You’re bound to wear too many hats when running a company. One moment, you're scheduling appointments, and then the next, writing content. You’re managing the constant pandemonium now, but eventually it will become too much for one person.
How should you navigate this endless workload? Hire a virtual assistant and take care of your most gruesome tasks for the day for much less. But first, identify which tasks in your workflow should be outsourced to get the most impact.
This blog post explores the recurring tasks small businesses must outsource to VAs right away and why outsourcing is the ultimate way to accelerate growth.
Why Team Up with an Offshore Virtual Assistant?
There are two strong reasons why you should consider a virtual assistant as an extension to your team.
One, remote professionals are extremely cheap to hire. You can use their services for half the cost of a full-time employee. VAs from the Philippines and India are especially skilled and economical, helping you achieve your goals efficiently.
Second, virtual assistants give you the time you need to prosper in both aspects of your life, professionally and personally. They take the pressure off your low-value chores and empower you to do the things you’re truly great at.
If these are not good enough justifications to open your mind and work with them, we don’t know what will be.
How to Choose Which Tasks to Delegate
Evaluate Your Most Time-Intensive Tasks
You actually spend 20% of your workday completing tasks that could be easily outsourced to someone else. This is tragic, as you could have used those resources to focus on strategic initiatives.
So, when weighing which tasks to pass down to your VA, pinpoint which duties consume hours of your life and ditch them.
Assess Your Skills
Which of your business processes require expertise? We’re pretty certain there are tasks in your operation that necessitate specialised knowledge that a virtual assistant can deliver.
From content writing to video editing, these activities that are beyond your capacity can be efficiently outsourced for stronger results.
Determine Task Frequency
Think of the recurring tasks small businesses must outsource to a virtual professional. By nature, activities like email management have a higher frequency and should be outsourced to avoid wasting your time on non-revenue-generating tasks.
Consider Cost-Effectiveness
Is it cost-effective to handle these tasks inside the company? Or is it more advantageous for your business to outsource them? Thoroughly examine the financial implications and make it make sense why you’re bringing in a third-party provider to complete a certain process…or not.
Spot Tasks that Demand Flexibility
Which of your tasks requires a flexible approach? Find them, as they are typically the prime candidates for outsourcing.
Flexible outsourcing shines when you’re faced with different work demands. It’s a lot easier to meet your fluctuating needs with a virtual assistant who can scale with you without long-term commitments.
Recurring Tasks Small Businesses Must Outsource
Looking for tasks to transfer to your remote assistant? Start with these recurring tasks small businesses must outsource:
Administrative Tasks
These are basic tasks necessary for your smooth business operation. They’re repetitive chores that require concrete instructions more than brainpower.
- Email and calendar management: Manage your jam-packed calendar, sort emails and schedule appointments.
- Data entry: Maintain and update customer information.
- Document preparation: Write drafts, format and edit documents, fact-check information and create presentations.
- Travel planning: Arrange travel itineraries, book flights and hotels, prepare travel documents and provide emergency support
You can start sharing this workload with your offshore VA and see how they can transform your daily processes right away.
Financial tasks
Taking care of your financial health is paramount to the success of your business. However, hiring a full-time bookkeeper may not be ideal for small business owners like yourself.
Hire a virtual assistant and let them deal with the following tasks:
- Bookkeeping: Record financial transactions, manage accounts payable/receivable and perform bank reconciliations.
- Invoicing and credit control: Manage credits and send invoices
- Expense logging: Monitor expenses and match receipts to transactions.
Be sure to collaborate with a remote professional who is an expert in bookkeeping.
Marketing and Sales
While you can work on your marketing by yourself, we advise against it. Team up with a virtual assistant for marketing and sales and promote your brand uniquely and economically.
They can brainstorm ideas and carry out campaigns that drive engagement and spread brand awareness.
Here are some crucial tasks to delegate:
- Social media management: Schedule posts, interact with your audience, and ensure all your social media accounts are consistent and updated.
- Content creation: Search for content ideas and create various forms of content tailored for different platforms.
- Lead generation: Find potential customers and follow up on those leads
- Customer service: Manage reviews, address customer enquiries, and handle live chats.
Other Essential Tasks to Outsource
- Research: Gather valuable insights on the market, competition and trends and interpret data into actionable business strategies.
- Project management: Facilitate communication, prepare a budget, document processes and monitor deadlines.
- Technical help: Troubleshoot technical issues, update software systems and ensure the efficient use of technology.
- Recruiting: Source and attract prospects, screen and shortlist candidates and conduct interviews.
When Should You Start Delegating to a Virtual Assistant?
Should you outsource virtual assistant services right now?
You should if you experience the following:
- You are feeling burned out with the escalating workload. Remote professionals shoulder your daily burdens, allowing you to maintain work-life balance and pursue personal adventures.
- You are juggling time-consuming activities and want to boost productivity. VAs are expert jugglers who can manage all kinds of tasks you throw at them.
- You are experiencing rapid business growth and having a hard time maintaining quality. A virtual assistant can deliver efficient service to get things done in less time while maintaining high-quality standards.
- You have a project that requires skilled expertise that you don’t have. Outsourcing allows you to tap into specialised skills around the world. You can enjoy seamless operations scaling on your own terms.
- You are looking for a cost-effective staffing solution to accommodate the demand of your business. A remote assistant saves you up to 78% in operational costs every year, as they remove the overhead from the books.
Smart Tips for Strategic Delegation
When you outsource, you’re not just trimming down your bulging operational expenses. You gain the freedom to focus on high-impact missions and scale.
Then again, to make the most of your virtual assistant hire, you must approach this partnership strategically.
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Document Processes. You can leverage tools like Google Docs to create a standard operating procedure for repetitive tasks. This way, you can ensure consistent operation, avoid costly mistakes and enhance operational efficiency.
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Start Small. Begin by assigning less impactful tasks to your assistant, such as data entry. Once they meet expectations, you can scale up and delegate bigger responsibilities. This will prevent feelings of being overwhelmed and build up their confidence as they play more complex roles.
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Set Clear Expectations Early. Right off the bat, establish your communication channel, deadlines and performance metrics. In doing so, everyone knows what to expect, ensuring all efforts are directed toward achieving a shared goal.
You can schedule regular check-ins to track progress, address issues and foster trust.
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Leverage Collaboration Tools. Utilise modern tools to enable faster and easier collaboration, even with physical distance. From Slack to Zoom, you can use these tools to delegate seamlessly and communicate effectively.
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Find Your Match. This is not just about searching for the most affordable virtual assistant. More than the price, it’s about hiring the talent with the experience, skills and personality to help grow your business.
Read more: What is the Legal Process of Outsourcing?
Where to Look for Your Virtual Assistant
You’ll never run out of places to search for your remote talent. However, with endless options, the recruitment process becomes effortful and stressful. Most of the time, it often leaves us unsatisfied with our choices.
Therefore, for your first VA hire, we recommend looking for them in freelance marketplaces or partnering with a virtual assistant company.
Freelance Marketplaces
In here, you’ll find so many affordable virtual assistants who excel in different business fields. While platforms like Upwork and OnlineJobs.ph allow you to compare rates and gain access to specialised skills, you must do the legwork.
This will require investments of time and energy that you might not have, as you’re running your business.
Virtual Assistant Company
VAV is a virtual assistant company that provides skilled and experienced virtual assistants. We handle everything to ensure you receive the support your business needs without the headaches.
While the prices are a bit steeper with agencies, they come with ongoing training and support to deliver optimal performance and measurable results.
Wrapping Up!
Should you or should you not delegate? That is not the question. The real issue here is what tasks to outsource first.
Small business owners who want to build a global remote team should recruit virtual assistants. Identify the tasks that consume your time and hand them over to a remote professional.
Whether you’re swamped with administrative work or content creation, there is a VA ready to alleviate your massive load and ensure operations run perfectly.
Leverage your virtual assistant outsourcing solution today and ensure sustainable business growth.