{"id":3556,"date":"2018-03-19T08:59:29","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T08:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/getfriday74\/blog\/?p=3556"},"modified":"2023-05-25T12:49:40","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T12:49:40","slug":"getting-to-friday-yans-journey-with-a-virtual-assistant-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/getting-to-friday-yans-journey-with-a-virtual-assistant-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"GETTING TO FRIDAY \u2013 Yan\u2019s Journey with a Virtual Assistant (Part -2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Yan Knudtskov Nielsen, a GetFriday client and the Founder &amp; CEO of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yanco.dk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yan&amp;Co<\/a>\u00a0in Copenhagen, Denmark is narrating his Journey with Virtual Assistance. Take a look at <a href=\"\/blog\/optimizing-your-time-yans-story-part-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Part 1<\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>A month or two went by after my conversation with Vanessa.. (or so it felt)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>I kept thinking about this wonderful magical unicorn like person called a \u201cVirtual Assistant\u201d, which I had read in books existed, but, since I had never really seen one, could not believe existed.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>As I thought about the VA, I also slowly realized why I had panicked: I was simply scared that no one could do the tasks as well as I could &#8211; even though I dreaded doing them (and at the same time I was actually blind to the fact that I could be quite terrible at them).<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>I got back to Vanessa to have her introduce me to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.getfriday.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GetFriday<\/a>, which she so fondly recommended.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>Some of my initial concerns was among these:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How about privacy of sensitive information (credit cards, logins, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>Are they any good?<\/li>\n<li>What happens if something goes wrong?<\/li>\n<li>What if they don\u2019t know how to do the tasks?<\/li>\n<li>Will they overcharge?<\/li>\n<li>How much will it cost?<\/li>\n<li>And a lot of other concerns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>Getting to Friday <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>The initial meeting was done over Skype with Mahesh who was to become my teamlead\/manager at GetFriday. The Skype meeting was an absolute pleasure. The level at which Mahesh asked questions to my business was nothing short of excellent. He went the extra mile in understanding what I needed help within the business.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gf-2-1.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3581\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gf-2-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"885\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gf-2-1.png 885w, https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gf-2-1-300x144.png 300w, https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gf-2-1-768x368.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I had been recommended a particular VA at GetFriday, which was the one Vanessa used and I asked if it was possible to get the same assistant as her. Mahesh then, after understanding the tasks I need help with, went on to explain me that this VA actually wouldn\u2019t be the right fit as the tasks I needed help with, didn\u2019t match the specialties of this VA.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>This alone made me trust GetFriday even more as they didn\u2019t just comply with my wishes but made an effort in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getfriday.com\/why-getfriday\">getting me the right VA<\/a>. After the Skype call Mahesh got back to and I was assigned with a VA as well as instructions on how to best introduce GetFriday to my tasks.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>The challenges of putting my mind to writing<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>You may very well be more aware of what you do on a daily basis than I was at the time, but it came as a surprise to me how many steps of the tasks I did, involved what I would call internalized knowledge and automated behavior.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>Let me give a concrete example of this: One of the monthly tasks that GetFriday now handles is structuring the invoices for my accountant. I would look at an invoice and immediately know how to choose the filename for it so the accountant would know where it belonged in the accounting. Also, I\u2019d convert it to a PDF and know in which folder to put it.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>This may sound quite simple, but when I had to describe it, I discovered a lot of small steps were involved. Steps that involved information which was in my head like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How does another person know what to name the file?<\/li>\n<li>How would anyone know the right folder to put it in?<\/li>\n<li>Also, any exceptions to the rules where I\u2019d add extra information<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>And this was just a simple task. I quickly realised I had a huge responsibility in describing the tasks and making sure the information was available &#8211; or I\u2019d just make someone else\u2019s workday nightmare. And that I didn\u2019t want to happen.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>It took more hours than I thought, because I had quite a few tasks and processes. But, it was huge relief getting all this information out of my head and into workflows.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>My super-awesome assistant<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-04-02.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3616 alignleft lazyload\" data-src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-04-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 225px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 225\/300;\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3616 alignleft\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-04-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>My assistant at GetFriday is Jaya. I\u2019m not afraid to name-drop as she\u2019s awesome. Really super awesome.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"no-line\" \/>\n<p>In the back of my mind I had a voice still worried about all the \u201cexceptions\u201d and \u201cprocesses I might not have described well enough,\u201d and the first time I sent a task description to Jaya I received an email back.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"no-line\" \/>\n<p>She had found a question to the task and just wanted to know if she\u2019d understood it correctly and how to move on with it &#8211; and was totally my fault! Here I thought I had described it thoroughly and still there was information in my head. She\u2019d \u201ccaught\u201d me and wasn\u2019t afraid to ask. Amazing! So I had to redo part of the process to get it right.<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p>And this still continues to happen &#8211; I map out a process and Jaya is on-the-spot and let\u2019s me know if something is missing. That is such a valuable thing to have happen! This is what really amazed me about GetFriday; the level of service they provide!<\/p>\n<span class=\"\" style=\"display:block;clear:both;height: 0px;padding-top: 20px;border-top-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;\"><\/span>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-be-super-effective-yans-journey-with-a-virtual-assistant-part-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Continue reading<\/a>\u00a0Yan\u2019s journey with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getfriday.com\/\">Virtual assistant<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yan Knudtskov Nielsen, a GetFriday client and the Founder &amp; CEO of\u00a0Yan&amp;Co\u00a0in Copenhagen, Denmark is narrating his Journey with Virtual Assistance. Take a look at Part 1. \u00a0 A month or two went by after my conversation with Vanessa.. (or so it felt) I kept thinking about this wonderful magical unicorn like person called a \u201cVirtual Assistant\u201d, which I had read in books existed, but, since I had never really seen one, could not believe existed. As I thought about the VA, I also slowly realized why I had panicked: I was simply scared that no one could do the tasks as well as I could &#8211; even though I dreaded doing them (and at the same time I was actually blind to the fact that I could be quite terrible at them). I got back to Vanessa to have her introduce me to GetFriday, which she so fondly recommended. Some of my initial concerns was among these: How about privacy of sensitive information (credit cards, logins, etc.) Are they any good? What happens if something goes wrong? What if they don\u2019t know how to do the tasks? Will they overcharge? How much will it cost? And a lot of other concerns Getting to Friday The initial meeting was done over Skype with Mahesh who was to become my teamlead\/manager at GetFriday. The Skype meeting was an absolute pleasure. The level at which Mahesh asked questions to my business was nothing short of excellent. He went the extra mile in understanding what I needed help within the business. &nbsp; I had been recommended a particular VA at GetFriday, which was the one Vanessa used and I asked if it was possible to get the same assistant as her. Mahesh then, after understanding the tasks I need help with, went on to explain me that this VA actually wouldn\u2019t be the right fit as the tasks I needed help with, didn\u2019t match the specialties of this VA. This alone made me trust GetFriday even more as they didn\u2019t just comply with my wishes but made an effort in getting me the right VA. After the Skype call Mahesh got back to and I was assigned with a VA as well as instructions on how to best introduce GetFriday to my tasks. The challenges of putting my mind to writing You may very well be more aware of what you do on a daily basis than I was at the time, but it came as a surprise to me how many steps of the tasks I did, involved what I would call internalized knowledge and automated behavior. Let me give a concrete example of this: One of the monthly tasks that GetFriday now handles is structuring the invoices for my accountant. I would look at an invoice and immediately know how to choose the filename for it so the accountant would know where it belonged in the accounting. Also, I\u2019d convert it to a PDF and know in which folder to put it. This may sound quite simple, but when I had to describe it, I discovered a lot of small steps were involved. Steps that involved information which was in my head like: How does another person know what to name the file? How would anyone know the right folder to put it in? Also, any exceptions to the rules where I\u2019d add extra information And this was just a simple task. I quickly realised I had a huge responsibility in describing the tasks and making sure the information was available &#8211; or I\u2019d just make someone else\u2019s workday nightmare. And that I didn\u2019t want to happen. It took more hours than I thought, because I had quite a few tasks and processes. But, it was huge relief getting all this information out of my head and into workflows. My super-awesome assistant My assistant at GetFriday is Jaya. I\u2019m not afraid to name-drop as she\u2019s awesome. Really super awesome. In the back of my mind I had a voice still worried about all the \u201cexceptions\u201d and \u201cprocesses I might not have described well enough,\u201d and the first time I sent a task description to Jaya I received an email back. She had found a question to the task and just wanted to know if she\u2019d understood it correctly and how to move on with it &#8211; and was totally my fault! Here I thought I had described it thoroughly and still there was information in my head. She\u2019d \u201ccaught\u201d me and wasn\u2019t afraid to ask. Amazing! So I had to redo part of the process to get it right. And this still continues to happen &#8211; I map out a process and Jaya is on-the-spot and let\u2019s me know if something is missing. That is such a valuable thing to have happen! This is what really amazed me about GetFriday; the level of service they provide! Continue reading\u00a0Yan\u2019s journey with a Virtual assistant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[28,136,127,21,30,43],"class_list":["post-3556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-getfriday-updates","tag-getfriday","tag-hire-a-virtual-assistant","tag-outsourcing-for-small-business","tag-virtual-assistance","tag-virtual-assistance-services","tag-virtual-personal-assistant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3556"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4873,"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556\/revisions\/4873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getfriday-uat.ttkservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}