7 Ways a Virtual Assistant Will Benefit Your Small Business

You’re probably already aware what a Virtual Assistant is. But just in case you’re not, in a nutshell a Virtual Assistant is someone who can provide you with business support, without costing you any additional overheads. For small business owners and entrepreneurs, it often works out a more cost-effective solution than employing someone on a temporary or part-time basis.

Perhaps you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Or you’re missing out on following up on all those new business leads because of the day-to-day administration? As for staying on top of all your social media channels and updating your business blog, forget it! And I bet you think that even if you stop for just 10 minutes to delegate work out, you’ll get even further behind? I completely understand, and in fact I frequently talk to small business owners about just these issues. However the fact you’re still reading leads me to believe you’re likely to be having one, two or all of those thoughts right now. This is exactly the reason why a Virtual Assistant is your perfect business solution.

Virtual Assistants help with those tasks that you of course may be able to do, but which aren’t actually the best use of your time. By taking the minimal time necessary to delegate tasks out to a Virtual Assistant, you can get on with the more important, and fruitful, aspects of running and growing your business.

7 ways a Virtual Assistant will benefit your business:

1. Flexibility. Available as and when needed. If you need 20 hours support one week, but only 5 the following week, a Virtual Assistant can do that. You don’t need to employ someone part-time or temporarily to see them twiddling their thumbs 50% of the time, which you’re paying for!
2. Pay only for the hours worked. As a Virtual Assistant is dependent on referrals and regular work flow, it’s in their best interest to complete your work as efficiently as possible. A Virtual Assistant will provide you with a service that is proven to be cost-effective, so you will always return whenever you require further support.
3. No need to pay employee taxes, benefits or office equipment. Since Virtual Assistants’ are not on a permanent contract, you don’t need to pay any holiday, sick leave, maternity leave, taxes, training or even office equipment. Virtual Assistants’ work remotely whenever you need, so you only pay for the work completed. Nothing else.
4. Match your requirement with a specific skill set. Choose your Virtual Assistant based on your specific need. If you’re looking for someone to manage your WordPress website, social media and blog then search for someone with those specific skills. If you need project management or customer service support, search for someone with that skill set. By working with a Virtual Assistant who matches your specific business need, means you don’t have to ‘make do’ with someone unqualified again.
5. No need to micro-manage. Once you’ve delegated a project across to a Virtual Assistant you can focus entirely on other things, safe in the knowledge that you’ll receive the completed work back on time and error-free.
6. Never miss a deadline. Like you, we run a business. We understand first-hand the importance of a good reputation. When you handover a piece of work to a Virtual Assistant with a set deadline, that deadline will be met no matter what!
7. Care about your business. A Virtual Assistant understands the highs and lows, stresses and worries of running a business. They can provide you with support from a business perspective, as well as on an individual task level. As your business grows, the likelihood is so will your support requirements grow. By caring about your business and supporting you while you develop it further, putting it bluntly our own business will benefit as well.

So if you’re struggling to fit all your admin tasks into a working day, if you’re fed up having to stay on top of your social media and website updates, if you’ve got a project which is taking up too much of your time managing, then do yourself a favour, and reach out to a Virtual Assistant for some business support. You don’t need to jump straight in if you’ve never worked with one before. Just start with a small trial task to get a better understanding of how it all works, and to make sure they’re a good fit for your business needs.

If you’re still unsure of how a Virtual Assistant can help your business, get in touch to have an initial chat about your specific needs.

It’s important to work with a Virtual Assistant you trust, and who you can build a solid working relationship with. Once you’ve found that person, believe me you’ll see how much a Virtual Assistant benefits your business.