What Is A Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant (known as VA throughout the rest of my website) is self employed, works 'virtually' (remotely), is professionally insured and has all of the necessary equipment to start working for you straight away, so you are able to manage your work-life balance and, more importantly, enjoy it.
As a VA, the objective is to lighten your load by taking away the time consuming tasks, to help you to be more efficient and to give you back time in your day to do the things you actually want to do! More time with the family you say. Done!
There is no need for a desk or workspace. Computer equipment, commonly used software programs and a high-speed Internet service are all guaranteed. This reduces the costs for your business.
For more details on the services I offer, go to my Services page.
When Should I Hire A VA?
Most people work until they are working every hour of the day and no longer have a minute to think. With a VA, it's better to start sooner rather than later for a number of reasons:
You can work on a retainer basis and therefore only use the hours that you need
You start to build the relationship and the trust on both sides
You increase their knowledge of how your business is run slowly rather than having to train them when you are already fully booked
How Do I Know What Tasks To Outsource?
Write a list! I'm all about a list or a spreadsheet so let's start simple with a list!
Three areas to think about:
Tasks you hate doing
Tasks you can't do yourself
Tasks you don't have time to do
We all have tasks we put off because we believe they take up valuable time when you could be doing something else. Tasks that you hate doing each week/month. These go under number 1 - life is too short!
Then there are tasks within your business that you know you should be doing, you have no idea how to do them and you don't have any time (or perhaps even inclination) to learn how to do them - these go under number 2.
Finally, you have a mammoth to do list each month and no time to do them but actually, how many of these do you need to do and how many can be delegated to a VA?