As an entrepreneur, have you ever wondered how you could use your time more efficiently, be more productive, and save – or even make – yourself money? The answer could be to hire a personal assistant.
If you can’t afford to employ one just yet, you may want to consider hiring a virtual personal assistant instead – a self-employed freelancing PA who works from their remote office.
You may wonder, “How can spending money on my business administration, save me money?” Well here’s a look at 10 benefits of hiring a virtual PA.
A virtual personal assistant is:
1. Your ‘go-to’
Have you ever considered how impressive it sounds to say, “My PA is copied in on this email and will help you find a suitable time to meet.” Or, “I’m travelling on business, but my PA is keeping me up-to-date!” No one ever needs to know that you and your PA operates in different office, perhaps on a different time zone, and potentially even on a different continent.
2. A time saver
Hiring a virtual personal assistant frees up time to concentrate on more important things – your business, clients, pitches, and future ventures. Or even if it just means more time for you – whether it’s training for a marathon, picking the children up from school or finally going to that restaurant you’ve been eyeing up.
3. A gatekeeper
A virtual personal assistant can monitor your inbox, keep an eye out for important emails, manage your calendar, spot potential scheduling problems before they occur, proofread proposals and take that very important call you would otherwise have missed.
4. A business manager
Your virtual personal assistant can create and manage invoices, chase payments, update your CRM database, remind you of urgent (and not so urgent) tasks, take a message when you’re too busy to take a call and more.
5. A tactical marketer
A virtual personal assistant can manage much of your tactical marketing needs such as social media, email newsletters, blog content and more.
6. A versatile researcher
Perhaps you have a product idea or industry opportunity you want to explore further? Perhaps you have a hectic travel period coming up and don’t have time to research the ins and outs of your next international excursion. Maybe it’s more simple – you just don’t know what to get your spouse for their birthday – a virtual PA can make all of this happen and more.
7. Your silent partner
You have an important pitch, but you are awaiting a critical email; of course it goes without saying that it would look bad if you were to check your email every five minutes during the meeting, but if you had a virtual PA, he or she could do the inbox checking for you, and ping you an SMS the second it arrives. The potential client gets your undivided attention and the urgent email gets the quick response it requires. Just imagine how handy that could be.
8. Very cost-effective
Most virtual PAs only charge for the time it takes to complete a task. So on quiet days there is only ever a small outlay, and on busy days they only charge for the minutes worked. Also, most virtual PAs are self-employed which means there is no employee overheads, just a monthly invoice for the time dedicated to your projects.
9. Knowledgeable about business
Virtual PAs are often a business owners too. This means that he or she understands how important it is to deliver the highest standards, to keep the business afloat, to maintain an impressive reputation, and to ensure clients are an absolute priority.
10. A problem solver
You don’t always have the time or patience to put out every little fire that arises throughout the course of your day. A good virtual PA will proactively help you solve problems when the expected or unexpected occurs.
Perhaps the above-mentioned benefits of hiring a virtual PA aren’t clear yet. But think about it. Without a virtual personal assistant to do some of (or all of the above) tasks, how much time does it deplete from your schedule managing it all on your own? What revenue-generating activities could you be working on instead?
As a business owner, time should be spent working on your business instead of in it. Maybe you’re too busy chasing down unpaid invoices when you should be planning your next product launch? Hiring a virtual personal assistant to handle the details may be just the thing to take you from a state of overwhelm to a thriving and fulfilled entrepreneurship experience.
This article has been edited and condensed.
Vicki Doudelle is a freelance virtual assistant, founder and Queen Bee at The VA Bee. With 10 years of corporate experience in London as an Executive Assistant for McKinsey & Company and Towers Perrin under her belt, Vicki is assisting entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses with their administrative and back-office needs, working remotely from her home office. Connect with @thevabee on Twitter.
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