There comes a time in every business when you need to acknowledge that you can’t do it all yourself and you need help. Whether you’re running your own business, leading a team or heading up a larger company. 

For the business owner working, with a Virtual Assistant (VA) can be a great way to get that help either as a first step to employing someone or even as a permanent solution. You may just need a few hours a week or several days a month.

Many of the people I work with come to this conclusion and I went through this too. The tricky part is to know when to do it, can you afford it and how to find the right person for you and your business.

There are so many VAs out there offering a range of skills and services. From day to day office and business admin through to personal tasks.

• Call handling
• Invoicing and accounting
• Email and calendar management
• Organising and scheduling meetings
• Marketing and sales
• Report writing, transcription
• Research and analysis
• Social media posts
• Website design and update
• IT and tech solutions
• Travel arrangements.

How do you find the right one to meet your needs, do what you want and fits with your business?

First – decide what you want them to do

This is where it helps to have a good understanding of your business processes, the systems you use and procedures in place (or not).

Which are the tasks you want to hand over to your new VA? These will often be tasks that aren’t core to your business (the tasks that only you can do) but that take time and energy.

Which are the tasks you tend to leave, put-off, forget? Accounts, social media, invoicing, website updates, tech stuff …

Which tasks would you do IF you had time? Newsletters, blog posts, design, process improvement, system updates, automation, research …

Which tasks could you let go, so you have more time to spend on your core business, clients, customers, products? Tasks such as – scheduling, email management, follow-ups, report/notes writing …

What timezone do you need them to be in?

• A local or national VA:
  • In the same or neighbouring timezone makes communication easier within office hours.
  • May be useful if you need to meet face to face for any reason.
• If your VA is in a different timezone:
  • Benefit from extended hours when you’re not in the office.
  • Provide an ‘office presence’ beyond your normal working hours.
  • Hand over tasks at the end of the day and they can be ready for you the following day.
• Multiple VAs in different timezones can provide 24/7 support.

Write up a list of tasks and skillsets to match them to potential candidates. Contact a few and interview them before picking one to work with. Do they have the right skills? Are they a good fit for your business and any other employees? Personality can be important.

Do you need them to be proactive and innovate. They may well have skills, knowledge and experience they can bring to your business.

Second – set expectations

When you first start working with a VA or bring anyone else into your ‘team’ – virtual or otherwise, you need to set the right expectations otherwise you’re likely to end up frustrated when things don’t go as you hoped.

Be clear about what it is you want them to do and when you need it. If you have your business procedures documented and in place you can hand those over to make life easier. This might be something you ask them to work on as their first task.

Be specific. Don’t expect them to read your mind or second guess what you want.

Be patient. It will take a little time for them to get to know you and your business and how you work. Unless they’re exceptional and familiar with your type of business they’re unlikely to hit the ground running from Day 1.

Are they working as expected? Don’t leave it too long if things aren’t going as you want. Address any issues and adjust in a timely manner.

Third – set up a communication and reporting structure

When, where and how often? If they’re remote – over the phone, Skype, Zoom or similar. Are you going to speak weekly, monthly or somewhere in between. Maybe more often when they’re starting out and you’re setting up.

Will you communicate via a weekly email or use tools like Trello, Asana, Slack to keep in touch, pass tasks and get status updates. Include them in something you already use or perhaps they’ll give you access to the tool they already use.

How will you share documents, reports etc. to make your life easier – Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud …

A good VA will be responsive, proactive and make suggestions to improve the way you and your business work, especially if they have experience and knowledge about your business or industry.

You can take on a VA to complete a one-off task or project. For instance to research, test and implement a new system, create/update a database, help clear a backlog, document your business procedures.

Most will work on a retainer, where you pay for a fixed number of hours each month to complete the tasks you’ve allocated to them. Anywhere from 10-20+ depending on what you need them to do.

Ask for references or recommendations and check them out. Have a trial run for a month or a particular piece of work, to see if they’re a good fit.

How do you find a VA? 

With so many to choose from, how do you find the right one?

I’ve come across many VAs on social media. I met my first VA through my local network. Ask your contacts or local networking contacts. Who would they recommend, who do they use?

I met my current VA via Twitter. I think I read something they posted, it resonated so I got in touch and here we are 3 years later still working together. She hasn’t fired me yet!

I’ve connected with VAs on Twitter and add them to my VA list so I can either refer or potentially use them in the future. There are VA directories listing VA/Business services both nationally and internationally – Google them. I’ve used www.BeMyVA.com to list a few prospective VAs for a client.

You can also find VAs on platforms like Fiver and Upwork. Connect with your network on Facebook and LinkedIn, they may also have suggestions and recommendations.

Some VA businesses will have a team of VAs they can allocate to you as needed. A bonus being that the one business will have a range of skillsets under one umbrella. They can also provide cover if ‘your’ VA is out of the office.

Google VAs in your area to find local services near to you. I did this recently for a client and the first VA I connected them with has been a real benefit.

Benefits of using a VA

Documenting your systems and processes can be a useful exercise to help you identify areas where you can automate or improve the process, before or as a result of hiring a VA.

You may not get everything you need in one person so be prepared to take on one or two if your business justifies it and as your business grows.

I have a client who, although essentially a one person, independent business, now has a virtual team of several people to fulfil all the different requirements of the business.

Another client started by taking on one person to do the admin, back office tasks then took on another person to do research and report writing and now has a small team working with them.

If it isn’t working out say so. You might just need to clarify what you want to change the way you communicate to get things back on track. If that doesn’t work you may need to part ways and find someone else.

Be patient and persistent. It can take time but it’s worth the effort to add a valuable VA resource to your team.

See also: Do I need a VA?