Running a small business and turning that into a success takes a lot. From bookkeeping to marketing, there are plenty of daily activities to consider that can be so overwhelming.
Profit-making ventures are always streamed that way. But it’s not just Services physicality, there are emotional and mental showdowns as well —running a business is not for the faint-hearted.
This is precisely the reason why hiring a virtual assistant for small business is the perfect solution for your constant everyday hustles; mainly because they can help out in a myriad of ways.
Virtual assistants are becoming more and more popular among freelancers, entrepreneurs and organizations.
Even the latest outsourcing stats vouches for it, tallying around 68% of businesses opting to outsource their workplace requirements.
While you can always choose to do it alone, it would be impossible to reach exhilarating heights without a reliable team in your corner.
In this blog post, we’ll break down all the reasons why a virtual assistant for small business is beneficial and all the main factors that affect the cost of hiring one.
Virtual assistants are contractual professionals who offer an inexpensive but valuable range of services to an entrepreneur or an organization from a remote location.
Typically, they fill in the role of your “executive assistant” handling phone calls and emails, setting appointments, data entry and organizing documents/reports.
However, in today’s competitive business model, virtual assistant jobs have moved beyond just administrative roles. The ones with expertise in specific areas are managing social media accounts, creating content and working on financial sheets.
All told, the main purpose of a virtual assistant is to make life easier for you, by taking care of the repetitive non-core tasks.
Okay, so virtual assistants have become a must-have ingredient when running a business nowadays.
But why follow the trend? What’s up with virtual assistants for a small business? How can they possibly help?
Well, here are the top 5 reasons as to why.
Yes, you can reduce costs by working with a virtual assistant.
In what way?
Companies can save money on two fronts; salaries and operating costs.
Instead of opting for full-time employees on a fixed salary arrangement with a complete set of benefits, you can hire virtual assistants who work on an “as-needed” basis and only get paid for the actual work they’ve done, without counting breaks, overtime and other compensation benefits.
And because of the remote nature of VAs, you also need not bother yourself with renting a workspace or buying office equipment. These remote workers will take care of the tools necessary to deliver the service.
But more than anything else, the ultimate cost-saving factor is induced by virtual assistants usually working from countries with a much lower cost of living. This means you’re paying less money for the same job; you would pay someone in the U.S.
One of the perks of being your own boss is having the freedom and control of your time. However, if you’re doing it alone, can that statement still be true?
Running a business includes an endless charade of answering emails and business meetings —working 60 hours a week with zero free time.
Alas, employing a virtual assistant will shed some light on your work-life balance. You won’t have to wake up on a full plate workday; your remote sidekick will take care of the menial but time-consuming activities for you, leaving more time for the things that you love.
Perhaps, when you’re starting up, you can maneuver almost every aspect of the operation. However, when you’re taking off the ground, you can’t afford to still be answering calls while working on marketing plans. Hassling is just not efficient.
As Peter Drucker once said, “Do what you do best and outsource the rest.”
That said, you should hire a virtual assistant who is highly economical with no long-term commitments. With more time on your hands, you can breathe and concentrate on scaling your company.
Trying to put wings on your fledging business is a difficult and costly rendezvous. That is why we understand the impulse to just DIY everything.
But if you’re pulling off more than 60 hours in a week, you’d barely have the time for the other important stuff, thus leading to lost opportunities.
By entrusting some workload to a virtual assistant, you’ll get plenty of time for the bigger picture. Giving you more headspace to focus on devising strategic plans to grow the business, instead of wasting it doing day-to-day administrative chores.
Growing your startup takes a network of people working on a common goal. However, incorporating a virtual assistant for small business is like powering up that ecosystem.
Virtual assistants are skilled and experienced individuals who can take on a variety of roles with so much flexibility at just a fraction of the cost of your full-time hire.
But how a virtual assistant can help small to medium business boils down to lightening the workload, so owners can concentrate and have extra resources for the more pressing business matters.
Growing a firm is not only Services strategic planning or making connections. There are behind-the-scene actions that propel the core activities to sail smoothly.
We’re talking Services setting appointments, handling customer queries, doing internet research and updating websites. These are the necessary non-core activities that every entrepreneur and company have to deal with on a daily basis.
By hiring a virtual assistant for small business, you can ease the burden on your shoulders and be productive.
If you’re on Services the cost of a virtual assistant for your small business, well, it actually depends.
On what factors precisely?
Skills. Location. Service.
A virtual assistant with more skills to offer will undoubtedly charge more, as opposed to someone inexperienced.
An experienced VA has an advanced understanding and is more efficient in completing the task. As such, they can be a solution for language barriers in international business or front your digital marketing like a pure professional.
Now, you might think that opting for the lesser version will save you money. But have you ever thought Services the training cost or the expenses of possibly doing the work again due to poor quality results?
The Philippines tops the world with the most virtual assistants at 13%.
Now why is that?
Because virtual assistants from these countries with a much lower cost of living, charge far less than hiring someone from the U.K. or the U.S.
But don’t brood, because cheap doesn’t mean poor quality of work. They’re easily top-notch, just like your Western hire.
The money you pay is also factored in the job’s level of difficulty.
For instance, the salary for handling phone calls is far less when compared to a sales virtual assistant with a more specialized skill, plugging in the sales process and lead generation.
So, when you’re looking for a virtual assistant for small business, it’s best to scrutinize the services offered because that will determine the rates, they’ll charge you.
Virtual assistant hires that you can find through job portals or online marketplaces such as Upwork or Fiverr.
A virtual assistant agency like vavremoteworkers.com helps you find a qualified assistant by matching your employment requirements/needs to their pool of VAs.
Just like how a recruiting firm works, which is another industry where a virtual recruiting assistant may also thrive, but with you paying the agency.
As mentioned above, the virtual assistant services list is pretty limitless. They can do just Services anything, helping you build your dream company, but not at the expense of draining your coffins.
If you need support, there are plenty of virtual assistant providers that work to your needs and your budget.
With digital globalization, outsourcing is inevitable. By not adhering, you’re seriously putting your company out of business.
So, don’t be afraid to join the VA bandwagon because it’s a trend for a reason; hire your first virtual assistant for small business today!
