How hiring a virtual assistant can save you time and help you scale your business.
Have you noticed that the more your business grows, the more time it takes to run it? Action items demanding your attention multiply, yet minutes never get added to your day. Over time, the administrative tasks of your operations pull you away from the aspects of your business you are passionate about. After months (or years!) of pouring hours into running the minutiae of your business, you eventually burn out and miss out on time with your family.
As your business grows, it becomes unsustainable to continue to manage every task of running it yourself. You don’t have to resign yourself to the overworked and burned-out entrepreneur business model. What should you do if you need help, but do not have the budget to hire full-time staff to take over administrative tasks? Enter the modern business solution: your virtual assistant.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
To put it succinctly, a virtual assistant is a remote professional hired on a contractual basis for work that you choose specifically to outsource. Rates are often determined by experience level, services provided, and hourly packages offered by your virtual assistant. A major benefit of hiring a virtual assistant over a full-time office employee is that you can pay specifically for services within your specified budget – a cost-effective solution that can be customized to suit your business needs. Virtual assistant contracts can evolve and grow over time as your business scales and your needs expand. For these reasons, the virtual assistant-supported business model is attractive to business owners in need of flexibility.
What can a Virtual Assistant do for me?
The primary goal of a virtual assistant is to simplify running your business by taking over tasks you delegate to them to address your pain points. To assess the roles and tasks you would like to outsource to a virtual assistant, it is helpful to consider three key questions:
| Q1: Am I spending my limited time on repetitive administrative tasks that take me away from the most important elements of my business? |
There are aspects of your business that only YOU can do – then there are aspects of your business that are repetitive and administrative in nature, which can be delegated to a virtual assistant. Developing SOPs (standard operating procedures) for the ins and outs of your business enables you to hire a virtual assistant to take on the administrative roles of your business, freeing up your limited time to work on other projects.
| Q2: What are the tasks of running my business that overwhelm me the most? |
Take an honest look at a day in the life of running your business. If there was one thing you wouldn’t have to worry about – that you could take off your plate for good – what would it be? Are you bogged down by bookkeeping? Do you struggle to keep up with customer-service calls? Is organization, not your strong suit? Does maintaining multiple social media accounts make your head spin? Would it make your life easier to have someone else take care of the details – like itineraries, calendar bookings, and email? You will have a much better idea of what you are looking for in a virtual assistant if you can clarify your pain points.
| Q3: Are there aspects of my business that I don’t enjoy doing myself? |
It is hard to be the sole person doing everything for your business. You might enjoy recording a podcast but dislike creating show notes and a transcript. Or, you might like creating products but dislike writing copy, generating invoices, or writing blog posts to promote sales. Outsourcing these tasks to your virtual assistant will give you more time for the parts of your business you love.
Examples of Virtual Assistant Services
Virtual assistants can perform hundreds of tasks to streamline running your business. To help you define the scope of your current virtual assistant needs, consider these examples of services provided by VAs.
| Business Administration |
| Data EntryReport WritingInternet ResearchDigital Files Organization (Google Drive, DropBox) | Inbox ManagementCalendar ManagementAppointment BookingTravel ArrangementsSend invoices | Document CreationProofreadingFormattingCopy WritingVideo Editing |
| Email Marketing |
| Manage email listsFollow up on emails create digital ads create email templates | Tracking campaign results in digital marketing email design | Manage email listsFollow up on emailsCreate digital ads create email templates |
| Web Design |
| Web page content mobile-optimized design website support | Web page contentMobile-optimized design website support | Analytics ReviewProofreadingFormatting |
| Social Media Management |
| Design postsPlatform posts create graphics content creation | Design postsPlatform postsCreate graphics content creation | Respond to inquiriesManage multiple platforms |
Invest in your Business – Hire a Virtual Assistant Today
It can feel intimidating to invest in your business, but hiring a virtual assistant is one of the most important investments you will make as a business owner. Delegating tasks to a VA will help you earn back your most limited resource – time. You will have more time in your day for the things that matter most and will be able to focus your energy on the aspects of your business that you love.
Virtual Assistant
(vur choo-uh l) (uh-sis-tuh nt)
“a trusted asset who takes away your frustrations, by completing the tasks you dont”
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