Starting a business of any form or kind takes a lot of time, effort, and resources. The first step is to create a business plan and envision how your business should look and operate. However, things may become increasingly overwhelming as you start working on your marketing campaign, sales pitches, networking, and even something as simple as inventory management.
It is challenging to manage and operate a business independently, especially for first-time or inexperienced entrepreneurs. However, it is often the same people who struggle to delegate tasks and reassign certain responsibilities. While it’s practical to start a business on your own, hiring employees is crucial in growing and scaling a business.
In today’s day and age, many businesses and global companies utilize remote virtual assistants (VAs) as part of their roster. Generally, VAs act like online executive assistants that provide support to high-level positions through simple tasks such as taking in phone calls, managing their schedules, and even organizing their calendars. However, there are also VAs that offer a variety of expertise and skills that businesses from all over the world can benefit from.
If you’re interested but hesitant about hiring a virtual assistant for your business, these tell-tale signs can help you decide that you need a virtual assistant’s help as soon as possible.
What Virtual Assistants Have To Offer
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Before we dive into the reasons why you should hire a virtual assistant, let’s take a closer look at what VAs are and what they can do for your business. Virtual assistants are typically independent contractors or freelancers. It is a remote working position that allows VAs to operate remotely, any time and anywhere.
Virtual assistants are generally hired to provide assistance and support to lighten workloads and accomplish simple yet important tasks. Some of the most common virtual assistant jobs involve administrative tasks, human resource management, and data entry. However, other VAs with years of experience and specialized skills are able to offer more services including graphic design, customer service, and more.
When To Hire A Virtual Assistant For Your Business
There are a lot of things that a virtual assistant can provide crucial support. However, some business owners do not realize that they are in the right position to hire an extra pair of hands for work. To give you a better idea, here are some of the signs that tell you to get a virtual assistant for your business as soon as possible.
Overwhelming workload
Is your desk stacked with paperwork? Do you have a bunch of deliverables you are struggling to meet? One of the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant for your business is that you can delegate tasks that are not particularly important or urgent. For example, you can ask your VA to check your emails for you and manage your calendar for the month while you work on more important tasks and responsibilities that will allow you to grow your business.
Stagnant business growth
Speaking of business growth, another sign that you need to hire a VA is when your business is no longer growing. One of the possible reasons why your business is plateauing is that you are spending too much time on tasks that don’t particularly generate revenue and encourage growth. As a business owner, it is crucial that you focus on responsibilities that allow you to scale your business, whether it’s in terms of sales, networking, marketing, or product or service development. Other tasks that do not contribute to this growth can be assigned to a virtual assistant.
Limited talent pool
Amazing employees can be hard to find. Especially if you are limited to a local talent pool. To deal with this, you can start looking for a skilled VA instead that is comfortable with working in a remote work setup. Since virtual assistants work online, you have access to a larger talent pool from all over the world. However, it’s important to be mindful of time differences and possible language barriers when hiring someone from across the globe.
High operation costs
Renting office space and having in-house employees can really affect your company’s finances. Aside from employee payroll, you also have to take care of your office’s operation costs. One benefit of hiring a virtual assistant and having a virtual team is that you get to save a little for business operations expenses. You don’t have to worry about buying new furniture and devices. You also save some from electricity, internet, and even water bills.
How To Manage A Virtual Assistant Employee
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Getting a virtual assistant on your team is quite a different process. You don’t get to meet them and guide them through their adjustment period in person. But how do you hire and manage a virtual assistant properly? Here are some helpful tips:
Learn how to delegate tasks properly
Effective task delegation skills are essential for business owners with virtual assistants or remote teams. In order to utilize your remote virtual assistants properly, it is important to learn how to delegate tasks and responsibilities. As part of this, avoid micromanaging and provide your virtual assistants with flexibility and authority with their assigned tasks.
Practice clear and concise communication
Communication has always been a gray area when it comes to remote working jobs. Since everything is done online and digitally, some may find it difficult to properly communicate with one another. To prevent miscommunication and possible mistakes because of this, make sure to be clear and concise when delegating tasks and giving instructions. Use clear and simple guides and be open to contact whenever needed.
Bottomline
When building a business from scratch, things may become challenging when you start working on your marketing efforts, business networking, or even something as simple as payroll management. However, some people struggle with the idea of letting other people in and instead try to keep 100% hands on with their business operations and management. In situations like this, entrepreneurs typically struggle with an overwhelming amount of tasks and burn out quite easily.
Hiring a virtual assistant can provide business owners support and significantly boost their productivity. They can offer a wide range of skills and services from handling bulk administrative tasks to something more niche such as social media management.
Want to know more about the virtual assistant industry? Sidekicks is an on-demand virtual company and we’re eager to help visionaries and entrepreneurs like you. Get a free ebook and learn more about how we can help you by signing up for our newsletter. We also offer a free 30-minute consultation if you prefer something more personal.
