Customer Reviews

The Obsolete Employee: How Businesses Succeed Without Employees - And Love It!

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This book is extremely timely and offers a lot of useful ideas and information for entrepreneurs who want to build a business with a "light" infrastructure or save time and resources by inexpensively outsourcing tasks. However, as someone who is already a "convert" to the central argument of the book, I feel that I am wasting a lot of time wading through arguments and examples about why virtual outsourcing is a good idea as I search for nuggets of actual information and advice. My impression is that there is enough information in this book for a good article, but the author stretched it to a book-length manuscript by arguing his point over and over. Bored with digging through the fluff, I took a little break to write this Amazon review, which I'll update after I make it to the book's end if I discover more meat than what it appears to contain.

As a Virtual Real Estate Assistant, this book really speaks to those who are trapped in the old fashioned business world of onsite employees. The Obsolete Employee has great advice on how to run a successful business by outsourcing all of your work. It also gave me a wonderful insight how to help potential clients understand why they need my services and how it can help them financially in the future. The Obsolete Employee is a must for anyone who has never used virtual outsourcing.

I had given up finding a clone of myself who could do it all, and was frustrated at the assistants that I hired full time who were only productive a few hours a day. I figured that I was never going to be able to achieve the full potential of my creative companies. And then I read this book! Wow! I had no idea I could portion out tasks, divy up duties, and hire people only as I needed them, an hour here, a few there. It was an eye opening experience! Within a week, I had 4 virtual assistants (all with different areas of expertise), a fulltime offshore webmaster that doesn't cost and arm and a leg, and have been able to hand off all non-revenue generating tasks! My bank account proves the ideas in this book work. I love my freedom and I love feeling like my expansion potential is limitless!

It took me 3 months to read this book. Oh, it wasn't because it was difficult to read or understand. It was because I was too busy dealing with the very issues this book addresses. As I made more money and became more productive my employees seemed to be entitled to a piece of MY pie even though I was already giving them their own piece. They knew they were holding me hostage and so did I. This wasn't fair. But I had no choice until...The Obsolete Employee.

Even as I sat at my desk and read the book, the atmosphere in my office changed. It was as if my employees already knew what was in the book. Suddenly they became more proactive, more willing to work and generally nicer to deal with. But, they still knew that without them I couldn't get the job done.

Well, I can't believe how wrong they were, and that I took 3 months to read this critical book. Since I have started reading the book, I have gone from 3 employees to one part time onsite employee and depending on the day 5 or 6 Virtual Consultants. My production has almost doubled, my costs have been cut in half and I stopped growing gray hair. I've taken 2 vacations and am going on a third in a week. Incredible.

Oh, and let me say that this book is not about eliminating the good and necessary onsite empolyees. For me it clarified simply how to better make use of that resource.

I'm just a one-man show but by the end of this year, my clients will never know it because of the resources that are now at my disposal.

I have a shelf where I put all my important books. On that shelf sits, Think and Grow Rich - Napolean Hill, The E-myth Revisited - Michael Gerber, Chicken Soup For The Soul - Mark Victor Hansen, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing - Al Ries/Jack Trout, The Obsolete Employee - Michael Russer and sitting next to it...The Holy Bible - God

My speaking, coaching, and writing business was booming -- and I knew I needed to get more support -- fast -- or I'd have to start turning business away. This fantastic book was given to me at just the right time, and I read it in 48 hours. I couldn't put it down!

I had just tentatively dipped my toe into the virtual outsourcing ocean and had a great experience. I sent an audio to India to be transcribed, and they did it while I slept at 1/4 the cost of a local outfit. Inexpensive. Professional. Fast. What's not to like?

Still, I had a lot of questions and concerns. Michael Russer answered all my questions and gave me a step-by-step process for how to proceed confidently down this new frontier. Implementing what I learned in "The Obsolete Employee" will likely save me $100,000+ over the next few years. More important, Michael Russer has given me the keys to expanding my business 2x as fast for 1/4 the cost.

This is book is a must-read for any speaker, coach, author, or small business owner.

As a business manager, I have tried numerous times to hire productive assistants and employees. Only to find out that they slack at their jobs, waste my time and money. Not anymore! With the advice from Michael Russer you can learn how to succesfully manage vitual employees and only pay for the time you need. If you have lost hope in the hiring process, this is the book for you. I strongly urge you to read this book. Like me, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

I thought I knew everything there was to know about working with virtual assistants. After all, I've been working with virtual assistants for years. I could never have written my book, "Cold Calling for Women," without the help of my VA who kept me on track, proofread and did research. Imagine my surprise when I found I still had much to learn about working with VA's.

"The Obsolete Employee" is packed with information not only about how to work with a virtual assistant, but also how to find the ideal virtual assistant, questions to ask, and the systems to set up (which you can have your virtual assistant do). The book even gave me an idea for a new business that I am in the process of setting up.

If you are a business owner (or a business owner-to-be) do yourself a favor and read this book--now.

Wendy Weiss

"The Queen of Cold Calling"

Cold Calling for Women: Opening Doors & Closing Sales

As a manager for a mid-sized corporation with traditional onsite employees, I didn't think this book would be for me (I received it as a gift.) Was I ever wrong! It turns out the concepts for successfully managing offsite independent contractors are HIGHLY APPLICABLE for managing salaried onsite employees. This book gave me the best roadmap I've ever seen to performance-based management. My job is easier, and my employees are happier and more productive. For the first time I can envision my staff working from home. Who knows, maybe this book will finally unleash the "telecommuting movement" anticipated for so long!

Great book and resource full of information about the virtual world. If you have doubts about virtual employees and how they can help you, please read this book, you won't regreted. It is an incredible resource that can answer all your questions. As a business owner who was on the edge of hiring but wasn't sure, it gave me the push I needed. Great book.

As both a successful Virtual Assistant and the user of virtual services myself, I may be a bit biased; but this book is absolutely on the mark. This new way of doing business is a win-win-win, for the business owner who learns to outsource, for those of us who get to have the career of our dreams providing those services, and as pointed out in the book...even for our planet! Why would you not give it a try? The only reason, before now, was not knowing the possibility existed, or not being sure how to get started...and this books covers all that and more. What are you waiting for?