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Owning a business can become so overwhelming so fast, the fun of the journey can be quickly lost. Before you know what happened, you are drowning in mundane tasks that somehow end up taking precedence over the things you would rather be doing, and where your energy is best spent. If you feel like your head is spinning and you can’t move forward, a Virtual Assistant will probably become a huge asset to you and your business. Here are ten reasons why you should consider outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant.
1. Your time is literally your money. As a business owner, you have just as many hours in the day, but the number of things you must accomplish and manage within those hours multiplies significantly. Taking into consideration that most people also have complete lives aside from their businesses, trying to find time for things such as family, friends, hobbies, or even a minute to relax is impossible most of the time. Outsourcing some of the smaller, mundane tasks in your business will help to free up some of your time for the things you enjoy spending it on.
2. Running a business can also get expensive and if you add in employee costs, expenses rise even more. Employees require insurances, unemployment and more taxes – outsourcing to a VA does not. Virtual Assistants are subcontractors who own their own businesses, providing services to other businesses. Most Virtual Assistants are very reasonable in cost, finding one within your budget shouldn’t be an issue. You also have the option with most VA’s to go with a monthly package price, which is a set price every month for a set amount of work each month, or paying by the hour, which gives you the option to change the limit on how many hours they can work each week or month.
3. The feeling of being overwhelmed is a universal feeling among business owners. Especially as your business starts to grow and evolve, the emotions coupled with the increase in workload, expense and responsibility can send you reeling. Outsourcing the repetitive, administrative tasks to a VA will give you that much less to mull over throughout the day, therefore allowing you to breathe a little easier. There is nothing worse than the feeling of finally having a chance to relax and enjoy yourself but having so much on your mental load that the feeling of being “relaxed” seems out of reach.
4. Your attention needs to be very focused for your business to grow. By worrying about social media interaction or email management, you are unable to give your undivided attention where it belongs. You started your business for a reason, probably out of passion for something you enjoy or believe in – you don’t have to lose that passion. By being your own boss, you can decide what you want to make your priority and what you would like to hand off to someone else to help you with instead. Do what you want and outsource the rest.
5. Having a Virtual Assistant will help to streamline your business and make processes run smoother. With good communication between you and your VA, your Virtual Assistant can help set up organized systems to move things along a little easier. Being a jack of all trades, as many VA’s are, requires excellent organizational and communication skills, so many already have their own systems in place and are ready to get plugged in and get started.
6. Virtual Assistants generally must spend a lot of time on social media and researching different trends, which makes them the perfect people to act as your eyes and ears among your target audience. By paying attention to rising trends and the likes or dislikes of your target audience, they can provide feedback valuable to the marketing of your product or services and giving you an advantage without having to sacrifice more of your time.
7. When it comes to social media success, consistency is key. Whether you are on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, the reach of your ads and posts depends largely on how consistent you are with your posting, pinning, and interaction on the site. Many Virtual Assistants are also Social Media Managers, so they can take that off your hands as well and help grow your network, rather than simply stay afloat within it.
8. Virtual Assistants are often specialized in the services they offer. Whether it be due to previous experience within the field, extended experience offering that service, or furthered education, finding a VA who can help you with what you need at a quality level is doable. These are some of the tasks you can outsource to a Virtual Assistant: Social Media Management, Event planning and management, travel booking, appointment management, calendar/email management, preparing reports, data entry, content creation, research-based tasks and customer service.
9. A Virtual Assistant can offer support for you and your customers around the clock. You won’t have to worry about whether you responded to all the messages you receive through your website or social media. You won’t have to stress over unanswered emails or answering the same generic questions repeatedly. Outsourcing customer support to a Virtual Assistant will eliminate a large portion of the mundane day-to-day tasks that consume most of your spare time.
10. Virtual Assistants are business owners, too. They understand everything you have on your plate and can empathize with the amount of stress on your shoulders. They went as far as starting their own businesses to offer support to other business owners, just like yourself. There is no better person to help you move your business forward than someone who truly understands what it takes to do so.
As your business grows, it is guaranteed that you will hit a point at which you can’t do it all yourself anymore. You will find yourself in a position of simply treading water, which will eventually start to affect your business negatively. Avoid treading water and outsource what you are comfortable with to a Virtual Assistant you are comfortable with. Your business deserves for you to be at your best.
- Brittany Harpin