The Best Investment You Can Make
Being a Virtual Assistant, I’ve heard a range of reasons why business people put off utilizing a Virtual Assistant. I’ll briefly address some of them here:
- I don’t know what tasks to give to a Virtual Assistant. Think of four or five things that you can do well and are valuable to your business. What’s NOT on that list, you can surely delegate. Do what you do best, and delegate the rest.
- I don’t know how many hours the work will take. You really don’t know how many hours certain tasks are going to take, but you can estimate how long. Once your Virtual Assistant gets in the groove of your particular business, he/she will probably be more efficient than you at those tasks anyway.
- How can this be done virtually? Most business owners are used to dealing face-to-face with the people they work with, but in this technologically advanced era, more and more people we interact with are through virtual means – phone, Skype, email, webinars, etc. Many new doors can be opened when you eliminate the requirement of physical closeness.
- My Virtual Assistant can’t be involved in the day-to-day business. You just have to be intentional about involving your virtual team. I schedule weekly update calls with my clients to make sure we are on the same page. Try using Skype as a way to get face-to-face contact. You can also invite your Virtual Assistant to corporate retreats and other gatherings.
- Will this improve my bottom line? Sure, it’s money spent on overhead. But you have to think of it like this:
- How is being pulled in many directions effecting your productivity and focus?
- What could you be doing with your time instead of administrative tasks?
- Utilizing a Virtual Assistant eliminates employee-related expenses.
Working with a Virtual Assistant is less expensive and less uncertain than hiring a full-time employee. Granted, I am a Virtual Assistant so it may seem like I’m tooting my own horn, but I cannot stress enough to get to the next level, you must delegate your work. You can only do so much. This is one of the best investments you can make.
Best Wishes,
Christine Swanson, Virtual Assistant