Wondering who are Virtual Assistants?
In simplest sense of the term, “virtual assistants are self-employed experts, who work for clients from a remote location. With specific skills sets, they can serve multiple clients and work on different projects. They work according to the specifications provided by the client, and offer a wide range of affordable services.”
Below is a list I have compiled on the top 10 reasons to hire a Virtual Assistant today!
#1: VAs Can Drive Business Growth
You cannot work on all the tasks yourself. Having an EXTRA HAND on projects is essential to your business growth. You can collaborate to outsource the projects/skills you are not good at or hate doing and get a lot done in doing so! If you are trying to grow or expand your business you cannot do it alone. No matter what! So focus on the things you are good at and hire/outsource what you aren’t to someone else!
#2: Decreased Operational Costs
Owning a business can be expensive, and realizing you need help, also expensive. The best part about VAs is that they are cheaper than employees. No operational costs when it comes to them, except maybe some training here and there, if you please. You can save a lot of money by hiring virtually, and get a lot out of it! By having a VA, you can save expenses for office space, maintenance cost, and additional taxes. Moreover, you don’t need to purchase office equipment like computers, or telephones. Depending on your current need for business support, your virtual assistant works on the part-time or full-time basis. Compared to a regular employee, a VA costs less, because you do not need to pay for any employee benefits.
#3: Reduced Workload
As a business owner, your important tasks can often get overshadowed due to the jam-packed schedule. In such circumstances, VAs might come handy, as they can focus on several crucial tasks. They can help you in:
- Market Research
- Data Entry
- Email Management
- Online Marketing
- Scheduling
- Call Answering
- Search Engine Optimization
- Web Development
- Content Writing
- Transcription
and many other things… These professionals are skilled in multiple areas. VAs can decrease your work-related stress, and help you keep everything organized. They make sure that these tasks get completed within the stipulated time frame.
#4: Focus on The Core Operations
As an entrepreneur, you need more time to focus on your core business functions. Some things, such as advanced marketing tasks, or taxes or bookkeeping can be difficult for some, if so you may want to outsource it. Trust me, it can be cheaper in the long run if you do it this way! There would also be several tasks about which you don’t have that much expertise. On the other hand, not everything requires your direct attention. You can manage it all by simply asking your VAs to take care of your routine tasks. They would provide personal as well as administrative support, providing you with more time to focus on the most crucial aspects.
#5: Pay According to The Requirement
Virtual assistants will bill you only for the hours they work. BOLD promise? It’s indeed! If you hire a VA, you don’t need to think of paying for sick days, vacation days or health insurance. This can save a great deal of money for you while providing you with valuable services to operate your business. All VA’s have varying rates, but typically you are paying what they are worth and they are definitely worth it!
#6: More Work in Less Time
As an entrepreneur, you work hard to get things done. While doing so, you often need to juggle with too many tasks single-handedly. But why go solo, when you have the option of hiring a talented VA? Imagine using those hours to explore new business opportunities… Seems intriguing, isn’t it? Well, here lies the advantages of hiring a virtual assistant. By outsourcing the tasks to your VA, you would be able to drive your business growth. VAs can perform tasks that are needed to be done in a regular manner, which will help you manage multiple tasks within a limited time.
#7: Improve Your Online Presence
Increasing the frequency of posts in social media will strengthen the identity of your brand. Additionally, you must pay heed to several aspects, such as:
- prompt responses to consumer queries
- creation of engaging content
- promotional posts and activities
However, an active presence in social media requires a lot of time and persistence. Think you can manage time for that Probably not that much… So, how can you improve your social media engagement? Well, here are the action steps: Ask your VAs to offer you the best help in this field. By doing the essential things, they will help you increase the involvement of your consumers. With all sorts of relevant expertise, they can increase the frequency of posts in social media. Thus, the identity of your brand will be strengthened significantly.
#8: Scalability in Operations
What if the turnaround time for deliverables in your business get slowed down? Well, it indicates that you need to scale up your business! Scaling requires additional manpower so that the increasing work-volume can be managed properly Hiring virtual assistants will allow you to scale operations with less amount of risk. They have the efficiency to handle the additional volume of business. The flexible nature of virtual assistants would allow you to manage business variables with ease while controlling expenses.
#9: Efficient Customer Handling
Voice support is a crucial part of your business, as it puts the IDENTITY and REPUTATION of your brand on the line, However, taking care of customer service calls can be a very time-consuming task. Find virtual assistants who can also help you in this aspect. Your VA can make calls to –
- obtain quotes
- find out information
- fix appointments
- connect with the business partners
- gather important messages on your behalf
You can choose to have your VA manage the calls for you, while you’re in the midst of an important work.
#10: Have More Leisure Time
Having a virtual assistant on your side allows you to have more leisure time. Identify the tasks that require your direct attention. And for the rest of the tasks, assign VAs to get those done within time! By offloading your mundane tasks, a virtual assistant can literally add more productive hours to your day. Henceforth, you’ll get some time to spend with friends and family. In the contemporary market, entrepreneurs are gradually realizing the importance of delegating tasks to the VAs. In order to rise up the business ladder, they must make the best use of their limited time.