What is a Virtual Assistant and why should I hire one?
As business owners, we all want to be more productive, work shorter hours, and have more time on our hands. Imagine being able to travel and spending time with family whilst your business runs smoothly in the background. Sounds like a dream, right? But what if it didn’t have to be a dream? What if you could hire someone to take on the tasks you don’t have time for, allowing you to focus on the things that matter to you? Introducing the answer to all your prayers: a Virtual Assistant.
So, what exactly is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant (or Virtual PA) is simply an assistant who works remotely. Sounds simple enough? That’s because it is! VAs work as independent contractors assisting with administrative, business development, and more frequently, social media and marketing tasks. In fact, you’ll often find that many now specialise in a certain area so you can get quite niche help, or you can opt for more broad support as you prefer. It’s a never-ending list and you’ll find that nowadays a VA can do, virtually anything. So, whether you’re a start-up or more established business, taking on a VA will help you focus on the work you need to do to make you money, and ultimately, grow your business.
Why hire a virtual assistant?
Virtual assistants have become increasingly popular over the years, not least because of recent times, but because many small (and even larger) businesses like the idea of a flexible workforce. You no longer need to create a separate office space or even set up a desk. No more worrying about holiday pay, sick pay, and all the rigmarole that comes with an employee, that’s all gone. And the best part? They’re completely flexible. Need assistance for 10 hours, 20, hours, 30 hours, or 40+ hours per month? You’ve got it. Even better, it’s a win-win for both parties – you don’t have to hire an employee, and your VA gets the freedom to work where they like.
And let’s not forget, time is one of the most valuable things we have in life and hiring a VA is one way to have more of it. Simply having someone to manage your diary, arrange those pesky meetings, and keep an eye on your email inbox will do wonders for your productivity and work-life balance. Delegating and outsourcing gets to become a doddle – and it’s about time more businesses took advantage of it.
How to hire a virtual assistant
Now to the nitty-gritty, how do you go about bringing a VA on board and making it as seamless as possible? First things first, it’s a good idea to think about what you want to outsource. Make a list that prioritises the top tasks that eat away the most time or have you hitting your head against the desk in total angst. For example, you might find it completely tedious to create diary invites or to manage your email inbox, so much so you find yourself cursing every time you get a notification of a new message on your phone. Or maybe you’re a complete tech novice and the very thought of it makes you want to crawl under your desk and hide out all day. These are the things you want to delegate and they’re likely to be different for everyone.
The next step is to determine who to hire. It’s probably worth pointing out at this stage that the market has been flooded with virtual assistants so you will want to make sure you hire someone with the necessary expertise. Referrals are a great go-to, as well as using a company (like us!) where you’ll know that each VA has been individually vetted and will be personally matched to your personality and the skills you require. Also, in the infrequent event that it doesn’t work out with your VA, we can manage a no-hassle swap to an alternative.
Of course, more recent times has triggered massive changes in the working landscape. Not only are more jobs being carried out remotely, but more and more work is also being outsourced as well. We’ve seen a huge rise in freelancers over and above the traditional employee, which has led to increasing demand for virtual assistants.
Here at blueumbrella, we’ve been in this industry for over 20 years, and we’ve seen it all. We’ve ridden the highs and lows and we’ve got an established team of Virtual PAs who are ready to step into your business and give you back that much-needed time and space so you can focus on the bigger picture.
Contact us today to see how we can help. We can’t wait to support you!