My 30 Day Blogging Challenge continues and working with a VA can help any business but we’re going to look at the value of a VA today.
A VA is not just an assistant, not just another body in the office which you have to fuel (heat, light, provide equipment, give benefits) and certainly not someone you can treat like an employee.
THE VALUE – this is what sets an employee and a VA apart; miles apart.
When we talk about Value of a VA we talk about what a VA can bring to the ‘party’. Not just their skills and current knowledge. Not just how they talk and that they can string a sentence together. Not just that they know the difference between they’re, their and there and when to use them and certainly not just that they are happy to take instructions and follow systems and procedures.
A VA is a business person too and with that role comes so much more responsibility as they have a business to run and the success of their business is based on your success: directly related.
Having a business; as you know; means wearing lots of hats; such as:
- finance
- marketing
- sales
- operations
- purchasing
- training
- admin
- HR
- PR
Because of this they appreciate your time is important, they appreciate the need for deadlines and even happy to forward plan and give a little nudge in the right direction – those plates don’t spin automatically!
So, let’s see what they bring to your party:
- connections that can help your business too (and that’s a biggie)
- understanding of the impact of others on your business (the bigger picture)
- a sense of urgency (working out of hours)
- brainstorming (using other successful methods learnt from other clients)
- additional skills that they have paid for themselves
- other resources from their ‘team’, partnerships, strategic alliances
- access to software, packages, skills which may be useful to your business
- always (and I mean always) in a ‘can do’ mentality
- rules and conditions that they have drawn up (contract)
- insurance to cover their actions
- cover (no loss of support during holiday or sickness)
When you recognise the Value of your VA you will begin to use her knowledge and skills to their best (they are all different with different skills and knowledge and interests). Your business will flourish because of this. We’re always cautious of including someone into our business, handing over work, giving responsibility but without taking those steps your business cannot grow and you will not be able to do more ON your business rather than IN. (Or the other way round if you really love being at the ‘doing’ end).
Here cometh the end of Number 28 – Value
Here’s a link to the Start in case you missed it. https://virtualhand.co.uk/starting-a-challenge/
Do have a look at all the other blogs I have written on Using a VA or Training specifically; you never know what you might find.
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.
Connect with Michelle on other platforms too: Learn how you can work with Virtual Hand; how your business can grow and how you can communicate better with your audience.
