Handling administrative tasks isn’t always the smartest use of your time as a small business owner. Consider hiring a virtual assistant (VA) instead.
A virtual assistant can handle the same types of tasks a traditional personal assistant could handle. Examples include:
- Setting appointments
- Posting on social media
- Responding to emails
- Handling customer service inquiries
That’s not an exhaustive list. Remember that hiring a virtual assistant could effectively set your business up for long-term success. You’ll be better able to focus on running your business when you can offload tasks to an assistant.
Who Needs Virtual Assistants?
Almost any business owner can benefit from hiring a virtual assistant to handle minor tasks while they focus on the big picture. Business owners who may particularly benefit from hiring VAs include those:
- Without office space
- Without the need for full-time employees
- Without the experience or resources necessary to handle certain tasks
If you’re asking yourself, “Do I need to hire a virtual assistant?” signs that may indicate you’re ready for one include:
You Attempt to Mulitask
Small business owners need to squeeze every moment of productivity they can out of the limited hours in the day. A small business owner might set aside time throughout the day to focus on various tasks that may be fairly wide-ranging.
According to an article published in the Harvard Business Review, researchers have found virtually no one has the ability to effectively multitask. Even if you think you’re multitasking fairly successfully, you’d get more done if you focused on one task at a time.
Would focusing on one task at a time prevent you from getting everything done that needs to be done in a day? If so, it’s likely time to hire a virtual assistant. Allowing them to handle various tasks can help you guard against the impulse to multitask.
You Lack Work-Life Balance
Burnout is common among small business owners. According to Forbes, approximately 42 percent of small business owners report experiencing burnout in some capacity in a recent month.
Burnout can prevent you from serving your clients and customers. More importantly, it can have significant impacts on your health and quality of life.
Do you find that running a business is so time-consuming that you have little time for a personal life? Strongly consider hiring a virtual assistant if so. A VA could help prevent you from being overwhelmed by stress.
Administrative Tasks Are Piling Up
A virtual assistant can help with administrative tasks that can start to take up more time every day as your business grows. Although the answer to the question “Do I need a virtual assistant?” may have been “no” when you first started your business, tasks like responding to emails and checking social media can creep up on you as you take on more work. Get ahead of the issue by hiring an assistant sooner rather than later.
Your Business is Growing
As your business grows, it will reach a stage in which it’s necessary to hire extra help. That doesn’t mean you need to hire a full-time employee once it’s clear you can’t run your business alone anymore. Hiring a virtual assistant allows you to scale your growth by working with a personal assistant part time.
You Have a Limited Budget
Hiring a virtual assistant is often more affordable than hiring a traditional employee. Not only can a virtual assistant work on an as-needed basis, but you don’t have to pay for benefits or training for a VA.
Don’t add to your operating costs by hiring a full-time worker if you don’t need one. Hiring a virtual assistant allows you to bring on extra help without spending more than you can afford.
You Lack Certain Skills or Experience
Outsourcing your work to a virtual assistant is a way to get the expertise or professional experience you need. They could handle tasks that you may not have the skills for. Even basic tasks like posting on social media may be best left to an assistant if they’re more familiar with social media platforms than you are.
You Lack Certain Tools or Resources
Just as virtual assistants often have skills that a business owner might not have, they may also have access to tools, technology, and resources a business owner doesn’t have. Hire a virtual assistant, and you might not have to purchase these tools yourself.
You Have to Reject Potential Business
Business owners hate turning down clients and projects. However, you might find you routinely need to say no to potential work because you don’t have enough time or hands to manage that new project.
Sometimes, this is because you want to do right by your existing clients. You may decide it’s better to serve your clients well rather than stretch your bandwidth by taking on new clients.
However, it’s also possible that you can’t take on new work because you’re spending too much time on other tasks. Perhaps these are the types of tasks a virtual assistant could handle.
Hiring one may give you the freedom to accept more business. Your bottom line could benefit as a result.
You Want to Serve Customers in Other Time Zones
Your company may thrive to such a degree that you begin serving international customers. A virtual assistant can help by serving those customers in various ways. For example, they may respond to customer support inquiries in other time zones when you’re sleeping or otherwise not working.
You’re Missing Deadlines
Hitting deadlines is critical for small business owners. Your clients may take their business elsewhere if they can’t rely on you to deliver work according to an agreed-upon schedule.
There are many potential reasons you might miss deadlines. It’s possible other tasks are preventing you from focusing on your core business.
Before judging yourself for not delivering the quality of service your clients deserve, ask yourself, “Is it time to hire a virtual assistant?” You might find that hiring an assistant is sufficient to clear up your daily schedule. Hitting deadlines will likely become easier as a result.
Why You Need a Virtual Assistant from a Reputable Agency
These are just some of the signs you need a virtual assistant. Hiring a virtual assistant through an agency like PEAK Outsourcing is one way to find a reputable, skillful VA. We’re on hand to connect you with the right VA for your needs. Learn more about our virtual assistant services today by calling us at 1-866-796-0948 or contacting us online.
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