Before You Hire Again, Fix This One Thing

5 days ago
4 min read

Have you ever hired help… only to feel just as overwhelmed as before?

Maybe your VA didn’t “get it.” Maybe you kept re-explaining tasks. Maybe you felt like you were managing more, not less.

Here’s the truth I’ve learned again and again as an Online Business Manager:

Before you hire again, fix your systems. Because if your operations are unclear, it doesn’t matter who you bring in the chaos stays. Let’s walk through the one thing that will make every future hire smoother, faster, and far more successful.

Why This Matters for Coaches, Consultants & Service Providers

If you run a small but mighty service-based business, you’re juggling client fulfilment, marketing, admin, and delivery often as a team of one. When you hit capacity, hiring feels like the obvious next step.

But here’s the catch:

People don’t fix broken systems. Systems support people.

Your team can only follow what exists. If your workflows live in your head, or tasks change every week, or clients are onboarded with a slightly different process every time, your new hire will feel lost, and you’ll end up micromanaging.

The real bottleneck isn’t “needing more help.”It’s clarity.

The One Thing to Fix: Your Core Workflow Map

Before you hire again, you need a simple, repeatable workflow map for the core areas of your business:

Client onboarding
Delivery/fulfilment
Content & visibility
Admin & operations

This isn’t a giant SOP manual. It’s a clear outline of how work moves inside your business.

Here’s how to build it in a way that supports both you and your future team.

Step-by-Step Playbook

Step 1: Audit the work you do weekly

Sit down and list everything you touch in a typical week. For coaches and consultants, this often includes:

Client calls
Prep & follow-up
Content creation
Inbox + DMs
Admin tasks
Payments & scheduling
Managing assets (Google Drive, ClickUp, Airtable, etc.)

Highlight the tasks that drain you, slow you down, or could be delegated with the right system.

Step 2: Map one core workflow first

Pick your highest-impact area. For most service providers, it’s client onboarding or ongoing client delivery.

Open Google Docs or ClickUp and outline:

Trigger — what starts this process?
Steps — what happens first, second, third?
Tools — where does each step live?
Owner — who is responsible (you for now, team later)?

Keep it simple. Your map should be easy enough for a stranger to follow.

Step 3: Create a “minimum viable system”

This means building:

A template
A checklist
A folder structure
A communication guideline

Examples:

A reusable onboarding email template
A ClickUp task list that repeats for each client
A prep checklist for coaching calls
A drive folder with naming conventions

Your goal is repeatability, not perfection.

Step 4: Automate what’s predictable

Once you can see the whole workflow, automation becomes obvious.

For example:

Zapier or Make sends a welcome email when a new client signs their contract.
A form auto-creates their folder in Google Drive.
Calendly adds sessions to your CRM.

Automation removes human error, and removes 60–70% of what you would normally delegate.

Step 5: Identify what your next hire will actually own

Now that your system is documented, ask:

Which steps are admin-heavy?
Which steps require your voice or expertise?
Which tasks any competent assistant could follow?

This gives you a clear job description, one that’s rooted in reality, not wishful thinking.

It also makes onboarding your next hire smoother because you’re not guessing. You’re giving them a defined, documented system.

Pro Tips & Common Mistakes

Don’t hire to “figure things out for you.”Your business needs clarity before a team member can support you.
Don’t overbuild the system. Start simple. Improve as your business grows.
Don’t rely on voice notes as SOPs. They’re helpful, but your team still needs a written, step-by-step guide.
Don’t skip the tool setup. Even the best hire can't organize a chaotic Google Drive or undefined ClickUp space.

A Mini Example

A consultant I supported was ready to hire a full-time VA because her inbox and client onboarding felt unmanageable. After auditing her operations, we discovered the problem wasn’t the workload; it was the lack of structure.

We mapped her onboarding workflow, created email templates, automated her payment confirmations, set up ClickUp tasks, and organised her Drive folders.

Once everything was clear, she realised she only needed 5–7 hours of VA support per week not a full-time team member. Her first hire felt smooth, productive, and stress-free.

Quick Checklist (Before You Hire Again)

Have you mapped your core workflows?
Are your tools organised and used consistently?
Do you have templates for repeat tasks?
Can a new hire see the steps without asking you?
Is there a clear job description based on real systems?
Is your workload the issue… or your operations?

If you can’t check these off yet, pause the hiring process and fix your systems first. It will save you money, energy, and onboarding headaches later.

If you’re preparing for your next hire and want a smoother, more strategic experience, I can help you build the systems that make delegation effortless. Book a discovery call at: www.virtuallybymo.com/contact