each weekday morning at 8:30 ET via skype after he processes my email. I'm in Michigan and he is in India by the way. For the messages there are no rules for, we have to discuss "next actions" for each. I either instruct him to respond to an email or move it to my "holding" label/folder where I will handle it later (two days a week). The problem is that these phone calls last about 20 to 25 minutes, which I think is just too long. Tim mentions it takes him 4 to 10 minutes, and I know he gets a helluva lot more email than I do.

Does anyone have a suggestion regarding how to streamline my process a bit more? Any way to shorten the calls? Or is there a better way to communicate with my VA than phone?

I'd love to hear from some of you who have experience with outsourcing your email.

Thanks!

Chris H.

[FreedomFinder]

4-10 min. just on e-mail maybe. Your dealing with e-mail, VM, and Snail Mail, 25 min. a day isn't bad. I'd say way to go.

[Merlin]

Chris - I know this is an old(er) post, however I'd like to ask you a few questions about your system. I will be able to suggest some refinements to your process, and I am working on outsourcing my entire inbox (I use google apps, Google Voice, and Earth Class Mail)

Questions:
- How do you handle privacy and passwords? My main google apps account catches about 10 email addresses, and has four year's worth of passwords in emails sent each time I register for something new.
- How do you handle sensitive documents attached to old emails? The same account has mortgage docs, and many other sensitive files attached to old emails - basically a recipe for ID theft. My thought is to create a new Google Apps account for email processing that doesn't have all the archived emails and docs.
- Do you have a process for building trust prior to training a new VA to handle your inbox?

Suggestions for shortening calls:
- Create a process for evaluating priority, so that only high priority messages are discussed on calls, the rest can wait for your 2x/week mail check.
- Try creating a script that is followed precisely so that your VA doesn't have to say the same things over and over again. Instead of "John Johnson sent an email asking if you'd like to grab dinner tonight" it would be" "John Johnson requests dinner appointment" - not a great example, but there are many areas of low hanging fruit in conversational verbage that can be eliminated.

Thanks!

[Chris H.]

Hi Merlin,

It sounds like this process is probably easier for me than for you because I only have one primary email address (gmail) and I rarely exchange sensitive/private documents.

I trust my VA with passwords to many of the websites I use. He doesn't have access to any of my banking websites or my credit cards. I actually have a separate VA for bookkeeping who has access to all of this critical information. I put my trust in this VA because they are strictly a "virtual bookkeeping business" and I researched them first and spoke with them before hiring and was very comfortable with them.

I didn't give my VA immediate access to my email. We worked together for a while on smaller tasks and eventually worked up to him managing my inbox and other things. He earned my trust over time, I didn't just blindly hand it to him.

My system is a lot better now since I first posted my question on here. My VA and I now only speak once per week and only for 30 minutes. I have another weekly conference call schedule right after our call so this forces us to finish in 30 minutes. This strategy works pretty well. We email and IM once in a while if necessary.

I hope that helps.

Chris

[Merlin]

Chris,
Thanks - that help is fantastic. Please send me your Virtual Bookkeeping firm - I have been looking for something along these lines. Where are they located, and what tasks do they handle for you? I need someone to handle small business bookkeeping and possible personal in the future.

Thanks!

[FrozenCanuck]

Remember the part in the book where Tim explains that you will always get a job done just in the nick of time? His school project example?

Tell your VA that you ONLY have 10 minutes for the call because you have another phone meeting. See what happens.

Do it over and over ...

[Chris H.]

Merlin,

I use a company appropriately named Virtual Bookkeeping. They are in Canada.

Here they are:

http://www.virtualbookkeeping.ca/

Talk to Monica. Please mention the referral from me--Chris Heiler from Michigan.

My company is small, mostly with transactions online now. They do my basic bookkeeping including prepare sales tax for me. I have a cpa who does my annual taxes.

I think their rates are fair.

Chris

[Merlin]

Awesome. Contacting them today.