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How Very Important Progress (VIP) is Made

How Very Important Progress (VIP) is MadeLike I’ve mentioned many times before, I work as a project manager, OBM, COO. . . basically I am the business version of a traffic director. That means that I help big dreamin’ creative business owners wrangle all their ideas, manage their teams, and bring ideas to implementation in the form of project management. That’s all well and good but what does that ACTUALLY look like? In this week’s post, I’m taking you behind-the-scenes of my business showing you exactly how I help my clients go from #alltheideas to prioritized plan of action with the VIP Intensive Program.

STEP 1: Figure out what they need (like actually need, not THINK they need)

I start off by diving deep and putting my superior PI skills to work. I know that when a client at this level needs some immediate support, they have a thousand and one on-going projects and a million and one new things they want to work on. Because I know this, my deep dive into their business helps me objectively figure out how their business is operating, what is working well, and where immediate attention is needed. It’s important that we look at their business this way because once they see how to improve the current state of affairs, the new ideas (or projects) are easier to start working on. For some this is way easy, for others we have to focus on improvements so we can scale and grow with less annoyance or risk of making a bigger mess.

STEP 2: 30-60-90 Day Gameplan

The next step is taking my deep (very nerdy) assessment and create a custom 30-60-90 Day Gameplan. This gives us a tactical plan of how we are going to attack those crucial areas AND make way for the new ideas to get off the ground. Things like adding on key team players, improving SOPs, moving to new tech or software, or even re-structuring a work week are what we plan for. Of course we also do an epic project breakdown where we also tackle the top projects or priorities that will support their goals.

STEP 3: VIP Treatment and Implementation

As we start to implement this 30-60-90 Day Gameplan, we work really closely together. You’re gonna see my makeupless face and mom bun- but you’ll also see things getting moved to the DONE! column. I’ll set you up with our signature system, The Progress System, and you’ll start working daily on the gameplan. I’m here to be your mentor during this process and help keep you (and your team) accountable and moving forward. This includes your very own Trello (or Asana) boards, milestone achievement dates, sprint checkins, and tasks with assignments and due dates for you and your team. While it’s not always super feasible to me to come on as your own COO- I can help you work through this gameplan and lead your team towards your goals. That’s why we stay connected and on top of milestones and sprint planning.

Of course each client is different but my goal is always to help you wrangle all your ideas and improve your operations so you can scale and grow to that next level. As a go-getter myself, I know that those cookie cutter solutions or at your own pace courses aren’t going to cut it, but I also know that hiring someone to sweep in and handle it isn’t exactly a line item you can afford (yet).Which is why working with me to create a custom plan (and help you stick to it) is the only way you can quickly move from idea to implementation.
The VIP Intensive is for those creatives who know they want to hit the next level, but don’t know how to get everything in line to do so. They know they need to be better organized and fire up their teams, but can’t find the time to plan for the things because they are trapped under the #allthethings to do list. This program is made for those creative business owners who want to feel accomplished when things are moved to the DONE! column, excited to get to work and moving on the next big thing, and ready to scale/grow to hit the next level.
Sound like you? I want to talk! Sign up for a complimentary call and see how we can work together to create a prioritized plan of action.

6 Things to Look for When Hiring a PM

  • By amanda@amandaburris.com
  • January 25, 2019
  • Outourcing

6 Things to Look for When Hiring a PMI love a good project! I especially love the part of my job where I can break down projects for clients. If you are getting ready to scale your business or are increasing your client load, I would expect that there are several new “projects” you are working on. Like, a funnel, launch, email sequence, new tools, new plans or updates to your SOP’s.

Sometimes these projects are handled in-house (like your own VA or by yourself), but sometimes you need some outside help. As someone with lots of PM experience and who has helped build many teams, I have a list of things to look for. Some of these are fairly routine, but some are not something you might think about.

6 Things to Look for When Hiring a PM (also applicable to a VA or OBM):

1. Personality and Work Style

Finding the right combination of personalities for your team is crucial- especially in a role like this. Every new hire can affect the culture you are working so hard to cultivate. So personality and work style are really one of the top things I look at when bringing on a PM (or any team member for that matter). It is really important to think if the entire team would be a good fit, not just you + the PM. Your VA, designer, tech gal, and social all have to work together- so personality and work style is really important.

2. Method or Framework

Every single person that has lasted in long-term PM roles are ones that provide a solution to our very specific need. Even I was hired because of my ability to wrangle #alltheideas. If you are a PM looking to find more clients, consider developing a method, framework, superior client experience so you can more easily be seen as the answer to whatever problem!

3. Tools and Systems

We have a set of tools we use on the daily: Slack, Asana or Trello, and a handful of other apps/software. Someone who already is familiar, uses frequently, or has the platforms built into their service gets extra points!

4. Packages and pricing

Obviously you want to look at packages and pricing. This will depend on if you are hiring them for a stand alone project or to become a regular ongoing member of your team.

5. Preferred communication

As mentioned above, tools and systems are important. So is how (and the frequency) of communication. Weekly communication is the BARE minimum for our teams and in crunch time we are operating at daily touches with each team member. Depending on the type of project, your level of communication will be important.

6. Recommendations

It’s not what you know, its who you know! That is for sure. I have a handful of business friends that I take recommendations from. Many of us- oddly- share some teammates and I have my handful of people I bring on when I get to build a team from scratch. It’s always nice to ask for recommendations from other business owners- but take them with a grain of salt! You’ll want to find out not just if they liked the PM but why. Did they provide a great outline/timeline, customer experience, or was their communication top-notch? Just remember that while PMs should have testimonials on their site and easily accessible, sometimes we work on projects that are proprietary and many can provide more recos after the first “get to know you” call or inquiry.

Building your team – the right team- is crucial to the success of scaling your operations! You gotta get the right people in the right roles. I LOVE finding a tight group of people then bringing them on for other projects too. These 6 factors play a major role in finding and keeping talent. Progress is key, even in team building! To learn about my methods and and hear my somewhat comical side of being a traffic director (like when I was in a Slack standoff with a client), sign up for Your Progress Gameplan and get The Benchmark delivered straight to your inbox on Mondays.

Sprint Training


Everything in business is tasked with a hole heapin’ side of mindset. There’s not a growth spurt, sales slump, plateau, or level that doesn’t require several mindset shifts amidst all the strategy, tactics, and lists. . . you know that’s the truth!

Today I’m not writing to you about the bigger mindset shifts: playing a bigger game, taking more of a leadership role, having uber confidence in selling, but rather something smaller- but maybe, just maybe, the most important shift of my signature method.

One of the most fundamental shifts I help clients (and heck even those of you that get The Benchmark) with is making the transition from a to do list into a prioritized plan of attack. All of that begins with shifting into a sprint mindset and proper training!

So what’s a sprint? A sprint is two weeks, organized in your project management platform of choice, where you and your team roll up your sleeves and get to work. You may be working on retooling your funnel, outlining a challenge, getting your videos done for the new sequence, batch recording a podcast, regular stuff, or systematically updating your SOP’s. Whatever the case, it’s simply a solid two weeks of work on a handful of important tasks- without the shiny object syndrome.

Why a sprint?

I love a good sprint because of a few reasons. 1- its enough time to accomplish a mini project (as long as its broken down well); 2- It gives enough legs to a new idea once it passes the PIZZA test; and 3- It gives the right amount structure (yet wiggle room for creativity) that your Type A VA loves and many Type B Creatives need!

Other than these three, here’s a few other reasons we love sprints!

It gives your team enough dedicated time to collaborate and forecast hurdles TOGETHER as a team rather than going silent when something breaks that needs fixing.

If you’re a number + data cruncher, 2 weeks is prime time to review analytics and make small tweaks before a bigger monthly or quarterly review.

Working from a task oriented list / to do list you don’t really have wiggle room. You are scrunching remaining tasks into one or two days for sake of “finishing my to do’s” or are left with a week or two of extra room in your schedule once you complete the big stuff. Working in sprints reduces the up and downs that come with a to do list. It pushes you to do more (if there’s room) and also gives you structure to stay on task without overwhelm!

But making that shift from a Task Oriented to do list (like what some see in Asana) can take some getting use to. I’ll admit, the Progress System is a radically different approach that does require some overhaul of to do’s most people think work just fine. BUT thinking in terms of sprints is an easy way to dip your toes in the water.

So how can you make that shift, even if you aren’t ready to fully implement the Progress System?

3 steps for Sprint Training:

It’ super important that while you train your brain to work in Sprints is to make sure you’re giving yourself enough structure to implement the tactical steps and stay open to new ways of thinking.

For now, as you are working to adopt a sprint mindset, I don’t want you to do anything to your tasks. You are simply setting up physical and mental cues to help click into a sprint mindset.

1- Put it on your calendar

This is a google calendar with FPM’s standard sprint dates. Feel free to copy this right over to your own calendar! Pro tip: I add a green * for start sprints and a red * for end sprints in my physical planner.

Simply start thinking about Sprints starting on a Monday and ending on a Sunday. This is your first step of sprint training!

2- Schedule yourself a Sprint Review (I like mine on Fridays)

The easiest way to hold yourself accountable and shift into this way of thinking is to schedule it in! What is scheduled gets done, same idea with this. Assign yourself a task (named Sprint Review) and due date it to a day close to the end of the Sprint. You will review your work and check in with your team on this day (or over the course of a couple days).

Schedule and make intentional time to complete this step and your mental framework starts shifting.

3-  Take stock and measure up

This is super easy. Print your task list (easy enough in Asana or Trello) and draw a big red line above Monday (start of sprint) and a red line under Sunday (end of sprint). Look only at those items and make some notes.

What is checked off that was one giant step for your business?
What was a tedious task?
What things are on your list that need to be delegated to an existing (or new) team player
Where could you have squeezed in more?
What days did you stretch yourself too thin?
Is there anything that you checked off that’s not exactly 100% done? And does said task require a follow up or additional task for completion?

If you continue training for sprints in a second sprint (yay!) you’ll want to make small improvements or refinements to your tasks. Again, don’t overhaul everything at once (of course unless you are all-in, then hit me up!) but a gradual move toward working in sprints will definitely help you improve how much gets done (and done WELL) in your business.

This is the easiest way to set up mental and physical cues to get into the Sprint mindset. I am not lying when I say the Progress System is alive and well in my personal and business life. I plan for vacations and packing, meal prepping, and house projects all in sprints. It truly helps me not just make sure my business + clients are moving along, but that I’m also on the same page in my family life as well.

Once you start thinking in two week sprints you keep unnecessary pressure off your shoulders, even out your end of week pushes, and you find hidden time to work on new ideas or just take a little break. Of course if you are a recovering to do lister, it’s not always that easy or automatic- but there is freedom in the sprint and I can help you make that shift! 

If you are interested in learning more on training for sprints, I truly want to hear from you! We could be crafting a new challenge that needs YOUR INPUT! So seriously, let me know in the comments or hit me up on Instagram @moves.you.forward.