How Do You Know When You're Ready for a Virtual Assistant?

When you’re running a business, the number of tasks that pile up on your plate can become overwhelming quickly. Do you ever run out of hours in the day to complete vital tasks to keep your business running??You may have already heard about the benefits of using a virtual assistant, but still be wondering if now is the right time to bring someone on board to help with daily admin tasks, or if you can manage on your own just that little bit longer.

How long can you carry on this way and what is the impact on not only your business, but your health?

We’ve pulled together a list of all the things to look out for that may suggest it’s time to outsource your admin and bring a virtual assistant into your team to help organise, manage and streamline your work.

Things to think about first

If you think you might be in the market for a VA, it’s worth taking a step back first and understanding what tasks you need to hand over. What is taking up too much of your time? How is this affecting your business? And what about your own health? Take the time to define the requirements for your potential VA first, ensuring you’re in a good position to provide a full brief and get the most out of your relationship together.

If there are things that you need help with that you’re not sure a VA can help you with, jot them down and ask the question - we can often complete a whole range of tasks that you’d not even thought of!?

Questions to consider

1. Do you feel stressed with the tasks that you’re faced with each day?

When more and more things keep piling up, it can make it a struggle to get through everything, meaning various jobs fall to the wayside and never get done, or aren't completed with as much focus as they need.

Do you feel overwhelmed with the volume of work required to run your business?

A VA could be the perfect answer to taking some of the important but more routine tasks off your hands and giving you more time and space to work on other areas of the business that need your attention.

2. Are a lot of these tasks admin based rather than focusing on business-critical decisions?

This could be things like writing social media posts, responding to emails, arranging meetings etc. If your time is being taken up with jobs like this, it could definitely be the right time to move these over to someone else.

Having said this, it’s worth noting that any VA who comes on board will need to be given sufficient background and information to complete their role, so there will still need to be a level of involvement from you in getting them up to scratch, especially in the initial stages.

3. Is your business in the right position?

One thing we’ve found is that businesses try to bring in a VA too early, before they’re properly established or have a clear idea of what kind of help they’ll need. It’s really important that you’re able to properly define a VA’s tasks and responsibilities so that they can assist you in the best way possible, so make sure that your business is in the right position to outline this before bringing anyone else on board.

Maybe you have a vision to grow your business, but you are unable to dedicate the time to do this? How long can you carry on working in a state of feeling overwhelmed and what is the impact on not only your business, but your health?

How to find the right VA for the job

In the world of VAs, almost every single one will have a different area of expertise. Whether they’ve got specific experience within your industry, or just have a very focused skill set in the areas you need help with, it’s really important that you do your research and find the right match for your business needs.

If you’re not sure where to start, our team is always more than happy to help and set you up with the right person for the job. No matter how big or small the task, contact us at [email protected] so we can get started.