Reasons to Hire a Virtual Assistant in the Upcoming Year

Reasons to Hire a Virtual Assistant in the Upcoming Year

Folks, the new year is just around the corner. Have you gotten to your list of resolutions to kick off 2024? You have…

  • Spend more time with family.
  • Keep things more organized in the office.
  • Save more money.

First of all, this is definitely an excellent New Year’s resolution. Second of all, every item in this list is just a “click” away.

Drum roll, please.

For a business-minded fellow who doesn’t want to compromise family time, such as yourself, the best way to achieve goals in the office and your home life is to start the year with a virtual assistant.

Virtual assistants can help you with the repetitive, mundane tasks that you shouldn’t be doing anyway, for just a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time worker.

Why hire a virtual assistant in 2024? This article will tell you how VA integration is a transformative power.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant is a remote professional who offers different kinds of business-related services to entrepreneurs and businesses.

VAs may hail from far, far away, but they can certainly do all the things your expensive in-house employee can—from planning events to organizing your crazy calendar. With the help of technology, they can access tools and necessary data that are needed to complete an assignment.

Why Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant for a Startup?

What’s one of the main challenges facing startup businesses? Not having enough resources (time and money).

Starting a business is rough without the right funding and help.

Given the circumstances, you should hire a virtual assistant. Sharpening your delegation skills and saving money are just two of the many things they’re good at.

Here are the top reasons to hire a virtual assistant:

  • More Time for YOU and your Family

    Been failing to strike a balance between work and personal life? Work with a virtual assistant.

    VAs can take care of the time-consuming activities in the office, so you can lead a healthy life. Outside of your day job, you can pursue other interests, relax a bit, exercise and spend time with family until they eventually get sick of you.

    Even though virtual assistants live in another corner of the world, they will make sure you don’t miss your hairdresser’s appointment while still doing your balance sheets on the side—they value your time in that way.

  • Versatility Savvy

    Virtual assistants bring a lot of things to the table. They’re not just amazing at organizing your calendar or answering client phone calls, professionally; they’re also pretty skilled in content creation, graphic design and speaking French.

    This diverse skill set allows you to be more productive because, whatever your needs are, your VA has a tailor-fitted service for them.

  • Scale the Business

    All the tedious, daily minutia that’s been taking you away from the actual job of running the company —a virtual assistant can take care of that.

    In that way, it’s easier to scale the business because you have more time to strategically plan and network.

  • Doing Business in the Most Economical Way

    If you’ve heard of a virtual assistant before, their cost-effectiveness was most definitely the main draw for you. That’s why you’re here scrolling for more opportunities.

    Having a virtual assistant means no overheads and 78% operational cost savings every year. You only pay for the hours your VAs work, minus all the hiring-additional-staff drama.

  • Operations Efficiency

    One of the top reasons to hire a virtual assistant is to improve your time management. As mentioned, VAs can handle many tasks that you throw at them.

    By saving more time, you can allocate your most important resource to fulfilling tasks that directly contribute to growing your business.

    Topic you might be interested in: Virtual Assistant to Replace Someone During Maternity Leave

When Should I Get a Virtual Assistant?

Many entrepreneurs hesitate to work with a virtual assistant due to financial concerns or the fear of losing control. Your wariness is normal; we would be too, if we’re stepping into something new.

Despite these valid reasons, some serious red flags are waving at you right now, signaling that it’s time to ask a VA for help.

  • Daily Tasks is Consuming Most of Your Time

    When the administrative chores are eating up around 50% of your workload and you don’t have the time to do the “actual work” that makes money, you know you need a virtual assistant.

  • You’re Burning Out!

    If you’re already having office nightmares even when you’re wide awake, you should hire a virtual assistant.

    While it’s okay to work hard, not to the extent that you’re losing sleep and getting overwhelmed. Be the boss, take time for yourself, and set your own hours.

  • Turned Down Opportunities

    When your dream client rings you up and wants to know about your service offering, but you end up turning it down because you don’t have a space in your tight schedule to accommodate—that’s when you need a VA.

  • Lacks the Skills to Complete Specific Tasks

    No one can do everything, not even you, the most versatile and highly motivated business owner. There are certain business specifics that you may not know.

    The good news is that you don’t have to be an expert when you can work with virtual assistants who are knowledgeable on web development, social media and whatnot and learn from them.

Mistakes You Should Avoid When Working with a VA

Yay! You’re finally convinced of the superpowers of a virtual assistant.

But before you start working with them, here are a few notes to ponder, or should we say, mistakes to avoid when you’re collaborating with a VA for the first time.

  • Not Focusing on the Responsibilities

    Yes, you’re delegating work, but instead of focusing on redirecting the tasks, concentrate on the responsibility first.

    Think of the ways you can help empower their work. Communicate with your VA and talk about where their output should be aimed or how you should be updated.

    Go beyond what you need from them on this particular day and tackle their set of responsibilities.

  • Getting Discouraged Easily

    We know it can get frustrating when your VA doesn’t meet your expectations. However, you should not get discouraged if they don’t get it right the first time.

    What you should be doing instead of giving up is improving the instructions every time they make a mistake. Stop focusing on how your VA should do it; concentrate on the result and whether it meets your needs.

  • Failing to Create a Motivating Work Environment

    Your virtual assistant wants to win clients the same way you do. Therefore, it will kill their motivation if all you do is criticize their efforts.

    When you’re giving feedback, don’t just point out the mistakes and be outright dissatisfied with your VAs work. Try to include positive notes for motivation; start it positively and end it the same way.

How to Manage Your Virtual Assistant

You have your worries about a virtual assistant because they seem so alien compared to someone who goes to a regular office.

How should you communicate with them? How to measure their productivity?

You’re not being dramatic; these questions are valid. But there’s no need to worry; working with a virtual assistant is not as hard as you think it is.

Here are some tips on working with remote talents.

  • Constant Communication

    In the world of remote work, effective communication is pivotal. So, make sure that your VA has the right collaboration tools.

  • Align Expectations with Your VA

    Let’s be clear: your virtual assistant can’t read your mind. Therefore, you need to communicate what your expectations are to them.

  • Forge a Connection

    Though it’s hard to think of your virtual assistants as real people since they don’t go to an office, please do.

    Forge an authentic connection with them so you can work more effectively. Have a one-on-one meeting with your VA and get to know the person behind the computer and ask them about their job experience so far.

  • Show Appreciation

    Simple: for every job well done by your virtual assistant, a reward is due.

    If you want a good deed to be repeated and followed by many, you should learn to recognize and appreciate it.

Final Thoughts

Isn’t it obvious? Integrating a virtual assistant into your daily work life is a game-changing move for 2024.

It’s a smart investment based on cost-effectiveness, personal welfare, efficiency, productivity and versatility, perfect to make a new beginning for the new year.

Don't shoehorn a mountain of daily to-dos into a restricted schedule and miss out on important things—do it smart with a virtual assistant.

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