Faith and Business 101: Is Outsourcing To A Virtual Assistant Right For Your Business?

Should I outsource to a Virtual Assistant (VA)? This question is often thought about by many small business owners and only you can determine if outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant will benefit your business in. If you think it’ll be helpful, then why not? If you’re on the fence, why?

Determine why you’re thinking of outsourcing for your business. Obviously, you feel you need some help in some areas of your business. Since you’re not a jack-of-all-trades, it makes sense to seek outside help instead of trying to work at something you’re not familiar with. If there’s something you just dread doing then outsourcing those tasks would also make things less stressful for you.

Are these some of the reasons you may be hesitant in outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant?

Money

Change the way you think about how much you have to pay a VA and focus on how she can help grow your business. Hiring the right VA will be an invaluable asset to your business.

Fear

Are you afraid your VA won’t meet your expectations or standards? Are you a micro-manager or a control freak? Then you really need to get over it because if you’re overwhelmed in your business, it most likely means your business isn’t where it should be and you’re not making much.

You can start with grouping together several small projects for your Virtual Assistant to test her ability and see how well she performs each task.

What To Outsource

Figure out which tasks you want to outsource. A Virtual Assistant can do almost anything and everything you want them to do except brew your coffee and clean your house.

A Virtual Assistant can:

– Transcribe audio or notes
– Manage your calendar and events
– Make travel arrangements
– Answer emails
– Pay invoices
– Research
– Do your taxes
– Ghostwrite
– Manage your social media
– Web Design
– Customer Service
– Be a fact checker
– Proofreader/Editor
– Create newsletter
– Submit articles
– Look for joint venture partners
– And so much more

There are specialties or niche VA’s so if you have something specific you may want to look into hiring a niche VA and be sure they can perform other tasks as well so you don’t have too many VA’s working with you.

Don’t Know Who or Where To Hire

Referrals are the best, but other places you can find VA’s are through virtual assisting forums, freelance sites and through social media. If you were given a referral, you should always check their references and do your own reference checks and research through social media and other outlets.

As an outsourcer, you have a responsibility too. In order for this relationship to work you should possess these qualities:

Effective communicator
Listening skills
Patience
Good trainer
Good organizational skills

Do you outsource to a Virtual Assistant? What are your tips for working with a VA?

4 Comments

**Nicole** on October 24, 2011 at 12:39 am

I don’t have a VA but I *am* one :) One thing to consider is what a blessing hiring a VA can be to a fellow work from home mom. I would suggest going through the hiring process much as you would if they were going to work for you at your workplace. I have an Associate Degree in Office Information Systems and several years of administrative work in the “real world” before I started working as a VA–I think that this is the kind of person that small business owners should look to hire :) Also be sure to hire someone that you mesh well with personality wise, you will be working with and talking to them a ton, even if you have never met face to face!