Michelle has had a career in PA/EA roles for 25 years as well as an IT Tutor for 15 years and has merged them in her own business as a Virtual PA offering PA, Marketing and IT Training services in 2011.
Meeting a Virtual Assistant the first question people ask is “what can you do to help me in my business?” Although VA’s have a skill set of office skills and personal qualities that will help any business; you need to know the specifics for you as an individual and your business as a whole.
Getting to know a VA before giving them your work is ideal, as they will still be a work colleague (without the extra expense, space and what comes with employing a PA) and you will need to be able to work with that individual. The VA supports your work and the more the VA knows about your business, the way you work, your goals and targets, the more productive you can become.
What to outsource
The best way to see what impact using a VA would have on your business, your productivity and your day is to spend a couple of weeks actually writing down what you do. Each day for a 2 week period itemise each activity in your day. Evening and weekends also, if this is your work routine or out of necessity, and also how long you spend on each activity.
At the end of the 2 week period you can look at those activities and identity those tasks that could be delegated to a VA. Once those specific tasks are identified the time allotted to each of them can be tallied up. This will enable you to see how much time that will free up for you and hence enable you to use that time being productive for your business.
It isn’t all about time though. If a task is out of your comfort zone it will take you longer to start, longer to complete and may not be an enjoyable experience for you – a VA will take all that stress and worry away from you.
VA support packages
A VA’s support can be arranged in a variety of ways to suit your business and how you work. You may need one to carry out a particular task; such as transcribing your articles/blogs etc, once a week or a special project; producing and proofreading new literature or on a retainer basis where you purchase a certain number of hours a month to be able to draw on each month as and when you require assistance. These costs can be built into your budget so they are available when you want them.
All VA’s have skills that can be used for the benefit of your business and some have special skills that can complement your work. This is all for the benefit of you, your business and your productivity.
Employing staff is a whole new ball game with its own set of rules. Working with a VA is an option that a great many business people are turning to. Check out my book on How to Hire a Virtual Assistant. Available on Amazon by clicking here
Learn how you can work with Virtual Hand; how your business can grow and how you can communicate better with your audience.
