5 Reasons Why You Need a Virtual Assistant (and How to Find One!)
- Written by Adam Jacobs
When you’re running your own business, you have a lot to do. You’re the chief marketer, product creator, service provider, customer service representative, and coffee maker. If the website breaks or the toilet gets blocked, you fix it.
But wearing so many hats can be exhausting. It might feel heroic, but the truth is your business and your customers do better when you focus on your core strengths. That’s where a virtual assistant (VA) comes in.
What can a VA do for you? Here are five reasons to hire one — and where to find the best.
Get Administrative Help Without an Employee
A VA is someone who is experienced in specific tasks and quite often that includes administrative expertise.
When you choose virtual assistant services, you can get administrative help without having to hire a part-time or full-time employee which is a great way to drive down costs and help you and your team focus your efforts on more meaningful revenue generating tasks.
Keep Marketing Consistent
You might also hire a virtual assistant who is specifically trained in social media to keep up with your various profiles and pages. That way, you can stay consistent without spending hours on it.
When you have a VA helping you, they will have much more time to focus on maintaining your brand’s messaging throughout all of your marketing efforts. Nothing will slip through the net.
You Save Time and Money
In my daily work helping young people become stars at Bubblegum Casting, I need to optimize my time. I spend a great deal of my day meeting with clients and parents of the kids on our books. I genuinely don’t have time to even answer the phone, never mind planning a content strategy or managing the agency’s social media profiles. So anything I can do that saves me hours is a big win!
That’s where I have noticed the biggest advantage in having a VA. I’ve gained so many hours a week and I can now put my time to better use.
But perhaps the most important aspect for many small to medium businesses is cost saving. By having a VA, you’re not tied to a long-term contract with an employee. You’ll pay by the hour or the task so you won’t have any team members sitting around twiddling their thumbs.
Having a Virtual Assistant Helps Your Business Grow
How many opportunities are you missing out on because you’re spending hours posting on social media or designing your own graphics?
Let your virtual assistant handle essential but simple and repetitive tasks. Even if you keep all the more creative tasks on your own desk, your VA handling data entry or appointment scheduling or even client outreach will make a huge difference to your day. This leaves you with all the time you need to develop the right strategy your business needs for success.
Avoid the Overhead of Hiring
As mentioned earlier, when you work with a VA, you avoid the costly overhead that comes with hiring an employee. You don’t have to worry about paperwork, taxes, benefits, or anything else. Instead, you pay for the services you receive.
Where Do You Find a High-Quality Virtual Assistant?
It’s important to remember that not all VAs are created equal. You need someone who is trustworthy, skilled, and will finish tasks on time. They should also have excellent communication skills.
The easiest way to find a great virtual assistant is to talk to different agencies. Be sure to read reviews and find out if they have any guarantees. Some agencies hire and train VAs, which can help the assistant you find to be ready to go from day one.
Pay attention to any requirements, such as a minimum number of hours or pay per week. If you can’t meet those, you’ll want to look at another agency.
When you find the virtual assistant that works for you, you’ll be more productive and save money at the same time. That’s the ultimate win-win!
Adam Jacobs is the incredibly busy Managing Director of Bubblegum Casting and Hunter Talent. He works with some of Australia’s biggest brands, media properties and agencies to secure talented children to work in Television, Film and Modelling roles. They’ve recently launched an office in LA as well.
