As every business has different needs and therefore operates differently, not all businesses will require full-time workers. For businesses that choose to take the flexible working route, a virtual assistant could be the perfect hire for your business needs.
I’ve listed 5 main reasons as to how a virtual assistant could benefit your business.
Time is money
If you are a business owner looking to outsource some of your services, hiring a skilled virtual assistant will save you plenty of time and money. Think about the amount of money you spend using a recruitment agency and the time it takes for you to go through all the applications and interviews until you find the right candidate.
There’s the onboarding process, then your usual 3-6 month probation period where both the organisation and the candidate try to see if they are the right fit for each other. If everything works out then great, but if it doesn’t that’s time and money wasted. Not to mention the frustration the whole process brings.
For many businesses, working with a virtual assistant is a daunting process because they are not sure how to go about it. There is also a trust issue. However, if you’ve done your due diligence, hiring a virtual assistant will cut your overhead costs down.
By being in direct contact with your VA, there’s no room for a middle man charging you premium prices. You’ll get to know exactly what your VA can and can’t do and how they can support you. No overhead costs such as taxes, insurance, benefits, sick pay and office equipment as this is all managed by the VA themselves.
Help you focus
Virtual assistants come with different types of skills and specialities. From general administration to digital marketing to social media management, you name it. Depending on your business needs, there’s a VA available with the skills you’re looking for. Hiring a VA with the right skills will help you spend less time on training & supervision and allow you to focus on important tasks that will help your business generate more revenue.
Reduce overwhelm
Having worked in corporate for over 10 years, particularly in project management environments, I know precisely how stressful it can get trying to meet deadlines while juggling a hundred other things at the same time. Responding to emails, attending meetings (that half of the time are unnecessary), reports to complete, chasing invoices, contracts to sign, you name it. I’ve been there, and all I can tell you is that it’s draining. Thankfully, my great attention to detail and being organised are what saved me from losing my mind.
As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you might not have access to the same amount of resources that a big corporation would have. Meaning you’ll have to manage quite a lot with limited resources. You’ll be busy being very busy. To help you work effectively with peace of mind, perhaps working with a virtual assistant might be an alternative solution.
Improve productivity
We would all like to be super genius and handle it all, but let’s be honest, we can’t all be Olivia Pope. If you are a Scandal fan, perhaps you can relate. Even she had to call on her Gladiators for support. Multitasking and trying to prove to yourself that you have everything under control may work temporarily, but the walls will come crumbling down sooner or later.
Working hard does not necessarily make you more productive. If anything, it only increases your stress levels because you’re constantly trying to do more and getting less done. You can work hard and excel at the things that you are good at and work smart by outsourcing the tasks that you wouldn’t win an Olympic medal for.
We all have those tasks that we dread doing and we’d be better off doing something that we enjoyed. You have the choice to improve your work and personal lifestyle. You don’t have to be overworked and stressed. We all get 24hrs in a day, and how you spend those 24hrs determines your success in both your work and personal life.
Flexibility
Virtual assistants work on a flexible schedule. They can work a set number of hours per week/month depending on the task or project. This could save you more money than hiring a full-time employee. Virtual assistants don’t have a set location to work. They can work anywhere on a computer or phone as long there’s a good internet connection, i.e. home office, library, coffee shop, co-working space. As a client, this saves you the trouble of having to worry about providing additional office space or equipment.
There’s an interesting article I read on the HuffPost which explains some of the reasons why some business owners and entrepreneurs decided to work with virtual assistants. You can read it here http://bit.ly/2GFuy3t
Taking all the benefits of hiring a VA above into account, make sure you do your due diligence. You want to hire a skilled virtual assistant who’s resourceful and able to accomplish the tasks or projects you’ve both agreed on. Build good rapport and communicate regularly on work progress. This will allow you to focus on other important tasks within your business without having to worry about the work you’ve delegated.
