In the past, the term “virtual assistant” made people wary. Before the general public knew what this position entailed, it sounded strange. Why should you trust an outsider who works remotely to help you with your business? There was no way to track them or to see how they were spending their time. Now, things are different—especially during COVID-19. Working from home is the norm. Having a whole team work remotely is the norm. And now, hiring freelancers and virtual assistants you’ve never met in real life is the norm, too. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to scale your business, even during a pandemic. Here are some ways that a virtual assistant can help scale your business.
What Can a Virtual Assistant Do?
Virtual assistants can be trained to complete most tasks, no matter the industry. It’s in your best interest to find an assistant who has the exact experience you’re looking for in your industry, but if the circumstances aren’t ideal, you can always train them. Make sure you create clear steps and processes for them to follow. Typically, VAs execute secretarial, administrative, and receptionist duties such as answering communications, scheduling meetings, data entry, bookkeeping, and event planning, but they are not limited to these duties. A virtual assistant can also handle marketing tasks like social media or ad design, procurement of supplies for your office, lead generation, and much more.
Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant
Hiring a virtual assistant can save you money. Since they work from home, you won’t have to buy new office equipment or worry about expanding your offices to make room for a new workspace. You also won’t have to worry about the financial burden of a full-time employee’s salary and benefits or additional taxes. During COVID-19, hiring a remote worker can also help keep everyone safe without hindering your business’s growth. If you choose to hire virtual assistants in multiple time zones or countries, you can offer 24/7 customer support and work output.
How Your Business Will Scale With a VA
After you add a VA to your team, you will be able to offload mundane tasks from your team. In smaller businesses, it’s common for a salesperson to man the receptionist desk to take incoming calls or have the marketing manager order supplies for the office, but with a virtual assistant, the experts you hired can continue doing the job they were hired to do. Hiring a virtual assistant means that you and your staff will have more time opened up for their essential and beneficial tasks, like business development and creating marketing strategies. It will also lead to a more balanced work/life balance and increased happiness when the whole office isn’t working until 9 p.m. every night and exhausting themselves.
Start Scaling Today
The first step in scaling your business is to document your processes and know what you want a virtual assistant to execute for you. Use screenshots, create walk-through videos—whatever it takes to get the message across clearly. When you have this in place, start researching and interviewing companies or individuals. Hiring a company like an answering service is a great option, as they will handle the training and responsibility for the virtual assistant. You will be hiring a company instead of an individual, which increases accountability. Whatever you choose to go with, make sure you get references, read reviews, and have multiple interviews. VAs can help free up time, keep your costs lower, and help scale your business. What are you waiting for?