Daniel Ramsey

Build systems and processes for everything within your business and then delegate to the right person. If you are able to do this, you give yourself the freedom to focus on the areas of your business that only you can bring to success

 

Daniel Ramsey is the founder & CEO of MyOutDesk, the highest rated Virtual Assistant company in the marketplace with over hundreds of 5-star reviews, and over 10 years of experience, serving more than 5000 clients – including over half of the RealTrends™ Top 10 teams.

Daniel is a long-time licensed real estate broker, mortgage broker, and general contractor who’s sold hundreds of homes and made millions in commissions, and built real estate’s #1 staffing company. Back in 2008, he was inspired by his own time-management struggles to find a better way to help agents leverage their time & energy, and created MyOutDesk to provide a trusted, reliable solution to the office administration, marketing & prospecting tasks that every agent has – but most lack the time to focus on.

In twelve years with MyOutDesk, Daniel has helped thousands of clients scale their businesses & grow profitability. He’s worked with some of the top clients in the industry – from sales organizations like the Mark Spain Team to tech providers like the Zillow Group, Keller Williams, and RE/MAX.

Where did the idea for MyOutDesk come from?

Of all the places I could have had an epiphany about my business, mine hit me on my honeymoon. In 2009, my new bride and I were honeymooning in Guatemala. We were staying at La Lancha, Francis Ford Coppola’s magically romantic lakeside resort nestled in the rain forest. We had spent an idyllic day hiking through the jungle and scrambling through the ruins of the ancient city of Tikal. It was breathtaking. Inspired but exhausted, we went back to our hotel, had dinner, and did what newlyweds do. However, once my wife was asleep, I crept down to the bar to work so my new wife could sleep.

Yes, to work. So, there I was, at 2 o’clock in the morning, in the bar closing deals, on my honeymoon. I knew that if I wanted to be present for my wife and one day have a family, I needed to make a new roadmap for my business, and I needed it quick. Today, having a marriage of 10 years and 2 children, I know how fortunate I was to have that revelation at the beginning of marriage and not further down the road. I walked away from my honeymoon with a new resolve to build a business that could scale, work without me when it needed to, and one day, be saleable.

As I mulled over ways to find a solution to the pain points in my business, I also had the thought that I must not be the only one dealing with this. I already had a few Virtual Professionals working with me in my business, and I had people in my sphere of influence that began to ask about them, and they would ask me if I could find them someone for their business as well.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

A typical day for me consists of leading and providing support to our teams both here in the US and in the Philippines as they ensure that we provide the best quality service. I also consistently host free webinars and podcasts (and sometimes guest as well) with a lot of top influencers in the industry. I have also been able to travel all over, and get to speak to thousands of people about MyOutDesk and how we provide leverage to business owners to empower them to work ON their business instead of IN it, therefore helping them scale and grow their businesses.

How do you bring ideas to life?

When I have an idea, I talk to our teams that can help execute it. We communicate via email and then we have meetings either online or in person. I have an amazing support system within my company. Our support team is there to put my plans into action and sometimes even create plans around my ideas.
We talk things through and they tell me how they think we can roll these ideas out best.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Right now, we are experiencing this shift in the industry, and what excites me the most is seeing how people are using this shift to come up with creative ways to boost their business.
We’ve seen that on-demand access is becoming more and more prevalent across the board and I am excited to see what innovations this will bring.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

It has been an amazing experience to watch patterns emerge as we helped more than 4,000 businesses
scale with virtual professionals. I think that being flexible and open to change is a great habit to have especially in the nature of this business.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Keep trusting your instincts and following your passions.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

People sell themselves short by not focusing on things that are not equal to their worth.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Build systems and processes for everything within your business and then delegate to the right person. If you are able to do this, you give yourself the freedom to focus on the areas of your business that only you can bring to success

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Learn how to delegate to the right people. this is what MyOutDesk is built upon. When you want to grow your business, you have to graduate from the stage where you have your hands in all the cookie jars. Eventually, you need to focus on the activities in your business that will bring you revenue and help you scale and grow.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

As I mentioned earlier, it was that I was doing everything. My honeymoon wasn’t the only time I had to step away or miss things in order to work. It took that one moment to make me realize I was failing myself and my future if I continued down that path. I had to shift my mindset and realize that getting help and delegating was not a sign of weakness but instead a way to move forward.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Think of a way to provide service in the on-demand, quick-access, remote world.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Additional marketing software for my Marketing team, they are able to reach a wider audience more efficiently.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

We use a project management app called Monday. We use it to track our projects, each person assigned, what piece they are accountable for etc. It helps everyone stay on top of their assignments and it’s a way we can communicate and ask for help if anyone hits any roadblocks.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

The Richest Man in Babylon – by George Samuel Clason – This book dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set 8,000 years ago in ancient Babylon. It remains in print after over a century and dispenses a lot of wisdom and insight that you can apply to your business even today.

What is your favorite quote?

Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it… he who doesn’t… pays it. – Albert Einstein

Key Learnings:

• You need to stop doing everything by yourself if you want to scale and grow your business.
• You need to build systems and processes around all the areas within your business.
• Delegate to the right people so you can focus on growing your business.