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As an MSP owner, are you tired of hearing you should "work ON your business, not just IN it," yet find yourself constantly swamped by the daily grind? It’s a common frustration. The good news is there’s a practical path to reclaiming your strategic time. Dan Izydorek, from Intelligent Technical Solutions, faced this exact dilemma. He transitioned from being bogged down by what he calls "tasks I despise" to a position where a new employee even asked, "Dan, do you do any work?" His secret? A highly effective system leveraging a Virtual Assistant (VA) and a unique approach to creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) through video. This isn't just theory; Dan shared his exact methodology, and we're breaking it down so you can learn how to implement this game-changing strategy in your MSP and finally get out of the operational weeds.
Dan candidly admits, "I despise doing repetitive tasks. I despise doing emails and so forth. It just drains at me as a person." This was the catalyst. About six years ago, with around 30 staff, he realized he needed a dedicated admin who genuinely enjoyed such work. This led to hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA) from the Philippines, a decision partly influenced by his COO's preference for someone disconnected from the physical office due to handling personal emails and sensitive information.
The genius of Dan's system is its simplicity and efficiency in creating SOPs. "I make videos for every repetitive task I need her to do and accomplish," he explains. "It might be a task that's done once, it might be a task that's done weekly... and just by creating a video, she then writes the process for it."
Feeling overwhelmed about where to start? Dan provides a clear filter: "There's tasks that everyone's good at and enjoys. There's tasks that everyone is good at but does not enjoy. I would start in that quadrant." His reasoning is crucial: "Because if you're good at it and don't enjoy it, then you can explain how to accomplish the task ... and then get it off your plate because it stresses you out." Crucially, he warns, "If you can't explain it to them, how can they be successful at it?" This means avoiding the common pitfall of delegating tasks you don't understand yourself – a mistake Dan admits to having made by being "very vague on what I wanted."
Delegation is an ongoing process, not a one-off event. Dan has built a rhythm:
Concerns about trusting a remote VA, possibly overseas, are common. Dan’s take is straightforward: "For me, it's just like any other employee. Anyone here in America can still disappoint you. No different than somewhere else in the world... Country doesn't matter. Interview process, same everything... We're just people." The rigor of your hiring and training process is what matters.
The impact for Dan is significant. His VA handles emails, scheduling, SOP documentation, and action items from meetings. "She's able to actually do stuff now better than I am able to... because she's kind of refined it a lot more." The ultimate benefit? "It really helped me have more time for my family. I literally only work... 08:30 to 05:30 when I'm not on the road... and after dinner, it's all family time." This was a conscious shift, realizing that saying "yes" to a client late at night meant saying "no" to family.
Transitioning from working "in" your MSP to "on" it is achievable. Dan Izydorek's method of leveraging a Virtual Assistant combined with a smart video-first SOP creation process offers a clear blueprint. By identifying tasks you're good at but dislike, creating quick instructional videos, and empowering your VA to document and execute, can systematically buy back your time. Add daily sync-ups and involve your VA deeply in your workflow, and you’ll find yourself, like Dan, with more time for strategy, growth, and the personal life you deserve.