If you’re running your own online business then no doubt, you’re busy. You’re also probably working with a very small budget.

And, if you’re like most small business owners, you’re stuck doing mundane, repetitive tasks most of the time.

(Then there are all those other tasks that you’re struggling to wrap your mind around while your to-do list is screaming at you from the corner of your screen.)

How can anyone grow their business if they don’t have either the time or money to make it happen?

Virtual assistants, that’s how.

Let me just say straight out, they are a great asset to any business.

I want to show you how you can leverage this amazing resource to give you a leg up over the competition. Because running a small business is a dream come true for most people. But, as business starts booming, entrepreneurs find themselves face to face with a nightmare.

The overwhelming amount of administrative tasks involved in working for yourself. And to cope with this, we turn to virtual assistants for help to manage some of the day-to-day operations.

However, there’s still confusion about what a virtual assistant is and what they do.

What is a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants are people who work remotely offering various specialized skill sets to business owners.

Depending on what their niche expertise is, they help entrepreneurs with everything under the sun. They can generate leads manage emails, schedule,  source products, and list products. Some bigger tasks include overseeing fulfillment and handling customer service to running Amazon PPC.

There’s a virtual assistant out there for every imaginable task that you need to be done for your business.

Still need ideas? Here’s a huge list of potential tasks you could (or should) be outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant.

I have successfully run businesses hiring only virtual assistants to take care of every task I couldn’t or didn’t want to do myself. And others have had enormous success hiring virtually, too.

When Should I Think About Hiring a Virtual Assistant?

Generally, you never want to hire anyone when there’s no work to be done. But as small business owners, we tend to think we can do it all. That is until we have a nervous breakdown. I bet you can grow your business faster if you consider hiring when you reach these 3 situations:

  • Too many repetitive tasks – Running a business involves a lot of administrative tasks. Tasks like preparing paperwork, answering emails, phone calls, and keeping up a website. Take them off your plate!
  • When you’re overwhelmed – Small business owners tend to find repetitive tasks boring and become frustrated when it interferes with running the business.
  • You lack the expertise – What if you want to try out a new form of advertising? or you want something done on your website you can’t manage to learn yourself? Or if you find yourself increasingly bogged down with phone and computer-based work that someone else can do? Then it’s time to hire!

What Kind of Can a Virtual Assistant Do?

You can outsource just about anything you can think of.

The freelance market has expanded so much over the past few years that you’d have a hard time finding a skill that a virtual assistant cannot do.

Here are some tasks to consider hiring for:

  • Data Entry and Research – simple tasks from filling out forms and taking meeting notes to lead generation and customer and partner outreach.
  • Admin Tasks – scheduling and organizational tasks from keeping your calendar clean and lining up appointments to managing full-blown outreach and affiliate programs.
  • Transcription and Translation – get quality transcripts and captions for your podcasts and other audio-visual materials as well as properly translated listings for your products on other Amazon marketplaces.
  • Inventory Management – keep stock at optimal levels to keep your customers happy and your Amazon account in the green.
  • Copywriting and Content Writing – optimizing product listings and writing from simple to complex social media posts, blog posts, eBooks and whitepapers.
  • Bookkeeping – expert help keeping your financials in order so your accountant doesn’t fire you.
  • Customer Service – managing Amazon messages, feedback, reviews, order updates, returns and refunds, live chat and other customer concerns.
  • Marketing – everything from general SEO to managing social media and PPC campaigns.
  • Project Management – stop working in your business and start working on your business by passing off task oversight.

Why Hire Virtual Assistants? What are the Benefits

1. You Can Hire the Best Workers

Because you are hiring virtual, you are not limited to the talent available in your local area. You’re opening yourself up to everyone online. Once you realize how big your talent pool just got, it’s likely you’ll find all the rock star virtual assistants you need.

Also, since millennials prefer working freelance it makes sense the hot talent is moving to the gig economy. They love the freedom and opportunity it offers that a regular job does not.

2. Virtual Assistants Cost Less Than In-House Hires

In general, you will shell out less cash when you hire VA’s compared to regular, in-house team members.

Here are the main areas where you save by hiring a virtual assistant:

  • Offshore Hiring – You can get the same level of quality hires in a different part of the world as you can locally. Ideally, when you hire virtual assistants from countries where living expenses are low, you get more bang for your buck.
  • You Don’t Have to Offer Benefits – You don’t have to pay for medical, dental or paid leave when you hire virtual assistants.
  • No obligations – You don’t have to worry about severance pay when it’s time to terminate someone. They’re freelancers and you hire them on a contractual basis. So when you no longer need their services, you simply let them know and move on.
  • Avoid Holidays and Transportation Costs – Most virtual assistants work through holidays if they want. And you don’t have to pay them more to come in on a red calendar day. Also, workers don’t usually travel very far from where they sleep. This means they tend to work more hours since they aren’t stuck in traffic every day.
  • Higher Productivity – Virtual assistants tend to be more productive than their in-office counterparts. They can work wherever they want to, in greater comfort, just for starters. They also have tons of tools at their disposal to help them.  Most importantly, however, they are running a business – if they don’t take freelancing seriously, they won’t survive for very long.

Hiring a virtual assistant is a great way to keep your business running smoothly – keep these tips in mind when considering whether a VA is right for you!

Final Thoughts

Remember that most virtual assistants work from home or a nearby café, as independent contractors. This means that you don’t need to rent out an office to hold all your hires.

So here’s what we think would help you explode your business. Take those tasks that you don’t have time or talent for and pass them off to a virtual assistant today. You’ll be doing yourself a favor.

Let the experts handle that stuff for you so you can focus on what you need to do, and what you do best.

Author

Avatar for Connor Gillivan
Connor Gillivan

Connor Gillivan is the CMO and co-owner of FreeeUp.com, a rapidly growing freelance marketplace making hiring online simpler. He has sold over $30 million online, has hired hundreds of freelancers to build his companies, is a published author, and is the owner of ConnorGillivan.com. He currently lives in Denver, CO.

28 comments add your comment

  1. Thank you for sharing such an informative post. Virtual assistants perform many tasks like web design, web development, admin assistant, personal assistant services, document sharing, appointment scheduling service, social media assistant, content marketing services and many more.

  2. blog is really a well-explained piece of information about Virtual assistant. I was not confident earlier to get a virtual assistant. After i hired one from Osssisto, they made my life simpler. Any kind of research, appointments and calls i won’t want to make, I give them and they are fast to respond. I think its a revolution in outsourcing personal and business tasks.

    • Yea, virtual assistants are awesome. It’s like having an entire team to help you without the high cost of hiring and training someone!

  3. The information is really worthy.I have hired my virtual personal assistant from India they they are very awesome

  4. Well explained. Thank you. I was not confident earlier to get a VA. After i hired one from Habiliss, they made my life simpler. Any kind of research, appointments and calls i won’t want to make, I give them and they are fast to respond. I think its a revolution in outsourcing personal and business tasks. Thanks again John.

    • Hey John, you’re absolutely right. There are so many tasks that you might not want to do or even have time to do that can make you money and grow your business! Hiring a VA would be the perfect solution. Glad it’s working out for you 🙂

  5. Hi John, Very good points here. I feel like the new generation will do away with traditional marketing and focus more on digital. With that said, the next 10 years will change how we market products and services and who carries out the tasks.

  6. Hi Will, I’m a VA based in South Africa and I’ve been working as a VA for 7 years now.

    Thank you for the great read. Your article is informative and an excellent guide on how to hire a quality VA.

    My target market is the startup world and fellow entrepreneurs. I’m gaining fantastic traction in my home country and I’m excited to see where this journey is taking me.

    Thank you for all your great insights. I look forward to reading more!

    • Hey Karen, it’s amazing. The amount of work that someone can find online now is insane! So glad you’re doing well and I wish you all the best with your business 🙂

  7. HI Will thank you for the articles you have written they are very interesting. What are your thoughts about selling Electronics, Tablets,maybe smaller items??

  8. Not only do you have a great site going here Will… But it is everything that a small start-up needs to hit the ground running! I’m always looking for new ways to find new clients by thinking outside the box and I can always read between the lines in your articles to market myself by thinking like the client that might hire me. I’ve been a VA for 18 months now and I love the like minded people that are involved in the VA world. So many creative ideas come out of this style of technology! One contributing factor that I believe makes this industry so desirable is that I can work for a client in a completely different area where we both get knowledge and understanding of a different way of living i.e. Miami vs San Francisco! I believe this is a fairly untouched subject when talking about the benefits of hiring a VA.
    If you don’t mind I would like to plug myself.
    I am a fully active VA of 18 months based out of the beautiful mountains of Northern California. Anyone who thinks they may need my assistance can contact me through my website – I know what it is to be the “good” VA for an entrepreneur or small business if you know what you are looking for.
    Thanks again Will!! Great read!

  9. Hi Will May I suggest info on business models would be helpful to your clients also

    the best crowd funding sites ? interview those who have successfully used one /

  10. Will, I have really enjoyed your site, tons of good information. Would you mind if I ask how you monetize this site (or do you)? I have expertise in several area but can’t figure out how to make money other than selling related products. I see blogs all over but cant figure out how they make it pay. Thanks in advance, I really enjoy the clear info and motivation you provide.

    • Glad you enjoyed the site Bob! I monetize StartupBros through my own coaching and consulting programs, as well as our book and online courses (that last link isn’t finished yet though). Basically, build an audience and then give them what they ask for – easier said than done. We’ll have an online course for that soon too, I’m sure 😛

      • Would be nice to dig on that online course whenever it’s ready, of course! I’m a VA too and I would love to stay updated and be connected with other VAs and entrepreneurs of the same field. Otherwise, solid post you got here.

  11. Really loving the content you guys put out! I was immediately drawn to your story and blog the first time I found you. Look forward to reading more. A VA is something I am looking into right now and this was helpful.

    Hope to have a drink with you guys in the future!

    • Awesome to hear that Cody, thanks for checking out the site! VA’s are great – those and independent contractors are invaluable if you can find good ones.

      I’m down to grab a drink – let me know the next time you’re in FL 🙂

      • Will do man. I travel all over, but unfortunately I don’t make it to FL very often.

        Just as I was rolling pretty good with the blog (thanks for stopping by btw) you got me all interested in this importing jazz haha. I looked into this several times in the past, but you really explained it a lot better.

        Damn that freaking entrepreneur ADD…

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