While major platforms such as Elance, ODesk, People Per Hour and the many more freelance websites that are out there, there is no shortage of Virtual Assistant’s with their various levels of skill and levels of services they provide. Lets look over the benefits of hiring a Virtual Assistant. Please keep in mind there are various types of Va’s and all with a certain skillset and experience.
These days you don’t have to have a business to hire a virtual assistant. You can be a individual who is just very busy, or perhaps a solo entrepreneur.
Here are some of the reasons why people do hire a virtual assistant.
- Overwhelmed with their workload
- A more affordable option opposed to a full time in house employee
- Be more productive in their business and delegate certain tasks to a VA
- Business Expansion
You may be wondering what can a VA do remotely. Truth is they can do alot.
Here are a couple of things off the top that most businesses generally need
- Social Media Marketing
- Book keeping
- Blog Management
- Data Research
- Data Mining via major Search Engines
- Marketing Lists
- Telemarketing
Now these days Va’s are specializing in there fields of expertise that go out the general scope of just the General VA. Some industries that are developing and some in which are establishing themselves in the Va industry include:
- Real Estate
- Trade Show Management
- Freight Forwarding /Import Export
- SEO
- Human Resources
- Medical Billing
- Legal Va’s
And so much more. We are seeing such an increase in niche freelance marketplaces and multi level Va teams. It can get really hard to decide which VA to go with, what should you be looking for exactly? Is there a set criteria? etc.
A couple of tips When you are looking to hire a VA
- Have a Realistic Budget per month. This is a real investment and you should treat it as such.
- Just like a resume Va’s usually start with there experience in Office. So ask for a Resume or review there online profile or linkedin profile. Just ask Google.
- Check References: Pretty Old school but it still works!
- Are you in a Niche? Perhaps you need a VA that is a Niche Market VA.
- Interview and narrow your prospects. Ask questions, and scenarios.
- While people may have the skillset, there personality may not fit what you are looking for. This business is social professional in my opinion. You got to communicate well and have a sense you can trust that person in many different areas.
- Remember, you get what you pay for. Be extremely transparent about money , establish terms and polices and have a work statement in place. A seasoned VA will have all of those things and a simple process.
- Trial your Va once your hire him or her. Start with a 30 day trial. This is up to you the duration of the trial. Take this time to get to know your VA’s skillset.
It’s important as a client you remember these things
- Remember Virtual Assistants are not employees (unless you are hiring them on a w-9). They are freelancers, independent contractors. Make sure you both respect each other professionally. Set realistic work loads based on each other’s schedule and timezone if any.
- Virtual Assistants are not someone you hand over every part of your business to. A client should delegate tasks and not have an expectation that a V.A. is the CEO or the one running your business. A client needs to have a level of involvement and responsibility to his or her business.
- Always have an open line of communication and make sure deadlines and work is always discussed or written out. Talk things through.
- While both of you may prefer a different work style and set of tools you use. Be flexible in learning new tools, remember the cloud is your office now. Keep in mind Va’s generally use various remote tools. Consider choosing a project management software that will keep you and your Va en-sync.
