Help! I can't afford to hire a Virtual Assistant!

Did you know? The average price of a UK-based virtual assistant is ￡27 an hour. I personally charge ￡30 an hour.?

"What if I can’t currently afford this?" I hear you say.

Well, first of all, please don’t ask us to discount our rates. We’re just trying to make a living like you are and have to make our business viable.

Paying for a VA should be an investment in growing?your business and buying back your time. If you are earning well over ￡27 an hour yourself, this means that you’re probably losing money by doing your own admin instead of outsourcing it! In that case, can you really afford?not?to outsource?

However, I totally understand that some people genuinely don’t have the money for whatever reasons. So here are some things I’d suggest trying instead…

Doing it yourself

• Automate processes in your business. This is a good first step anyway as it speeds up your operations, reduces mistakes and can be cheaper than hiring someone to do the same thing manually.
• Improve your time management.?Block time slots into your diary to do your admin work every day, week or whenever suits you to keep on top of it and not let it leak too much into your billable work or free time.

Outsourcing for cheaper

When considering any of the below, please be aware of things like insurance, data protection, cultural and language barriers, and how skilled a professional you need for the job you’re looking?for. Please do you due diligence in whoever you use.

• Find a VA who is willing to do a skill swap with you.?It would have to be someone who would like the service that you’re offering, and likewise they would need to be able to do the tasks that you are outsourcing to them. But if you can find a good fit, it can be a?great mutually beneficial deal.?
• Find a student, graduate or young person who needs work experience.?You can pay them less than an experienced VA, whilst helping them to gain valuable experience in their career. Please consider that you might need to spend time training them up.
• If you’re a charity, you could recruit an admin volunteer.?There are experienced people out there who are willing to give back, as well as people entering or changing careers who need experience. Just bear in mind that volunteer support may not be as reliable as paid support, especially as these people probably still need to make a living from somewhere.
• Use a freelancer marketplace website?where you can find freelancers from all over the world at all sorts of prices.

Finding more cash for a virtual assistant

• Many small businesses, social enterprises and charities are eligible for funding?from their local governments, councils or other organisations. This might be in the form of grants, loans or investments, which often come with restrictions over who can use them and how they’re spent.
• Start crowdfunding.?There are loads of websites where you can put your business or charity out there and ask for people to donate cash to help it along.
• Make more money in your business.?Could you do things like increase your prices, do more marketing, create some passive income, or find more clients? Once you’re busier, you’ll probably struggle to find time to do all your admin, and you’ll then hopefully have the money to outsource it.

None of these suggestions are necessarily a long term replacement for using a professional VA, but they may at least help you until you are in a place where you need to hire one. Once you’re at that point – DM me to talk?about my virtual assistant services!

This article first appeared on the Toks Rocks Virtual Assistant blog at https://www.tavaservices.co.uk/cant-afford-a-virtual-assistant/.