Wake up! You’re officially in the growing phase of your business; what you were doing by yourself before is never going to work now.

You’ve entered the stage where collaborating with a virtual assistant is imminent. Hiring their excellent service is how you will survive and thrive in this fast-paced digital era.

Hire one or two or three of these multitasking remote professionals and earn back the freedom to focus on what really matters.

If you’re still unsure of your readiness, here are the telltale signs you need a virtual assistant before it spins out of control.

What is a Virtual Assistant Meaning? Is It Worth It to Hire a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant is a professional who provides a full range of services, from administrative tasks to specialized services.

They essentially handle the back office, allowing business owners and entrepreneurs to have more time to focus on the business rather than in it.

10 Signs You Need a Virtual Assistant

If you found yourself face-to-face with the following signs (or all of them—the horror), it’s time to break free and onboard a virtual assistant. Team up with these professionals and let them manage all the behind-the-scenes chaos.

Delegate smartly, and your sanity, along with your screaming email inbox, will be thanking you.

Your Inbox is Choking

Right now, you have hundreds of unopened emails sitting there in your inbox waiting for a reply. You’ve said 10 times already that you’d deal with your unread messages, but they know, and you know, you won’t.

As you’re trying to locate that important email from a client lost in a mountain of newsletters, start considering a VA. They’ll remove all the clutter and polish your inbox into neat, labeled folders.

Finally, you’ll know that inbox zero is not some modern myth but a real-life story.

You’re Shoving Your Digital Marketing Aside

You told yourself you’re going to spend at least an hour posting content in your social handles and engaging with your followers. But you’ve completely forgotten about it now, between answering phone calls and planning your travel, it’s easy to lose hours.

Digital marketing is becoming really important for your business's success. It can boost your online presence, drive traffic and lead more customers right to you. The only problem is that it takes knowledge and skill to run campaigns and have them perform excellently.

Luckily, there are VAs who are good with digital marketing. They’ll take care of everything for you and help you actively approach promotions, freeing up your time.

That Skill is Not Within Your Superhero Skill List

Every time you tackle that one task, you spend too much time doing it without getting it right. Funny how you make it so that you know what you’re doing when you actually don’t.

Be honest with yourself already: There are tasks that you don’t have the skills for. From content writing to accounting, these activities open a brand-new way for you to make mistakes.

Many virtual assistants have skilled expertise to get it done right the first time and not waste time. Outsourcing to VAs offers access to a large talent pool, increasing your chances of finding the best fit for the job.

You’re Operating at Maximum Capacity

You’re working non-stop all day, yet when someone asks you about progress, you always reply with, “I’m getting somewhere.” Yeah, somewhere, without a finish line.

In reality, you’re burned out and not making any progressive movements at all.

A virtual assistant can change things by handling all the time-suckers. This way, you can trek the path you’re going with your company and not miss any more lunch breaks.

Your Clock Has No Time for Market Research

You’re too occupied with daily operations that you don’t have time to read about the emerging industry trends. Keep up with the routine and you’ll soon watch all the opportunities swim away.

You need a virtual assistant to conduct the research your business needs, so you never miss a beat. You can make sound decisions and lead your company in the right direction.

You Want to Stretch Your Wings and Fly Your Business Higher

It’s one thing to increase sales by boosting customer support; it’s another thing entirely to actually do it. Employing a virtual assistant is an excellent way to delegate time-consuming tasks you just never have the time for.

Whether it's lead generation or video editing, the right remote professional can get things done with impressive efficiency.

It’s even better because you can hire them on an as-needed basis and not have to justify the hire by having a massive workload.

Your Current Workflow Needs a Fast Pass

Remember the days when you could breezily cross out your one-page task list for the day? That was how it was before your business started growing and you were faced with a never-ending scroll.

It’s a good thing virtual assistants are taskmasters. They can streamline your workflow and tackle the boring stuff in the most efficient way. Before you know it, you’ll be staring at a list with checked-off items in it, opening a space for new tasks.

Your Admin Pile is Growing into a Paper Mountain

It becomes harder every day to organize your daily assignments, from proofreading documents to data entry.

Enter a virtual assistant, aka your virtual work savior. They help coordinate your clients, appointments and invoices, making your life as easy as scrolling feeds on your phone.

Whether you need an executive virtual assistant or a general VA, VAV can help you find the right choice who won’t leave your wallet screaming.

You’re on a Mission to Put Your Bookkeeping Process in the Express Lane

Your sanity might go into bankruptcy if you keep staring at these numbers. The bookkeeping details frighten you, but who else would do it when hiring full-time bookkeepers is just too expensive?

As your business grows, you’ll be dealing with more payrolls and invoices. So, if you want to optimize this process and start doing what you love, hire a VA.

These professionals can track your finances and keep you on top of them. They can even help you uncover money-saving opportunities.

You Want to Cross Time Zones and Sync it Up

In today’s modern business landscape, you’ve got a bunch of clients living on the other side of the world. Now, keeping up with these spread-out clientele can be challenging—how can you make your customer service available at all times with the clock hands overlapping?

That’s when you need a virtual assistant. Rather than creating a round-the-clock dream team, outsource VAs from different time zones.

This strategy works like magic, bridging not just time differences but language gaps. VAV has tons of bilingual remote professionals who will be happy to cater to international customers through the proper channels.

If you’re looking at more than 5 signs you need a virtual assistant; it may be time to enlist one.

Need a Virtual Assistant? Here’s How You Can Find and Use One!

Here’s a promise: Your virtual assistant search won’t be as costly and tedious as hiring a full-time office employee. You just need to plan it right and put in the effort to screen them to make the collaboration as successful as possible.

Here’s how to do it:

Define Your Needs

Take the time to reflect on yourself and your needs. What do you need help with? Determine the activities that drag on forever that can be passed on to a virtual assistant.

This could include administrative work, customer service, social media management, bookkeeping or even specialized roles like legal assistance or marketing support.

Skills and Experience

Afterward, consider the requirements needed to be excellent in this position. What skills and experiences should your VA have to make an impact?

Availability

When you have that figured out, think about the sort of commitment you expect from your remote professional. Do you only need their service for a few hours? Or does the role require more involvement?

Budget

Lastly, establish a budget for the VA's services. This is important so you don’t go around spending more than what you can afford. Most freelance VAs have a price range of $10 to $100 per hour, depending on experience and service type.

Choose Your Hiring Method

Wondering where to find the best virtual assistants? Well, you'll never lack options, as VA hubs are crowded with choices.

Freelance Marketplaces

Online marketplaces are a good starting point to collaborate with remote professionals, especially when you already have certain needs in mind. Just make sure you have enough time to spend onboarding them, as you will have to do everything yourself.

Upwork, Fiverr and Guru are some of the most popular platforms for finding a virtual assistant with diverse skill sets and experience. They are also excellent options when you need an assistant for the Christmas surge or short-term projects.

Virtual Assistant Agencies

VA agencies connect busy professionals with virtual assistants who have extensive experience working with clients from around the world.

VAV Remote offers virtual assistants with a wide array of support services. We take on the hiring process with a “do-it-for-you” approach. We do all the work, so you can continue growing your business while we search for your remote professional from our talented pool.

You will be given an affordable one-week trial before committing for the long term. This way, you can test the waters and see for yourself if your VA is the right fit for your business.

Direct Hiring

You can also employ a virtual assistant without getting a third party involved. Choose to hire directly from your own channel, such as your own website or social media handles. This is the perfect hiring method when you want to work with a VA on an ongoing project with long-term commitments.

Finding the Right Fit

Screening candidates is the third phase of your VA hiring process. The goal is to narrow the list of virtual assistants and find the most suitable one for the position.

This process involves reviewing resumes and portfolios and conducting interviews—all to assess the capabilities of your applicants and whether or not they align with your company’s culture and working style.

Check References

It’s not enough that you’ve read through your candidate’s files and talked to them via video interview. You want to ensure everything they’ve written in their resumes and said in interviews is true.

Thoroughly check the information you’ve been fed by contacting previous clients and reading reviews online. In doing so, you can gain valuable insights into the type of quality work you can expect.

Personality and Communication Style

Your VA's communication style should match your needs. They must be dependable and proactive about sharing their thoughts.

Work with a virtual professional with whom you are comfortable collaborating. This is important to ensure team dynamics and create a positive working environment where everyone can thrive.

Start with a Trial Period

You shouldn’t commit to someone if you’re uncertain about their abilities in a real setting. That’s what a trial period is for—to verify your virtual assistant’s skills and knowledge before making a long-term decision.

At VAV, we have an affordable entry of just $65 for a week. This approach allows you to critique the results first before paying a huge sum in one go.

Key Features of an Excellent Virtual Assistant

So, what makes that assistant stand out from the rest? Look here:

• Reliability and Accuracy: They should be dependable in producing top-notch work with consistency.
• Communication skills: They must be effective communicators and be able to clearly understand and convey the message of others.
• Time Management: They must know what tasks to prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Productivity: They must be able to anticipate your needs and solve issues before they become bigger problems.

Read further: What You Need to Know About a Virtual Assistant Hire

FAQs on Virtual Assistants

Is it legal to hire a virtual assistant?

Yes, it is within the law to hire a virtual assistant. Nevertheless, you should employ one under the employment laws. We would also suggest preparing a clear legal contract stipulating the responsibilities of both parties during the collaboration.

Are virtual assistants still in demand?

Yes, there’s a growing demand for virtual assistant services, especially with the world growing more and more digital. So long as companies and individuals look for cost-effective, flexible staffing solutions, VAs will stay in demand for the years to come.

Find Your Superstar Virtual Assistant at VAV

More and more entrepreneurs and professionals are outsourcing tasks to virtual professionals to focus on what truly matters.

Thus, if you’re considering working with one to help with your administrative chores or digital marketing, connect with VAV.

We have talented remote workers with various expertise to conquer all your daily grind of the day.

Book a consultation and start your leveling-up journey with us!