Hiring a Virtual Assistant – Why Business Is More Virtual Than You Think

Some business owners balk at the idea of hiring a Virtual Assistant. They seem to think that if they can't physically see and interact with a business assistant that they don't have any control. Yet - isn't it the case that a large proportion of professional relationships in any niche these days can be considered to be "virtual?"

It's a cliche, for sure, but the world is a small place now. It's perfectly possible to expand a business by trading with offshore partners around the globe and almost certainly, these relationships are fostered and conducted via email and phone calls. The amount of time that a business owner spends in personal, one-on-one interaction with a client is usually very small indeed, even if they are physically located in the same suburb or city.

Also, consider relationships with other professional service providers. You will usually conduct conversations with accountants on the phone or through email, with an attorney or a tax adviser the same way. Why is it necessary therefore to insist on the physical presence of a person, when it comes to a whole variety of administrative tasks?

It may certainly be true to say that clients expect, or rather anticipate, that you have an office with full or part-time staff. There's nothing wrong with leaving them to assume this. In many respects, it perhaps portrays a picture of a larger business organisation and one which is more established.

In truth, so long as the same level of service is being provided it doesn't matter whether the service provision is remote or in-house.

A Virtual Assistant can be an attentive and highly responsive personal assistant, who deals with all of the same tasks and responsibilities as efficiently and promptly as somebody who may be sitting at a desk in an adjacent office. The key is to cultivate a relationship with a Virtual Assistant and keep them up-to-date with all your tasks and requirements, so they can respond accordingly. As most Virtual Assistants tailor their working hours, they are only a phone call or quick email away. Furthermore, they can often get to work on a particular task or set of tasks in a neutral environment. This can be advantageous as compared to a personal assistant who is physically present in the same environment as you may be, complete with all the distractions that may be causing you to be less efficient than you should be.

A Virtual Assistant can be a trusted business partner. They can be far more than just an employee. Because they are by necessity also entrepreneurial in nature, they usually understand the mindset needed. A fully developed relationship with a Virtual Assistant can be far more than an employer/employee relationship. It can be a situation where the Virtual Assistant provides advice and recommendations based on their own business journey as well.

Consider just how virtual your business really is. Consider the advantages of downsizing an unnecessarily large 'live' business staff and enjoy the agility provided by the Virtual Assistant industry.

If you'd like to further understand the benefits of Virtual Assistants for business, contact us on 02 4647 2710 or email Natalie: [email protected].