The Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant
In the world of modern technology, there are so many ways to run a small business without having to hire one person after another.
An excellent way to keep you on track, complete everyday tasks as well as other perks, is to hire a virtual assistant.
What Is A Virtual Assistant (VA)?
Typically, a virtual assistant is a self-employed individual that can be hired through an outsourcing website.
VAs often provide professional services in the administrative, technical, customer care, sales, marketing, creative and social networking fields for business owners or professionals from their own home office.
If an item is on your “to do” list but you don’t have time to complete it - a virtual assistant is what you are looking for.
How Can A Virtual Assistant Be An Asset To You?
With a business to run and no workforce for assistance, you, as the
business owner have a lot to handle. You expect to focus your time and
energy on the more important tasks, but emails must be answered, phone
calls have to be made and appointments need to be scheduled.
So,
what can you do? You can hire a virtual assistant to carry out these
tedious recurring tasks. With today’s online tools, this can be
accomplished from anywhere across the globe. By delegating such items,
you become more efficient in what you do and thus, more valuable to
your business.
There is no need to furnish an office space for a secretary, pay for their insurance, vacation leave or sick time.
The red tape can be avoided by using a virtual assistant to do the work for you from a remote location. They will be able to complete these small projects and others - including data entry, creating reports, doing research – really, anything a typical secretary or assistant could do for you on-site.
What Can You Expect To Pay A Virtual Assistant?
Luckily, you can save a lot of money. You can actually set it up in a way where you pay based on the project instead of an hourly fee, if this is more convenient for you. There are many virtual assistants who work for different companies and businesses at one time, very proficiently, so they will charge lower rates for projects - working on a per-project basis.
The fees they charge will depend on the specific VA you choose as well as the length and complexity of the assignment. Typically, the average VA (depending upon the type of job of course) charges anywhere from $25 to $50 an hour; however as mentioned earlier, many may charge less for a project rather than hourly, whilst others may charge more. It is best to look around and find the average rate based on your needs before deciding on a particular virtual assistant.
What Should You Be Cautious Of?
When first selecting a virtual assistant, you should opt for a small
project to get them started such as data entry, phone calls, scheduling
appointments, etc. You should not immediately give away your account
passwords, websites, bank account information and so forth, until you
have developed a long-standing relationship with your VA and you know
you can trust them.
Remember, you are dealing with this person
at arm’s length. While there are many good people working in the
virtual assistant field, there may be someone out there who is running a
scam and could give the whole concept of virtual assistance a bad name.
When choosing your VA, make sure you use a reputable site, for instance
Odesk.com, Freelancer.com, Elance.com and Guru.com and read the reviews and comments from previous clients.
There are also different websites set up specifically for virtual
assistants only, such as AskSunday.com.
Another key factor to look
for when selecting a virtual assistant site to work with, is to see if
they have a back-up team. This is beneficial to you because if your
virtual assistant leaves suddenly, there will be a replacement whom you
can hire right away. Or, if your virtual assistant needs to take some
time off for some reason, again, you will have a back-up to work with.
One more good thing to finding a team approach is that if you have a project that the virtual assistant you typically work with, does not have the specific knowledge for the job you want done, the VA firm will be able to find another assistant specialized in the area you’re looking for. This way you’re not totally reliant on one single VA.
Outsourcing Work
Regardless of whether you have tasks for a virtual assistant or other work that can be outsourced, don’t be intimidated by this option. It can make you far more effective with both your time and your money. If this is all new to you, click here for an overview of what outsourcing is all about and how you can implement it into your own business.
Hiring A Virtual Assistant
When you’re searching to hire a VA, it is very important to select your candidate wisely.
While a VA can help your business succeed, it is imperative to keep in regular communication to ensure that your VA stays on task and has all the information they need to complete their assigned tasks well.
Check out these tips on how to hire the right virtual assistant for you.
Give
yourself and your business the edge it needs to grow and become more
profitable. Hiring a virtual assistant will allow you to use your time
and creativity to do just that.
