There are numerous ways to outsource, but outsourcing to a virtual assistant (VA) is a popular option for small business owners who don’t have the budget or commitment to hire a full-time member of staff.
I'm responding as a long time VA who has seen the benefits that clients have experienced because of my own services, or that of my team members.
The important thing is to have some idea of what you need to have done and what you can confidently delegate to someone else. The biggest time waster... expand
I'm responding as a long time VA who has seen the benefits that clients have experienced because of my own services, or that of my team members.
The important thing is to have some idea of what you need to have done and what you can confidently delegate to someone else. The biggest time waster for you and your VA is when you don't know what you want done. And this does happen a lot. Clients know they need help but often can't determine what to give over first.
Doing your own personal time and motion study can often help - documenting what you do each day for a week and asssessing what is important and needs to be done but isn't earning you direct income. It's these things that you can engage a VA for because, while they're working on those things, you can be doing things that are income producing.
One of the most challenging things about being a business owner is trying to juggle multiple things at once.
You’ve got accounts and books to keep in order, a sales pitch to do, social media accounts to run and staff to manage. It’s hard work.
With so many tasks to keep on top of (not only to keep your business afloat but to help it grow), outsourcing work to an extra pair of hands can free up your time so you can focus on the tasks that will push your business forward.
There are numerous ways to outsource, but outsourcing to a virtual assistant (VA) is a popular option for small business owners who don’t have the budget or commitment to hire a full-time member of staff.
What is virtual assistance?
Virtual assistance services take the weight off you as a business owner by allowing you to delegate routine or specific tasks to a virtual assistant (VA).
Having a VA is just like having an in-house assistant to help you with the tasks you don’t have time for. The only major difference is that a VA works remotely.
You don’t usually have any face to face interaction with a VA as they’re based elsewhere, either home-based or operating from a remote office.
Working with virtual staff does not mean there is a lack of communication. In fact, many business owners have excellent communication and rapport with their VAs and communicate regularly via apps like Skype or Zoom.
What are the advantages of hiring a virtual assistant?
Hiring a VA takes some of the weight off your shoulders as a busy small business owner. Here are some of the advantages of hiring a virtual assistant:
Hiring a VA saves time The biggest benefit is the amount of time you will save now that you have someone to pass the baton to when it comes to everyday admin tasks that you wish you didn’t have to do.
Hiring a VA saves money Outsourcing to a VA on an hourly rate is considerably cheaper than hiring a full-time staff member, especially when you have ad hoc jobs that require just a couple of hours to complete. You’ll also save on training, holiday pay and sick pay.
Hiring a VA can free up or provide additional resources As well as doing the tasks you’ve set, VAs often have a broad skill set and can bring more specialised skills to the table. Additionally, you may have in-house staff who are currently doing things outside of their role to help you out, in which case a VA will free up their time.
What can virtual assistants do?
From basic admin and data entry to specialist tasks, you can hire virtual assistants for pretty much anything nowadays. A better question would be, “What can’t a virtual assistant do?”
What a virtual assistant can do depends on your requirements as a business - you might just need someone to enter weekly sales data into a spreadsheet one day per week or you might need someone to update your weekly blog.
Here are just a few examples of services offered by virtual assistants:
VA administration: Email management, reception services, handling documentation, drafting presentations, etc.
VA personal assistance:Secretarial duties such as scheduling, preparing reports and clerical work.
VA finance: Sending invoices, entering data and doing basic calculations
Research and analytics:Collating data and statistics, generating monthly reports and analytics.
VA marketing: Organising newsletters and emails, scheduling social media posts and executing daily marketing plans.
VA customer service: Managing customer calls and emails, and providing customer support.
VA project management:Scheduling, following up, reporting and managing general project administration.
VA website coordination:Updating the website’s content, testing, reporting errors or bugs.
VA SEO: Assisting with online and offline SEO, keyword research, optimising your website and existing content to improve rankings.
What tasks should I outsource to a virtual assistant VA?
As a business owner, it is more important to workon your business rather thanin your business if you want to focus on growth.
You should be spending more time getting your business off the ground and improving the way it works instead of being consistently bogged with routine tasks.
To decide which tasks you should outsource to a VA, study your processes and daily tasks to pinpoint the bottleneck that’s taking up most of your time.
If it’s a task that can be accomplished easily by someone else at a reasonable price, then you can benefit from hiring a virtual assistant.
In the long run, the benefit you get from increased productivity will far outweigh the cost of getting virtual assistance.
How can a virtual assistant fit into my business?
It’s important to ask yourself some key questions to help you decide how a virtual assistant will fit into your business.
How will I manage my VA, e.g. via Skype, email, phone?
Which tasks will I initially be outsourcing?
Will I need to outsource any additional tasks down the line?
How will hiring a VA help me and my workload? Which areas of the business will I be able to focus on?
What is my budget? How long will I need VA services?
If you’re liking the sound of virtual assistants and how they can help you as a busy small business owner, we’ve put together more practical information on how to hire a VA.
Or, simply tell us a bit about your business and what you’re looking for and we’ll introduce you to thebest virtual assistants who can help.
You can also browse our helpful articles or Q&A section to get advice from experienced virtual assistants right here on SavvySME.
FAQ
How do I find a good virtual assistant?
There is no qualification to be a virtual assistant. They are usually experienced in performing the required tasks from previous employment or have graduated in a specific area. Some factors to consider when hiring a VA include:
Experience
Education background
Previous clients and industries
Location and time zone, if relevant
References, if available
English proficiency
Cost
Positive personality
Proactive and responsive
Why should I hire a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant takes the pressure off you as a business owner to manage absolutely everything, freeing up your time and resources to do the things you actually want and need to do in order to grow your business. Some of the benefits include:
Focus on the bigger picture:When you outsource work to a virtual assistant, you can focus on the bigger picture and skyrocket your productivity by delegating time-consuming admin tasks.
Save money:Hiring a virtual assistant can also save you money. It makes a lot more sense to outsource a social media task for $25 per hour if it means you can work on a $100 per hour task like reviewing your marketing plans.
Start building your team and keep expenses down:Depending on the type of business you own, hiring a VA enables you to start building a team without the need for a physical office.
Delegating tasks prevents burnout:Many business owners are guilty of trying to do everything themselves which can lead to stress, fatigue and feeling overwhelmed and unhappy. Delegating tasks to a VA will actually increase your productivity and prevent you from burning out.
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