Even successful entrepreneurs will admit that at times they have experienced a feeling of overwhelm in trying to manage their workload and run their business on their own, as they have felt they had to do everything.

As your business grows it becomes more and more difficult for one person to carry out all of the work and there is definitely not a rule book out there which says you have to! Outsourcing some of your work to a virtual assistant is something which should be seriously considered, even if you’re early on in your journey. By taking the time to find the right person for this role, you will soon alleviate that feeling of overwhelm and/or stress.

Most VAs are contract or freelance workers who work from home. There is not a task list available which all VAs are proficient in following but the tasks can be pretty diverse. VAs are professionals in their own right and like you, have fields of work and tasks that they love to do and are experts at, and those they don’t like doing.

Before outsourcing any work to a virtual assistant it is important to establish why you think hiring a VA will be beneficial to you and your business. Here are some of the key benefits of working with one (or a team of VAs).

A Virtual Assistant Frees Up Your Time And Energy

Hiring a VA frees up your time and energy leaving you time to focus on doing things that need you to be the one that does them. You will likely have to spend some time upfront in guiding your new VA(s) on how you run things, but you will soon find routine, weekly tasks can be delegated. Quality of work and consistency will be improved, and you will feel more inspired as you are getting to work on the things you enjoy and do best.

You Have More Time For Other Skills

It can also boost your confidence and your well-being as you will be able to put more into self-care and self-development. This in turn will strengthen relationships and your business and you will learn leadership/management skills. Through spending YOUR time more purposefully, you will be able to take on new things like speaking gigs, joint ventures and other PR opportunities, you will increase your visibility leading to more clients/customers and even more opportunities.

It Makes Your Business More Efficient

Hiring a virtual assistant who specializes will likely streamline your processes and get things done quicker.

Virtual Assistants Provide an Excellent ROI

When you hire a VA by onboarding them well and take them on to do intentional tasks that move the business forward, you will absolutely see its’ cost effectiveness.

What to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant

• Scheduling blog posts, publications, social media posts or newsletters
• Setting up and managing social media accounts
• Welcoming new members to your community / moderating your Facebook group
• Diary / calendar / inbox / file / project management
• Admin / accounting
• Online research, affiliate marketing and outreach
• Editing website pages
• Customer/client support

Top Tips For Hiring Your First Virtual Assistant

• VAs usually work for more than one client so it is also important to bear this in mind.
• Some VAs work hourly and others work by the project. Have a baseline and top-line figure for your budget and find out what you can get for that amount. PS, often you’ll find outsourcing isn’t as expensive as you first thought.
• Give them as much information about yourself and your business (who your ideal client is, your branding/style, your mission/goals and objectives/vision) as you can. This will really help to make sure you’re a good fit for each other before you get started. Your VA may or may not have their own onboarding process. If they haven’t asked you these questions, it’s important you do share them so you can be as upfront as possible.
• Be clear about expectations as to communication.
• ALWAYS have a contract in place, no matter how small or short-term the project is.

So have you thought of hiring a VA? What hesitations do you have? If you could outsource ONE thing right now, what would it be?