101 Things You Can Outsource To A Virtual Assistant

1. Overview: In this episode, I go over 101 tasks that I’ve personally delegated to MyFancyHands.com. This is meant to help you see what YOU can be delegating in your life. 101 Things You Can Outsource To A Virtual AssistantBy: Rachel Rofe

2. The way that the service works is you pay a monthly fee and you get a certain amount of tasks that you can request for assistants to do every month. All the assistants speak perfect English. I've been a member for over five years, and I'm always so happy. It's like every time when I go through and check out my finances, it's one of these monthly things that I have no problem paying, because I get so much return for it. Fancy Hands has a dashboard where you can go through and check out the different things that you've requested

3. Some of the things that I've requested. I've asked them to find a highly rated eye doctor in my area. So when I moved to Vegas, I had them go and find three to five of the highest rated doctors. Any time I do anything like this, or dentists, or whatever, but my last one was eye doctor, and then book an appointment. I tell them exactly when I want the appointment. And they actually sync to your calendar, so that's great. If you have another virtual assistant, you can ask them for that.

4. I asked them recently to cancel a monthly catalog. Don, my boyfriend, was getting a monthly catalog from this printer supply place. It was like hundreds of pages, and I thought it was just a big waste of paper, so I had them call and get that cancelled. I had them find a retreat within four hours, so somewhere that I could go to relax that would be within four hours of where I live and under $200 a night. They found several places. I had them report people on Twitter for stealing my course. There are people that will go and buy my course and then try to resell it, and basically steal it and try to resell it so I had them reported.

5. I had them go and get prices. We recently had an event in my home where people would come. We were just helping them with their business. Afterwards, we all went out dancing. I had My Fancy Hands go through and get prices for where we could go and get a table at a club for our mastermind. I've had them contact the Boulder Chips. I recently got these baked vegetable sticks from Costco and I hadn't seen them again. So, I had them actually contact the company Boulder and ask where I could find more.

6. I'm just going through the most recent to the oldest tasks that I've had. There are business tasks and there's personal. Track a U.P.S. package I hadn't gotten. Find uplifting communities in Bucks County. My sister lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and she was having problems finding some people that she really liked being around. So, I had My Fancy Hands research great people to be around, great communities. They found meet ups and they found all kinds of different things that my sister could join. I just told them what my sister's interests were and what she was and wasn't into, and they found great things.

7. Find a car battery within ten minutes of where I live. Call Whole Foods to find . . . there's this cheese that I saw on "Shark Tank." It's like a vegetable cheese. It's not really cheese. It's called Heidi Ho. It's like a spreadable cheese. They called different Whole Foods to find one near me. By the way, it's awesome. It's so good. I use it and it's made of red bell pepper and different things. It simulates cheese. It doesn't taste exactly like cheese, but it's a great way to not have dairy and not feel like you're missing out.

8. I had them help me figure out how to organize a virtual baby shower. Some friends and I were going to hold a Google Hangout for a friend of ours who was having a baby. I didn't know what to do for a virtual baby shower, so I had My Fancy Hands help.

9. Find the best deals on socks. I wanted to get a bunch of bulk socks for a homeless shelter that I volunteer with. They went and found some great deals for me. I had them cancel a subscription to a greens company that I was ordering from. The place would not let me cancel via email, so I had My Fancy Hands go and call them. They figured out how to submit an article to OWN, Oprah's magazine. I didn't find it easily.

10. They've booked massages. I asked them to find a Mercedes dealer close to me, because we just got a new car and book an appointment. To find somewhere near me that would deliver filtered water on a weekly basis and set up an appointment. When I first moved to Vegas, they helped me find a place to volunteer. They even found, once, the homeowners association associated with my house. Because on Vegas, it seems like everyone has a homeowners association. I had no idea where mine was so they got that for me. They've helped me find specific herbs that I heard were good for specific things.

11. When I had my event in New York City, they helped me find places I could advertise it, so different New York City newspapers. Helped me find places for Don to make friends when we moved to Vegas. Places that sold, so I didn't want to go to tons of different furniture stores when we were moving in, so I had My Fancy Hands find specific furniture stores that had specific types of styles and specific types of pricing and colors and so they just gave me the best of list.

12. They got all my utilities set up when I moved. Any time I move, I mean for the past five years I've lived in several places, and every time they get all my utilities cancelled from wherever I'm moving and then begun wherever I go to. I've had them submit Kindle books to different sites. When I have free books, I'll have My Fancy Hands go through and alert different sites to advertise for me.

13. I've had them help me figure out, there was a charity that I had in mind that I wanted to create, so I had them research to see if that was possible. I asked them once to help me find a place that I could donate food to. I was in a new city and I wanted to know, so they helped me with that. I asked them to help me find a weekly farm delivery when we were in Wichita, Kansas. To find a specific type of gluten free pretzel. To cancel gym membership. To find the best train route for things. To find activities for my mom. My mom was looking for new things to do, so I had My Fancy Hands help.

14. I had a long layover at Atlanta airport once, and I asked them if they could help me figure out if there was a place to get my hair blown out while I was there. I had them clarify the weight policy for Delta's first class. They didn't have it very readily available on their website, and I was flying, and I wanted to see how much I could carry. I don't always get to fly first class, but this time I was, and I wanted to make sure I was maximizing it.

15. Find a soundproof office for a few days. I was visiting somewhere and I needed to see if I could record some videos somewhere. Once, I took a trip to Boston, and it was just a girls weekend with a friend. On the way there, I got a stain on the dress I was wearing, so I emailed My Fancy Hands. The way it works is you just email them. You can also call if you want, but I just email. I think there's an app, too. I asked them to find a dry cleaner near the ZIP code that I was staying at and see if they could remove a stain within a day, because I was only going to be there for a weekend.

16. They do research before trips to find cool places to visit, find things to do. So when I was in Wichita and I didn't really know what to do, they found things for me. I had them figure out why a gift card that I had didn't make it to our recipient. Don and I ordered some for his brother and his brother in law. We got them Omaha Steaks gift cards, and they couldn't get them for some reason. They just kept not getting them delivered so we had My Fancy Hands follow up.

17. I've had them find products that are showing as unavailable. I've had them find specific gigs on Fiverr for different things that I wanted. Once, I got an email. The subject line said, "Never eat this specific carb ever. Never eat this carb. This is the number one carb not to eat," kind of thing. When I clicked over, it was this big, long video. It was a video sales letter, and it didn't have any controls so I could see how long the video was. I didn't want to deal with it, so I just forwarded it to My Fancy Hands and I asked them to watch the video and tell me what the carb was. I think it was sugar, by the way.

18. I've asked them to help me figure out how I can bring green juice on an airplane. There was one time when I was just juicing for a few days, and I didn't know how I could get around not having juice. And so they actually gave me some great ideas.

19. I've had them find event space for me when I was holding events. I had them look for bowling leagues for Don. I've had them call airports to see if there were delays. They've cancelled shipments for me. I had a problem with my Apple password on my phone. I couldn't reset it. So, they called Apple and figured it out for me. I've had them get frequent flyer points added to airlines for me.

20. I was writing a book where I wanted a very specific type of person. I've actually done this a couple of times. I wanted to find people who have healed their P.C.O.S., polycystic ovarian syndrome. They found people and contacted them for me. I also wanted people who had both P.C.O.S. and Hashimoto's, and they found people for me for that.

21. They've contacted blogs for me. If there were blogs that I wanted to make a guest article post on, I've had them contact them for me. Found the cheapest deal on hotels. They've found stats for upcoming presentations. There was a software that I saw that I wanted to offer a free trial for one of my books, so I had them contact the company and figure out how we could get that trial as a bonus and we got that done.

22. I've had them find regular baby shower games for when I was putting on a baby shower for my sister. I've asked them to find specific onesies for my nephew, because my sister said she liked a specific saying. I've had them call people and invite them. When I was putting together my sister's baby shower, I had My Fancy Hands help me call some people that I couldn't get ahold of and didn't have voicemail. And, I didn't know those people, by the way. My Fancy Hands just helped.

23. I've had them figure out what markets are trending for different countries. I was looking for book ideas to get some of my books translated, so I had them do some research. I had them find a house cleaner for my mom when I wanted to do a little favor for her and book a housekeeper for her. I've had them find out when trash comes to different houses that I was staying in. Figured out how much longterm parking at an airport was. Find out if certain things are within terms of service for Amazon. There was a product I was interested in, and I wanted to figure out if it worked with a Mac, so I had My Fancy Hands find it.

24. I've had them call a place in Mexico. I needed a Spanish speaker. I can speak okay when I'm in person, but over the phone when they talk fast it's hard for me. I had someone in My Fancy Hands who could speak Spanish call. I've had them figure out best places to get credit card points. I've had them help me find apartments for a friend. My friend had very specific criteria. She was looking for an apartment in west Philadelphia. My Fancy Hands helped come up with some ideas.

25. I've had them report people to PayPal, again the people that were stealing courses and trying to sell them. When Don and I were still long-distance, he got sick one day, so I had them help me figure out how to get chicken noodle soup delivered to his house. I've had them help me figure out how to switch names on tickets. Tickets that I bought that I was no longer going to things, I had them switch. I've had them find crowd sourcing companies for me. We've taken PDFs and put them into Excel format.

26. They helped me find someone to officiate my sister's wedding. I was her maid of honor, and I was helping her with that. I hope that her mother in law is not listening to this, but I also had them brainstorm some ideas on how to keep my sister's mother in law away from her on her wedding day, because that was my sister's number one request, just keep the mother in law away. They helped me find someone to officiate my sister's wedding. I was her maid of honor, and I was helping her with that. I hope that her mother in law is not listening to this, but I also had them brainstorm some ideas on how to keep my sister's mother in law away from her on her wedding day, because that was my sister's number one request, just keep the mother in law away.

27. I had them help find a press release writer who could write in Mandarin. How to figure out, there was a program that would sync with the daylight outside. I spoke about it in other podcasts. It's called F.lux, but I couldn't remember the name of it. So, I had them find it for me. I kept hearing about this seven minute workout, so I asked them to figure out what that was and let me know.

28. Figure out how to use different programs. I just downloaded Boomerang, and I didn't know how to use it. So I had them help me find it. I had an ad that I kept trying to post on Craigslist and it wouldn't post, so I had them post it for me.

29. I've had them research areas to move. When I was moving to Vegas, I wasn't sure what neighborhood to move to. I had them research the different places for me and give me the pros and cons. I've actually even had them find a house for me. When I lived in Oregon, they found a house for me. Before I ever even went to Oregon, I had them find this house and I signed for it without ever even looking at it, because I trusted the person I was working with so much, and it was great.

30. I've had them find out the flights to Thailand that were the cheapest. I've had them find me some of the longest running New York Times best selling books. I got a Coach bag, and I found it at a yard sale. I had them figure out the Coach bag that I got, what the design of it was and name of it. I've had them help me find out where I can buy a course that was sold out. I wanted to see if there was a work around, and they found one. I've had them find out who owned a certain site and had them contacted.

31. I had a charity that I was doing with a friend where we wanted to have an entire school. We wanted to get the entire school backpacks full of school supplies. It was in this very low income area in an Indian reservation. They did a bunch of price comparisons for me which was awesome. I think I talked about it in another podcast where we raised, like, $50,000 in less than ten hours for charity. That was for that.

32. I've had them figure out airlines that have main hubs out of Vegas. I've had them find discount cutlery for a wedding when I was helping my sister. Find a chiropractor that takes my insurance. Find a specific emerald necklace. I had a vision in my mind of a certain kind of necklace that I wanted, and I had them help me find it. I had them count up votes for something where we had an Excel spreadsheet and we wanted to count things up and it was very hard to sort through, so they did that.

33. I've had them retrieve old pictures from MySpace. I wanted to collect my old pictures, and it was taking forever, so I just had them go in my old account. I had them figure out how I could apply to a mastermind. Figure out the easiest ways to invest in silver. I was looking to find a new transcriber, and I had them find people who go to stenography schools and get some names for me. I've had them retrieve old pictures from MySpace. I wanted to collect my old pictures, and it was taking forever, so I just had them go in my old account. I had them figure out how I could apply to a mastermind. Figure out the easiest ways to invest in silver. I was looking to find a new transcriber, and I had them find people who go to stenography schools and get some names for me.

34. I had them research an Arizona law. So, I got a parking ticket, and I was trying to get out of it. They were looking for loopholes in the law, and they actually found it, so that was great.

35. I actually had them tell me wacky things that I could request, which was cool. I had them find someone who could fix my sweater, and that was really cool. Because I told them here's the ZIP code that I'm in, please find somebody who can do this for, like, $10 or less. They found somebody that was, like, a quarter of a mile from where I lived. They wrote to me and said it's normally $12.50, but we got a deal for you, it's going to be $10. That was great. I had them find a tee shirt that I ruined. My ex, I was washing his shirt and it shrunk. I took a picture of the shirt, and they found a new one for me.

36. I've had them create fliers. I'll have them make dinner reservations. I might just say something like make a reservation for 6:00 at this place, if it doesn't work, call these other restaurants and see which one can make that reservation. When I have excellent service at places, I will have them call the managers of those places and comment on the specific people that I worked with and how spectacular they were. I love doing this. It's a really great way to spread the love. I've had them create fliers. I'll have them make dinner reservations. I might just say something like make a reservation for 6:00 at this place, if it doesn't work, call these other restaurants and see which one can make that reservation. When I have excellent service at places, I will have them call the managers of those places and comment on the specific people that I worked with and how spectacular they were. I love doing this. It's a really great way to spread the love.

37. That's 101 different ways. Really, I've probably requested hundreds and hundreds of things through knowing them for five years. I think it's just an absolutely spectacular service. Whether you use My Fancy Hands or you have your own kind of virtual assistant, hopefully this gives you different ideas of things you can do to make your life easier. It can be your health based things, it can be business based things, there are all kinds of things.

38. Resources Mentioned In This Episode: MyFancyHands.com – The virtual assistant service I use and have been a member of for over 5 years. Heidi Ho “cheeze” – The veggie-based cheese alternative I wanted to track down f.lux – The free program that syncs with your computer to the daylight outside

39. 10 spectacular resources you can use for more productivity, healthiness, and overall EASE in life – The podcast where i talked about f.lux originally How we raised $50k for charity in less than 10 hours – My blog post about the charity event I was helping with when I needed to price out backpacks