Why A Virtual Assistant Is The Perfect Business Partner For Your Online Business?
Covid has become a source of boom for online businesses. We have seen support interactions delay just because the backlog was huge and the current support staff was not able to handle it. We have seen sales touching the sky as people prefer to buy online. We have seen companies become out of stock due to rising demands. Similarly, the administrative tasks have increased and are unable to be managed single-handedly.
If you are a successful businessman with profits flowing, there is a probability that you have already stepped into an online economy in the COVID period. But, it does require you to spend a lot of time and learn new skills to manage your online business. So often, you also become frustrated about it.
As a business owner when you are already doing a lot of ming boggling stuff, indulging yourself in learning new skills and then mastering them to perfection, requires patience, time, energy, and dedication, which you probably do not have or you are utilizing these somewhere else.
It is obvious to hear these sentences from the entrepreneurs who just stepped into the online economy:
“I don’t have the time to do it myself.”
“I don’t have the skills.”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
Virtual assistants, or VAs, are the perfect solution for any business owner. Because a virtual assistant is flexible, cost-effective, scalable, and productive. We will discuss why?
What do you mean by a virtual assistant?
As evident from the terminology itself, they are individuals who provide virtual support to clients. Virtual assistants are people who work remotely, helping entrepreneurs and online business owners with tasks such as social media management, email management, and bookkeeping. Virtual Assistants are not new, but they are steadily becoming a new trend.
Think of a virtual assistant as an assistant at your local businesses. Their purpose is to help out with the day-to-day tasks of running your business. Unlike a real person, a virtual assistant can be anywhere in the world. A virtual assistant should have the skills you need to get the job done.
Why Should I Hire A Virtual Assistant?
There’s a difference between hiring an assistant and hiring a virtual assistant for your online business. When you hire a virtual assistant, you have full control of the process. With virtual assistants, you’ll know exactly who will be handling each task and when. In some situations, hiring a virtual assistant could also save you a lot of money, let’s say electricity charges, etc. But in the end, it depends on your business.
How do I hire a virtual assistant?
While the hiring process is slightly different for different positions, it’s easy to determine which type of VAs are available to hire for a business or company. First, you need to determine whether a virtual assistant can help you reach your goals. Whether you’re trying to grow sales, improve the quality of your social media presence, or run your email list, you have to carefully hunt the candidate with exceptional skills. Next, figure out how much you need the assistant to help you. If you don’t need them for daily tasks, a small payment may be sufficient.
If you want them to be available daily to assist you, you must be willing to pay a little more. An hourly rate might be good. Or you might want a long-term relationship and want to hire a contractor or full-time assistant. Next, consider what you want from the assistant.
Also Read: Top Virtual Assitant Companies
What should I look for in a virtual assistant?
Virtual assistants offer numerous benefits to businesses of all sizes, making them a great option for busy entrepreneurs or anyone looking to hire extra help to grow their company. As with any other business-related decision, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into. Virtual assistants come in different shapes and sizes, so the people you’re looking to hire should have specific skill sets.
To help you determine what skills you need and how much you’re willing to pay for those skills, we asked some of our clients availing our virtual assistants’ service, the following question:
“What does a successful virtual assistant bring to the table for a small business owner?“
The common answer was:
A successful virtual assistant brings endless value to any company.
What does a virtual assistant do?
They do your work for you in the time it takes you to do the same work yourself, so you have more time to do what you love doing. Think of it this way: if you were looking for someone to do your bookkeeping and you need tracking expenses for a month, you can easily assign these to a virtual assistant. You would probably end up spending a lot more time learning, figuring, analyzing, and then doing the task, which is less productive for you.
The amount of work these virtual assistants save you from doing is worth millions of bucks. A frustrated mind cannot close successful business deals. You can not think big if you keep yourself busy with small technical tasks.
Sneak peek from our research:
Our research shows that businesses who hire virtual assistant services have seen:
1. An increase in revenue.
2. Saves a lot of time.
3. Are more productive.
4. Owners have peace of mind.
How do I get the most out of my virtual assistant?
Virtual assistants may seem experts in their field, but they might not be experts specifically in yours. So, how do you find a virtual assistant who’s perfect for you? There’s no magical formula for this, but there are some important questions you should ask yourself before hiring an assistant.
Here are 14 questions to ask yourself to find the right virtual assistant for you.
How Much Are You Willing To Pay Your Virtual Assistant?
You’re going to pay an assistant a monthly retainer, just like you would pay any employee. Like in any other field, the quality of your virtual assistant directly depends on how much you pay? You have to constantly be in touch with the trends to provide them with the market-competitive salary.
Does that virtual assistant has experience related to your field?
Experience is something that can not be replaced. Be specific by looking at the previous roles and if they align with the current requirements.
Does your virtual assistant have the right skillset?
A software engineer may know ins and outs of programming, but they may not know things related to hardware as a technician. However, both are said to be tech-enthusiasts. Try to go deep to find out if that virtual assistant could easily solve your tasks.
How that virtual assistant has performed previously?
Virtual Assistants are meant to increase performance. Reach out to the previous employers to ask how was the performance?
Does that virtual assistant has the right environment?
A virtual assistant is required to have a proper work desk to create the right environment. Also, the place should be free from noise and other distractions.
Does your virtual assistant has the right computer system?
A slow system takes time to do even simple tasks. If your work requires multiple tabs to be opened and heavy software to be used, make sure that your virtual assistant has a high-speed computer system, with at least 4 GB of RAM.
Does your Virtual Assistant have high-speed internet?
Slow internet could be a hurdle in achieving daily targets. Make sure that the virtual assistant has at least 12 MB per second speed.
Does your virtual assistant have power-backup?
Though we must always think positively, power outages can happen unexpectedly. Make sure that your virtual assistant has the necessary backup to be available in these times.
Does your virtual assistant has an internet backup?
You obviously will not like when your virtual assistant does not show up on time. To ensure this, ask if your virtual assistant has an appropriate backup to avoid delay.
Does your virtual assistant keep secrets?
Your business has some resources such as customer information which you do not want to share with anyone else except for the people working on it. Ask if your virtual assistant should keep that information safe.
Is your virtual assistant agreeing to give access to their system?
You may require or may not require access to the system. However, there may be some software configurations or you may want to monitor your virtual assistant, therefore you may consider asking this.
Can your virtual assistant provide daily reports?
You may not want to wonder what your virtual assistant has done so far. Ask if daily reports could be provided.
Is your virtual assistant good at communication?
Good communication is necessary to work remotely. Communicate and then find out if your virtual assistant has the right communication skills.
Is your virtual assistant willing to appear at meetings?
You may require meetings with your senior staff to guide your virtual assistant. Ask if your virtual assistant does not hesitate in appearing face-to-face in the meetings.
Outsource your virtual tasks hassle-free:
Hiring a virtual assistant can be done through an online search, referral, or by reaching out to an outsourcing company. The easiest method is to outsource your virtual assistant. If you are too busy to look after these 14 questions while hiring a virtual assistant or you are confused about hiring the right virtual assistant with all the above-mentioned qualities, HiredSupport is here to help you.
Conclusion:
HiredSupport has world-class virtual assistants with expertise related to your field. You do not have to spend a lot of time hiring the right candidate. Just simply tell us your requirements and we will provide you with a top-rated virtual assistant. We are offering a 7 day Free Trial to all of our new clients. Just contact us today.
