As a business owner, you have many tasks and responsibilities and never enough time. Your daily workload can often be staggering, and it grows as your business grows. You may need support to avoid overloading your schedule, so you can focus on taking your business to greater heights.
A virtual assistant can take some of these burdens off your shoulders. VAs can help in certain areas or perform a wide variety of tasks. Over 80 percent of corporations plan to use freelance workers, including VAs.
Here are some ways virtual assistants help businesses of all sizes and how they can help you:
They Save You Time
Many of the things you do each day aren’t core to your business. Invoicing, data entry, and replying to customer inquiries are time-consuming and don’t always require attention from you or your senior staff. When you hire a virtual assistant, you’re assured these tasks will be completed correctly and on time while you handle other responsibilities. Unlike AI chatbots, VAs provide a human touch to your customer interactions.
They Let You Do What You Do Best
You probably started a business because you have a specialty and a passion. Maybe you develop software, or you build furniture. But you may not be an expert at bookkeeping or marketing. Instead of having to master each of these roles, you can rely on a specialized VA to perform them. That way, you can focus on your passions.
They Save You Money
VAs reduce operating costs by making your business more efficient. Inefficiencies cost businesses 20 to 30 percent of their revenue annually. VAs offer significant advantages over staff employees. They come to you fully trained, so there’s no expensive recruiting and onboarding process. They’re remote, so there’s no computer, desk, health insurance, or other overhead. A full-time employee may only be productive for three hours in an eight-hour day. In contrast, with VAs, you only pay for the hours they spend working.
Many think VAs only handle administrative duties like typing and answering phone calls. In fact, over half of VAs have college or advanced degrees. They can manage your marketing campaigns, analyze customer data, and provide IT services. Most business owners know they need a strong Internet presence and active social media accounts, but many aren’t skilled and don’t have the time to work in these areas. VAs can help with these as well.
How does a typical VA workday look? Although every VA is different, here is an example day in a VA’s life:
6:30-8 a.m.: Breakfast and review online news for business trends
8-10 a.m.: Virtual meetings and manage email
10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Client work
12-1 p.m.: Lunch and review online news
1-4 p.m.: Client work and marketing
4-5 p.m.: Manage personal and business email
5-5:30 p.m.: Plan tomorrow’s tasks
Over 87 percent of VAs indicate they are happy and proud of their profession. Businesses save up to 78 percent in costs by using VAs. Consider how a virtual assistant could help you.
