There are several well-made arguments for why you should outsource aspects of your business and virtual assistant jobs to a Virtual Assistant and what it could mean for your growth. On the other hand, there are a few myths that cloud virtual assistance.
We debunk 5 myths about outsourcing tasks by hiring a virtual assistant:
Myth 1: My business is too small to justify outsourcing
Wrong! Take a moment to think about what you do in a day. How many days you feel like you just don’t get to everything or that the important work always stands over to the next day and the next?
Do you weigh up sending customer invoices at the cost of filling in credit application forms? Or trudge through a jam-packed inbox at the cost of scouting new business opportunities? No matter how small your business might seem, you will definitely find several tasks that can be taught to someone else, freeing up your time to get down to business.
Myth 2: Virtual Assistants require time and supervision
Virtual Assistants are excellent at multitasking and have a very proficient skill set that helps them to quickly catch on to the scope of work and complete it efficiently. Touching base with them often is a great idea, but they most likely dislike being micromanaged. Think about a VA more as a support system in your business that can grow to be irreplaceable, rather than just someone who does your scutwork.
There are a few things to keep in mind when working with virtual assistants. First, be sure to set expectations with your assistant. You should describe what you need help with and what type of help you are looking for. This will help your assistant to better understand your needs and limits.
Myth 3: Virtual Assistants are expensive
Not true in the slightest! Virtual assistance can be booked at rates calculated based on the work they need to do. For example, administrative tasks will be billed hourly, while speciality tasks such as project management, transcription and minute-taking can be agreed upon at alternative rates. However, it is imperative for you to be clear about your expectations and deadline so that the VA (virtual assistant) has a fair amount of time to finish the task and deliver upon it.
Some common administrative tasks that may be billed hourly by virtual assistants are: managing your diary, filing, organizing, data entry, and tracking projects.
Myth 4: No one can do it better than I can
A Virtual Assistant is so much more than an admin lady or a secretary. As mentioned earlier, he/she is a person with a cultivated and specific skill set that might take you years to learn or that you have no background of while a virtual assistant may have years of experience. A virtual assistant is someone who is hired to do a job that a person with a specific skill set might that business owners may not be able to do. They may have years of experience doing this job, or they may have acquired the skill set through years of experience.
Depending on your needs, you can build yourself a team of virtual assistants with different skill sets that complement each other, one virtual assistant can build and sort your database while the other virtual assistant helps you with website updates and maintenance. Perhaps you need a tax practitioner to navigate your finances. Maybe you need to send a monthly newsletter but don’t know anything about MailChimp. Have you done one day of video editing in your life? Have you managed to get around to maintaining your social media presence? If not, get someone on your team who is a pro at it and hire a virtual assistant. You can train your virtual assistant to do virtual assistant jobs at a level that you can trust them to do virtual assistant jobs at.
The VA industry is versatile. The growing demand for virtual assistance work has created diverse job openings for virtual assistants. You can find a VA for any type of business task.
Myth 5: Virtual Assistants don’t need training.
Even though a VA may be experienced and highly competent, you should always provide some form of training for your VA. Even when hiring a VA who is experienced in the industry, you have to orient her on the ins and outs of your business. Training is important is you want to ensure that your VA achieves optimal productivity and remains up to speed with everything related to your business.
Virtual assistants are a viable option if you’re looking to take the load off your shoulders or to improve your business’ overall productivity. With the right skills and expertise, training and support, a VA can help take your business to new heights!
Still feeling a little fuzzy on virtual assistants? Contact us or scroll through our frequently asked questions.
We recommend you hire a virtual assistant today to offer the best virtual assistant services to your business.
