Overcoming My Weakness: Asking for Help
For years, one of my biggest challenges has been asking for help. I tried to do everything myself, from comic books to manga and videos. It wasn’t until I completed my graduate degree in Creative Writing and took a course called Multimedia Illustrator that I found my calling: comic book writing.
Discovering Outsourcing
Despite the course assignment requiring only a single comic book page based on a flash fiction story, I decided to go further. I jumped on Fiverr to find the best affordable artist for my project. My initial attempts to find an artist on DigitalWebbing.com were disappointing. Although I was excited to see my characters come to life, they didn’t meet my expectations.
The Turning Point: Fiverr Success
In 2020, I discovered Fiverr’s potential for finding quality comic artists. I selected Dr. Demous, who did a fantastic job, earning me extra credit. This experience opened my eyes to the benefits of outsourcing tasks I wasn’t good at, especially drawing. Since then, I’ve completed two comic books and shifted focus to converting my novels into light novels.
The Complexity of Finding Artists
Finding artists for my light novel projects has been challenging, but the writing has been somewhat successful. We’ve finished 2 of the 4 projects. This year, with my new team of writers and artists, I’ve been focusing on negotiating and managing.
The Need for Assistance
To prepare my team for writing Chapter 1 after brainstorming Chapters 1-6, I wanted to finalize the creative briefs (Bibles). This involved compiling research and converting it into briefs using ChatGPT. However, this task took 2-3 hours per character. Despite my time management efforts, I realized I needed help.
Outsourcing Research Tasks
Inspired by Tim Ferris’s “The 4-Hour Work Week,” I decided to outsource the research tasks. I hired two virtual assistants on Fiverr for $13.00 to handle the research for two projects each. This decision freed up my time for family, friends, hobbies, and other business tasks.
Efficient Delegation
I spent about an hour creating a detailed research document with step-by-step directions and an example to ensure the final product met my expectations. Although I considered having the assistants finalize the documents, I decided to do it myself to create accurate instructions for future outsourcing.
Embracing Leadership and Management
This step in delegating tasks has been liberating, thanks to the leadership advice I’ve been following. I now have time to engage with my Patrons instead of working on character profiles. Moving forward, I plan to outsource more tasks to free up even more time.
Future Plans
I’m making a list of tasks to outsource, including moving uploaded videos and livestreams into the appropriate playlists on YouTube. This realization about the importance of delegating came unexpectedly, but it aligns perfectly with my vision for the company.
Conclusion
I’m celebrating this new outsourcing achievement as my vision for the company becomes clearer. I’m ready to lead my team to greater success by freeing up time for strategic tasks.
