Want to Grow Your Business? Hire a Remote Personal Assistant

Remote assistant for research gets you the data you need to gain the best vision of your business landscape. Learn how to turn your VA into an asset.

Phone ring sound effect, coming right up—riiing!

When you’re running a company, the line between your personal and professional life is non-existent. Like right now, it’s the weekend, but your inbox is in cacophony next to your bed, dragging you out of a dream—just when you’re about to crack the code of your digital product…ugh.

The reality is that this is going to keep happening unless you do something about it. No, you don’t need to hire a personal assistant who’s going to follow you around—and might cost you an arm and a leg.

Nah, what you need is to take advantage of technology and outsource a remote personal assistant to do the little things.

Many executives are turning to these virtual professionals for help, and here’s a blog post to convince you why you should too.

What Is the Role of a Remote Personal Assistant?

Having a remote personal assistant is like having a “mini-you.” They represent you, managing your work and personal life on your behalf.

Their role covers the same tasks as a traditional office assistant, such as arranging your travels, preparing documents, filing reports and even grocery shopping. They will help you get your time back so you have more hours for what’s important in your life.

What Does a Remote Office Assistant Do?

Researching information is no joke. It takes skills to access and identify relevant data that opens up new knowledge for your business.

Here are some of the important tasks that you can offload to them:

  • Schedule Meetings and Appointments

    You're spending 15% of your workweek time just to arrange the activities around your meetings. And the biggest time waster in this process is finding a slot that works for everyone.

    So, instead of giving your brain an unwanted exercise, hire a remote personal assistant to access your calendar, book your meetings and remind you when plans change.

  • Manage Inbox

    Are you willing to spend (or waste) about three hours managing emails? Because that’s the average amount of time you need to control your inbox.

    If you’re smart enough to say NO, you can rely on a remote personal assistant to bring the order back to your inbox. They will help you locate important messages that were buried deep by online shopping offers and other junk email attacks.

    In no time, you will finally get to email management’s holy grail—inbox zero!

  • Plan Your Travels

    On pre-travel planning, an average person spends 20-30 hours. It will take longer than that, though, if you don’t have travel planning skills. Yes, it is a skill to stitch together an affordable, enjoyable and successful trip.

    So, we suggest, roping in a remote assistant to put together options for flights, accommodations, attractions and everything in between. Give them your preferences and they can create a travel itinerary that matches your expectations.

  • Manage Your Finances

    It’s easy to overlook your finances when your attention is divided into 15 different tasks. Remember, the management of your financial health is a priority.

    So, if you need eyes on your finances, hire a remote personal assistant. They can track your expenses, pay the bills and monitor your balances. No more overdue fees! Your assistant will ensure you will never, ever fall behind.

  • Manage Events

    Event planning is an onslaught of ticking deadlines that you have to meet. It’s a rat’s nest of details that are sometimes out of control.

    Your remote personal assistant can be your “event manager” for whatever events you want to throw in the future—birthday, corporate meeting and even a fondue party. They have real planning skills that can organize any type of chaos that comes from event planning.

  • Run Personal Errand

    Don’t get so busy that you completely forget your life.

    Invest in your work-life balance with a remote personal assistant. They can help you schedule your priorities and manage your errands outside the office. From throwing a party to sending gifts for Christmas, you don’t have to miss out on personal adventures to be successful.

Who Needs a Remote Personal Assistant?

Regardless of your company’s size, virtual assistant services are truly beneficial. After all, there are so many activities in the office that can be done remotely.

Remote work is also advantageous for seasonal business functions since virtual assistants can be outsourced without committing to a full-time hire.

VAs are cost-effective staffing solutions, perfect for startups and small businesses that have a lot on their plate but don’t have the budget to hire more people for full-time employment.


Why Work with a Remote Personal Assistant?

So, can a remote personal assistant take your business to the next level?

Yes, and here’s why:

  • You can use a remote personal assistant to lighten the workload of your in-house team. That way, your team can focus on the core functions and maximize their productivity.
  • Full-time employees increase your expenses. Meanwhile, remote assistants save you up to 78% of operational costs since you only have to pay for their service.
  • By utilizing remote personal assistants, you can concentrate on your visions and goals. You have the time to work ON your business instead of worrying about the daily grind.
  • When it comes to your remote assistants, you need little to no training. You’re hiring them for the skills they already have.
  • You don’t have to be miserable to grow your business. A virtual assistant can help maintain a balance between your professional and personal life, so you can get a life outside of being a “boss.”
  • Remote assistants are hired depending on your needs. You can easily scale them, regardless of how slow or eventful your business is.

How to Work Successfully with a Remote Personal Assistant

Collaborating remotely requires a high level of trust. These are remote workers, after all, whom you can’t supervise outside your office door.

If you want to share information with them, you need to trust them. It would also benefit you to implement some risk management practices, such as…

  • Enforce access controls.
  • Regularly back-up data
  • Use encryption
  • Install a firewall.

Also, be clear about your preferences, regarding meeting durations, trusted suppliers and other important processes. This way, your virtual assistants can meet your expectations.

The management of your remote personal assistant is highly dependent on how you hire them. If you’re working with them as a freelancer, you have to take care of everything—from performance management to quality control.

With a virtual assistant agency, you don’t have to be so hands-on. They are mostly responsible for the management of your remote assistant. If your VA doesn’t quite meet your expectations, they can easily find a replacement from their wide pool of vetted candidates.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What’s the Difference Between a Remote Personal Assistant and an Executive Assistant?

Both of these assistants make sure everything is in order in the office. Their main differences lie in the type of working environment they thrive in.

Executive assistants are the admin staff who work in a traditional office, providing in-person support.

On the other hand, a remote personal assistant is the modern counterpart of administrative support. They can work from anywhere, anytime. They have a more flexible schedule, beyond the typical 9-to-5 office hours in a totally different time zone.

Furthermore, an executive assistant is only capable of supporting at least one or two executives in a company. Meanwhile, a remote personal assistant can assist anyone with a hectic schedule—from business owners to busy individuals.

Learn the difference between a remote personal assistant and a personal digital assistant.

How Many Hours Does a Remote Personal Assistant Work?

Each business has different needs, so it depends on your agreed-upon arrangements.

Some remote personal assistants work on a project based on output. Total hours don’t matter in this arrangement, for so long as the job is completed.

Alternately, when virtual assistants are hired on a time-based arrangement, they usually start off working part-time, 20 hours a week. Full-time virtual assistants work the standard 40 hours a week, just like a regular office employee.

Final Thoughts

Yes, and yes—a remote personal assistant can take your business to the next level.

Just think about the time, money and energy that you can save with the help of a reliable VA.

That is a lot more resources that you can use to venture into other business prospects, spend time with your loved ones— or watch Netflix?

The point is that personal virtual assistance services reduce stress, make you more productive and allow you to catch some sunlight, which is the winning definition of being successful.

If you’re interested in all that glory, feel free to book a consultation with us.

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