Are You Truly Ready to Hire a Virtual Assistant?

Are you considering hiring a virtual assistant? It's definitely something to think about if you're feeling overwhelmed or like you can't keep up with everything on your plate. But before making any decisions, there are a few things you should ask yourself to make sure you're really ready for the commitment.?

Do This First Before Hiring Your First Virtual Assistant

Hiring an assistant is a tough one for many people. When you delegate tasks, it means that you're trusting someone else with part of your business. Are you ready to do that?

As a recovering control freak, I know how hard it is to let go of a part of your business process and let someone else do it.

Sometimes there might be a mismatch between what you think your business needs and what you want.

So, do you genuinely want to hire a virtual assistant? Before publishing a job post or working with an agency, do some inner work first. If it's not resolved, you're going to encounter blockers that will only make the process harder.

Once you've done the mindset work, you're ready for the next steps!

Determine What Kind of Tasks You Need to Delegate

The first step is to understand what kind of tasks you need to delegate. Most of the time, when you're ready to hire a virtual assistant, you're in the process of growing your business. Or your business is growing at a faster rate, and you can't keep up.

Some of the things you might need to assign are:

• Managing emails from potential clients
• Sorting out files on the Google Drive
• Replying to comments on social media

Make sure to write everything down. Seeing it on paper gives you a clear overview of what needs to be delegated. Or perhaps there are tasks that you can automate using an app.

Here's an example of the tasks I assigned to my assistant. I knew that I needed help maintaining my portfolio. I listed all of them down on a Notion board:

Automate vs. Delegate

Speaking of automation, sometimes there are tasks that you can automate instead of delegating. In the previous step, you've listed all the tasks you want your virtual assistant to take care of. Is there any task on the list that a tool can do?

For example, I recently hired a virtual assistant, but I didn't include emails as part of his task yet. Why? Because I can automate most of the emails. As part of my hiring process, I ask business owners to fill out a VA Requirement form. I set up a Google Form add-on system where an email is automatically sent when someone submits the form.

While there are emails that I have to send manually, I try to automate as many emails as possible. Now, if you're sure that you can't automate a task, it's time to think about the process around it.

Do You Already Have a Process for Those Tasks?

You might think that because you've been doing something for so long, it's easy enough for someone else to do it. But the thing is, a virtual assistant needs a process or at least a guide that lets them know the first few steps.

When I help entrepreneurs understand if they're ready to hire, I ask one of the first few questions: Do you already have a task management system?

A tool where you and your assistant can see all the tasks and their status is critical for smooth collaboration and communication. It can be Asana, Monday, or Notion. Whatever it is, it needs to have processes set up so that your assistant can easily follow them.

I have a system on Notion where I list the process on my end. Going back to my hiring process example, I have a process after people submit the form. I have two ways of documenting them:

• Mind Meister - This is where I set up workflows and mind maps to visualize the process easily.
• Notion - This is where I include all the step-by-step processes with links, screenshots, and instructions to the VA.

Once you have all of your processes written down, it would be easy to hire and onboard an assistant.

Make Sure to Have All Your Strategy in Place

Virtual assistants can help you get the job done. But remember that you're the main superhero in this story. Think of yourself as Captain America leading The Avengers. You need to have the strategy, so the rest of the heroes can focus on what they do best.

Sometimes I see founders hire virtual assistants to help them with social media. And they might rely on their virtual assistants to make decisions for them, such as planning the content calendar and growing the followers. Of course, you'll find assistants that are also good strategists. But most times, their expertise is in execution. And to execute, you must have the overall strategy.

For example, if you're hiring a virtual assistant to help you with social media, you should have:

• A strategy on which social media platform to focus on
• A specific goal you need to reach, such as increasing the number of followers
• A way to measure your growth and progress

A strategy also sets your virtual assistant up for success. If they know what you're trying to achieve and have a plan to follow, they can execute flawlessly. But if you're hiring someone without any guidance, then it's likely that you won't get the results you want.

So before you hire a virtual assistant, make sure you have a clear strategy in place.

Ready to Hire Your First Assistant?

Hiring a virtual assistant is an exciting milestone in your business. To succeed, you need to be ready with your mindset and strategy. You'll know when you're ready to hire if you:

• are ready to trust someone else
• have all the tasks listed
• have a task management tool and system
• have an overall strategy

I've created a free ultimate checklist that you can download here: https://bit.ly/irenevachecklist