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Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business Paperback – April 1, 2014

by Chris Ducker (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,323 ratings
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Entrepreneurs often suffer from "superhero syndrome"—the misconception that to be successful, they must do everything themselves. Not only are they the boss, but also the salesperson, HR manager, copywriter, operations manager, online marketing guru, and so much more. It's no wonder why so many people give up the dream of starting a business—it's just too much for one person to handle.

But outsourcing expert and "Virtual CEO," Chris Ducker knows how you can get the help you need with resources you can afford. Small business owners, consultants, and online entrepreneurs don't have to go it alone when they discover the power of building teams of virtual employees to help run, support, and grow their businesses.

Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business is the step-by-step guide every entrepreneur needs to build his or her business with the asset of working with virtual employees. Focusing on business growth, Ducker explains every detail you need to grasp, from figuring out which jobs you should outsource to finding, hiring, training, motivating, and managing virtual assistants.

With additional tactics and online resources, Virtual Freedom is the ultimate resource of the knowledge and tools necessary for building your dream business with the help of virtual staff.
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  1. Print length
    296 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    BenBella Books
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 2014
  5. Dimensions
    5.56 x 0.79 x 8.31 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1939529743
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1939529749
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Think about the most useful book you've ever read. It will now become the second most useful. This is the field guide for building a team, outsourcing, and taking back control of your life."
—Jay Baer, New York Times bestselling author of Youtility

"Chris Ducker explains exactly how to get more done in less time—and, as a bonus, get back the life you gave up when you decided to go into business for yourself. Virtual assistants are the key, and Virtual Freedom gives you everything you need to know."
—Michael Hyatt, New York Times bestselling author of Platform

"Chris Ducker passionately teaches freedom. His manifesto is a wake-up call for all entrepreneurs seeking to take back more of their time – in business and life."
—Michael Covel, bestselling author of Trend Following

"Set your ideas free, and you'll think bigger. Set your entire work system free, and you'll grow bigger. Chris Ducker is on to something here. Get in fast!"
—Chris Brogan, New York Times bestselling author of Trust Agents

"Who would you rather trust to learn about building a virtual team, to help grow your business? Someone who 'talks' about outsourcing, or someone who LIVES it? Chris Ducker lives it – everyday - and this book proves it!"
—Derek Halpern, founder of SocialTriggers.com

"Countless business owners are getting bogged down dealing with mundane tasks. Chris Ducker, has the book you NEED to read. He takes the fear out of virtualizing your business and shows you how to live your life, while your business works for YOU!"
—Peter Shankman, bestselling author of Nice Companies Finish First

"This book shall become the bible on how to build your dream business, without working yourself into an early grave!"
—John Lee Dumas, host and founder of Entrepreneur On Fire

"In Virtual Freedom, Ducker gives incredibly practical, proven advice for getting our time back so we can live a life of true freedom with the most luxurious of luxuries: choice over what we do with our time.
—Kate Northrup, bestselling author of Money: A Love Story

"Your small business won't grow without a team behind you. Chris Ducker has written a step-by-step guide to building and managing a virtual team machine. Follow his framework and watch your enterprise grow into your dream business."
—Melinda Emerson, bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12-Months

"Have you ever read a book that you just couldn't put down because you simply need to know what's on the next page? Virtual Freedom did that for me because what Chris has produced in this book will literally change your business, and your life!"
—Pat Flynn, bestselling author of Let Go

"I'm not going to lie: my business used to be a stress-fest, until I unleashed the power of outsourcing on it. When it comes to learning how to do this, there's no better expert than Chris Ducker, and no better bible than Virtual Freedom."
—David Siteman Garland, mediapreneur and host of The Rise to the Top

"This is a book for a new world of business, where technology - not subways or planes or cars - connects people to their offices and team members to each other. It offers you a prescription that'll lead you to a more flexible, efficient, and (ultimately) more productive business."
—Ann Handley, bestselling co-author of Content Rules

About the Author

Chris C. Ducker has helped thousands of entrepreneurs around the world implement successful virtual staffing strategies into their businesses, releasing them from the shackles of the over-worked, over-stressed lifestyle that most business owners endure on a daily basis. His approach to leveraging time, as well as maximizing business systems and processes – all with a focus on running businesses from a distance – has earned him the title of the "Virtual CEO."

Ducker is also a popular speaker, podcaster, and video marketer.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ BenBella Books (April 1, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 296 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1939529743
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1939529749
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.56 x 0.79 x 8.31 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,323 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Chris Ducker

    Chris Ducker

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    Chris Ducker is a serial entrepreneur and author of the bestselling books, Virtual Freedom and more recently, Rise of the Youpreneur.

    Based in Cambridgeshire, Chris owns and operates several businesses, including the VA recruiting hub, Virtual Staff Finder and the personal brand education company, Youpreneur®. He is regarded as one of the top experts in the world on the subjects of virtual staffing and scaling an expert business.

    Chris has been a trusted international business coach, keynote speaker and podcaster since 2010 and currently spends most of his time mentoring successful entrepreneurs, as well as investing in and advising startup companies.

    He publishes new training content weekly on his personal website and can be followed on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Chris C. Ducker

    Chris C. Ducker

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
1,323 global ratings
If your goal is FREEDOM then Chris Druckers book is your perfect companion.
5 Stars
If your goal is FREEDOM then Chris Druckers book is your perfect companion.
If you are a building an online business or you want to find more time by hiring virtual assistants, then I highly recommend this book. There are lots of books on this subject available, but I like this book because it provides practical reasons for taking certain actions and not just "what" you should do. As founder of the world's first virtual marketing department in 1997, I thought I knew everything there was to know about outsourcing and then I read Chris Druckers book. I learned some great new information and I know you will get value from it.
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Top reviews from the United States

FrankG
5.0 out of 5 stars I have always felt like it would be easier to just “do it myself” ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
You just can’t do everything yourself. That’s one of the biggest things that small business owners struggle with.

I can tell you from experience that trying to do it all yourself is detrimental to the health of your business. I am a hands-on guy and I tend to want to have a finger in every pie. I have always felt like it would be easier to just “do it myself” than to teach someone else.

Entrepreneurial Strengths

I recently went through a course at The Gallup corporate headquarters in Omaha, NE. This course was a brand new opportunity that they were rolling out based on their Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder assessment, or as it is now called, Entrepreneurial Profile-10 (EP-10).

This course was a real eye-opener for me.

Gallup has done extensive research around the success and failure of business. They have determined that all successful entrepreneurs must either possess or account for 10 crucial talents. Great information to have if you have or want to start a business… right?

The thing about the assessment that grabbed me by the throat was the unearthing of the areas in my entrepreneurial talent that were holding me back. Interestingly enough, I actually discovered these two areas, either by dumb luck or by Divine Providence while I was running my last business.

I am not going to dig into those areas in depth, but I do want to talk about one of them. As I alluded to earlier, we just can not do everything. Delegator is one of the ten talents that Gallup keys in on, and this is one of the two areas where I did not score as “Dominant” in the assessment.

Virtual Freedom

All this is a lead into the book; Virtual Freedom, how to work with virtual staff to buy more time, become more productive, and build your dream business.

Chris calls what I had and what MOST entrepreneurs have… it’s called Superhero Syndrome. We all think we have it covered, we don’t need any help. I got this… right? Well how many 14+ hour days can you string together before burnout sets in?

The Process…

I wish I had this book years ago! But I guess that would have been impossible since virtual assistants are a fairly recent phenomenon.

I really enjoyed Chris’ book. He masterfully lays out the entire process of determining if you need a virtual assistant in the first place. Then he goes into great detail about the different types of VAs and what different tasks VAs can do.

Chris goes into a ton of detail about how to select, how to train, how to compensate, and how to manage and motivate a virtual staff. Chris gets into a bunch of actual case studies and walks through these real-life scenarios where actual entrepreneurs went through the entire process of bringing on virtual assistants. These are stories that highlight best practices that we can all benefit from.

As I think back at the most successful times for me personally during my business journey, I can truly say that I was happiest and most effective when I had a great assistant. Those times when I had someone who came along side of me and took on the tasks that were not strengths for me, to free me up to really excel.

Years ago I was starting a new division for our company. We purchased a company that performed a particular function that we wanted to offer to our customers. This company was very small and had a very limited reach, they were awesome, but small.

My task was to adapt their service offering and to bring it to our huge, national salesforce without burying this company we had just purchased. This was an overwhelming task that I would have never been able to pull off without an amazing assistant named Kari. She was a wiz!

This was about 10 years ago and at that time Kari sat about 10 feet from my office. I could call her in at anytime I needed her. And I did just that… a lot!

Technology

The cool thing with the technology we have today, Kari could have been just about anywhere in the world and would have been every bit as effective as she was sitting ten feet away from me.

Chris talks about all of the technology and the tools we have at our disposal to make this whole virtual assistant thing possible. With very inexpensive project management tools and file sharing in the cloud coupled with communication tools like Skype and a myriad of other inexpensive video conferencing tools, we are not location dependent. A virtual assistant can be across town or on the other side of the world.

I believe I am convinced! My struggle with delegating just got a whole lot easier to deal with.

If you’re a busy executive or a overwhelmed entrepreneur why not consider a virtual assistant? If you have some tasks that you’d like to pass off to an expert so you can focus on what you’re best at, a VA might be just what you need.

Get Your Time Back.

Regain the passion for your business and start working on in instead of in it. That’s what Virtual Freedom is all about.

Grab a copy of Virtual Freedom and check out this thing called Virtual Staffing, I believe you’ll be happy that you did.
6 people found this helpful
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drdon
5.0 out of 5 stars Get free of your bottlenecks!
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2014
Verified Purchase
If you are reading this review, it is likely because you experience the pain of many entrepreneurs and independent workers: the bottleneck of you. You reached the limit of your passion, skill, time, and money. And you lack the resources to grow your business.

You've come to the right place, because Chris Ducker has experienced your pain and found a solution that enables him to live a life of impact without burning out. He now is the CEO of 3 successful companies, and yet works 4 days a week. Your hope is in the way he does it.

First, he cured himself of the SuperHero Syndrome: the temptation to feel that you must do it all in order to do it right. He was near burnout and desperate. And he realized that he had no time for his family, his greatest priority. He tells you how you can cure yourself as well.

Second, he assembled a virtual work team. He decided to hire and train a host of virtual staff to offload his many administrative, management, and technical responsibilities. This freed him to focus on developing his business: vision; strategy; and creating content. In other words, the things he loved to do and the things he did best.

Now he wants you to have your turn.

This book builds on Ducker's success by providing you a road map for building your own virtual work team. Each section is full of practical steps for entering the virtual workplace. You will find advice on assembling your team; how to train and manage them; choosing whether to go local or overseas; and a six-month plan for getting started.

Ducker wastes no space; every page is full of tips, case examples, charts, and resources to address every question you have and nearly every problem you encounter.

As I worked my way through the book,these insights were especially helpful:

- Once you discover the things that you enjoy doing and those tasks that you think you should do, then it is time to offload the other stuff. The first step: make your "3 Lists to Freedom:"
o Tasks you don't like doing
o Tasks you don't know how to do
o Tasks you feel you shouldn't be doing

- The "Super-VA (Virtual Assistant)" is a myth. Accept that you will never find one person to do everything you need done. You need to build a team. Start with the person who will relieve you of the necessary but time-consuming administrative tasks that will give you space to do more creative work. Then build the other members of your team as your business grows.

- Remember the three factors of a good hire:
o Skills
o Growth potential in the new hire
o Personality

This book is a gold mine of practice and inspiration. Ducker has given you a rich and detailed handbook for starting and growing your business. And you will find more bonus resources in his `secret' web page for his book. This an immensely valuable book.
One person found this helpful
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Michael La Ronn
5.0 out of 5 stars THE go to book for virtual assistants
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
I've been interested in the idea of virtual assistance for quite some time. However, I really didn't know where to start. I'm a fan of Chris Ducker's New Business Podcast and I was able to grab this book on discount at Buck Books.

I'm glad I read this book because while, I'm not ready for visual assistant yet, I do think that it's good to at least learn the general business practices behind hiring one , working with one, and managing one. The layout of this book is really quite excellent, and there are a lot of things in this book that I really wish other nonfiction authors would use in their own works. This includes very detailed section breakdowns , case studies, very detailed resource guide, links to a squeeze page on Ducker's website that includes a list of additional resources to follow-up for additional reading , and an index. These are very simple things, but they're so well done that they add tremendous value to this book. This is definitely one that I will be rereading when it is time for me to hire a virtual assistant. My only criticism is that some parts of the book seem a bit repetitive, particularly the types of resources that many of Ducker's case studies use. I also thought that some of the case studies were a bit overkill, and I found myself glossing over many of them around halfway through the book. Other than that, this is highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful Read, Came at the Perfect Time
Reviewed in Canada on April 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
Very helpful book. I run a digital marketing agency where I've been doing everything myself and notice myself hoping every day that I'll somehow be able to better handle my workload. Systems are obviously key to that. But I recognize I need more people, so I grabbed this book. Most of my business' tasks can be completed from any location which makes my biz perfect for outsourcing and I need to deal with my workflow pretty much immediately.

I found the book to well organized for easy learning and that it covers most basic concerns one might have about getting through hiring one's first VAs. No doubt there will be a ton of learning once actually getting into it on top of that.

This book has probably saved me hours of burning brain cells in forming a plan to hire and manage VAs, and maybe has even saved me a few major headaches that I would have otherwise encountered. The $13 was a no-brainer for getting prepped for an opportunity to scale one's business in a big way.
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Sharon Ramel
5.0 out of 5 stars A Virtual Thank you
Reviewed in Australia on December 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a fabulous wealthy book filled with easy straightforward information to make hiring a VA easy. I had struggled and made mistakes, left feeling depressed about it ... then this book changed it all. I now have templates and all the protocols in place. Thank you thank you thank you.
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Arnaldo Mefano
5.0 out of 5 stars Virtual Freedom
Reviewed in Brazil on November 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
Excelente livro do Chris Ducker, leitura obrigatória para profissionais da área de Blogs. Fornece excelente visão da importância dos serviços Virtuais contratados de terceiros.
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R. Tubb
5.0 out of 5 stars this is now the "go to" book that I recommend to any business owner who may benefit from having ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book explores the idea that entrepreneurs can often (almost always!) try to wear too many hats and do too many things personally within their respective businesses, and that the key to success lies in not doing everything yourself, but effectively delegating and outsourcing work to others.

Author Chris Ducker shares stories of his own struggles with trying to "do it all" and offers some effective warnings of how this can impact on business owners health and well-being if left unchecked.

The book contains numerous examples of how to begin outsourcing to experts in various respective fields -- ranging from hiring a personal assistant (PA), to outsourcing general admin, graphic design, web design and maintenance and many more fields -- and how to delegate work to the people you hire effectively.

Ducker goes into depth about how to effectively work with Virtual Assistants (VA's) in other parts of the world, especially the thriving VA businesses scene in the country that Ducker has emigrated from the UK to live in, the Philippines.

As well as practical guides, the book includes numerous case studies and examples of successful entrepreneurs who have outsourced their work to VA's and how they've benefited from going down this route.

As a long time fan of outsourcing and delegating myself, I find a lot of this a helpful reminder of why outsourcing can help any business owner reach success more efficiently than doing it alone. It also opened my eyes to taking my own outsourcing and delegating journey to a new level.

In short, this is now the "go to" book that I recommend to any business owner who may benefit from having their eyes opened to the opportunities of outsourcing. A must read!
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Lorenzo Cappannari
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Italy on March 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
Reading Chris book is an experience: valuable contents and how-to guides to make it happen. I am really happy about my purchase: I suggest everyone with a location independent business in mind to give it a shot.
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