3 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant for Your Small Business

There comes a time in a small business owner’s life when they are faced with closing their doors, keeping everything as is, or scaling to grow the business. While not always the case, I have found the last of the three options to be the most common (which is, you know, a good thing!).

For small business owners who fall into that category, scaling the business can be an exciting time, but also extremely stressful and overwhelming. How does one even go about scaling a business?

While there are a plethora of options, including hiring employees or increasing your own workload, there’s one solution that is increasing in popularity: hiring a virtual assistant (VA).

There are many reasons why you should hire a virtual assistant for your small business, and today, I’d like to discuss a handful of them.

Let’s dive in.

1. Save Money

Budget is often top of mind for small business owners, which is why hiring a VA can be so attractive. Hiring VAs can be far less expensive in the long run than hiring employees because:

• The going rate is often less expensive than paying an employee’s salary.
• You don’t have to pay for office space and everything that comes along with it (such as tools and technology), as VAs are independent contractors who work remotely.
• You don’t need to pay for benefits including insurance and overtime pay.
• Time is money. If you have a set list of tasks for your VA to get done, document these processes to help save you time on training so that you can focus on other things.
• You only pay for what you need and don’t waste time with under-utilized employees.

Bottom line: If you can’t afford someone full-time (or simply don’t want to hire an employee), but your to-do list is growing at an unimaginable rate, then a VA could be the best choice for you.

2. Save Time

For small business owners, free time is seemingly non-existent. There is always something related to the business that requires attention, but the thing is, many of those tasks can easily be delegated to a VA. It can be hard to delegate at first, but by doing so you are able to:

• Reduce your workload.
• Stop worrying about the small tasks and start focusing on the business’s core objectives.

The time saved can still be spent on your business (if that’s how you choose to spend it), but it can be spent on more important things that actually require your attention—and that you actually like to do.

Make a list of the things you have to do and a list of things you don’t want to do/don’t need to do. Anything that falls in that second column should be handed off to a VA. By outsourcing, you are able to release the burden of completing your endless list of tasks.

Letting go of some of your stress doesn’t sound too shabby, does it?

3. Expand Your Collective Expertise

As a small business owner, odds are you have some pretty amazing skills up your sleeve. However, no matter how much you don’t want to admit it, I guarantee you’re not that master of all skill sets for your business (bookkeeping anyone?).

By hiring a virtual assistant you are able to expand the expertise in your business as many VAs often come with their own skill set, whether it be marketing, accounting, or something else entirely. Plus, it’s not uncommon for VAs to work for other businesses while working for yours as well, and things they learn from other organizations can help your business in the long run.

In addition to expanding your company’s knowledge base by hiring a VA who has expertise in an area you don’t, you also have an unlimited talent pool to choose from. Being virtual, this person can be anywhere, meaning you aren’t limited to the talent in your immediate area. Searching for a virtual worker means you can truly hire the best of the best to meet your needs.

Getting the Most Out of a VA Relationship

To make sure your VA does the best work for you, you must set them up for success:

• Create processes and “how to” documents or videos to help train a VA quickly and efficiently. You may put in extra time at the beginning, but this will save you a lot of energy in the long run and make your relationship with your VA more successful.
• Bring a VA on board before it becomes a necessity to do so. If you wait to hire them once things get chaotic, you won’t have the proper time to train them, and odds are you’re in a stressed out situation (which is never a great way to kick off any relationship). Bringing an assistant in early will help mitigate some of the stress once the business really starts to ramp up.

These examples only represent the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the numerous benefits a small business owner can receive by hiring a VA.

If you’re looking to hire a VA for your small business, what questions do you have? We’re happy to help answer them for you!