Even though Virtual Assistants have been around for a while, we’re still a relatively new concept for many business owners. I posted a question on Twitter a little while back asking people what questions they would ask if they could ask a VA anything. The responses I received made me realize that even though there is a lot of information about Virtual Assistants floating around, a lot of people still have questions. Here are answers to some of those questions:
How is a Virtual Assistant different from a temp or part-time employee?
It really boils down to two things: pay and staying power. Working with a VA means you pay only for the time you need from them. For instance, if you only need 10 hours a month, a VA can easily do that. Whereas with a temp or part-time employee, most likely they want to work for more than 10 hours a month, so you either have to find more for them to do (which takes up more of your time) or they’re sitting there twiddling their thumbs on your dime.
As far as staying power, VAs are business owners rather than employees and work with you on a “contract basis.” This means that, after an initial chat session where the two of you have gotten together to sort through your needs, how the VA can help and all the details in between, you sign a contract with them agreeing to the terms you discussed and work can begin. Because VAs are business owners, they also have a vested interest in your business and work to get to know your business through and through, rather than just being the person to hand work off to.
How can a VA actually ‘get my business’ like I do?
Rather than being like an employee who just shows up for work, a Virtual Assistant takes the time to learn about you and your business even before your first consultation. During that consultation, rather than just asking about what you need done (although they’ll ask that, too), a VA will (or should) ask about the goals of your business, the people you serve, why you started your business, and what your vision is for the future. As a fellow business owner, they’re fully vested in your business because the more successful you are, the more successful they are. It’s a win-win situation!
What are the top 5 things I should consider turning over to a VA since I’ve never used one?
Every business owner is going to need different tasks done to enable growth in their business, and every VA specializes in a different area to help. Nevertheless, there does seem to be a few “most-requested” services. Here are 5 of the top services I see being requested most right now:
- Social Media Services – With the rise in popularity of social media sites, business owners are discovering the benefits of expanding their network and reach by joining these sites. However, finding the time to get everything set up and learning how to effectively use each site isn’t something that a lot of business owners have. Enter a VA who can not only set up your profiles on these sites, but also set up strategies for getting the most out of each site.
- Writing Services – People hate to write. Personally, I love it, but I talk to a lot of people who say they would rather do just about anything than sit down and write something. Finding a great VA who provides copywriting services *ahem* (yes, a shameless plug) can do wonders for your business. The VA will make sure whatever material you need them to write, whether it be their website copy, articles, blog posts, press releases, you name it and they will produce amazing materials that will help you promote your business even more.
- Bookkeeping – Bookkeeping is something that, although you can do it on your own to a small extent, is really something that should be done by someone who has been trained to do it. Otherwise, things may get missed, costing you money in the end. A VA specializing in bookkeeping can be a godsend, keeping your finances organized and your budget on the right track!
- Website maintenance – You’ve got a great website, but you’re not sure of how to update the information on it or add things to it. A VA can take care of updating your content, maintaining your shopping cart, posting your blogs or taking care of tweaking any glitches that come up. That way, you know you’re always making the best first impression to your visitors that you can.
- Finally, Internet Marketing Services – Are you sure that you’re including the right keywords in your materials to target your ideal audience? Or do you need help getting your email marketing campaign out consistently and on schedule? A VA can help with this, too. From setting up autoresponders to researching keywords or just about anything else on the Internet, they can make sure you have all the information and tools at your disposal to effectively grow your business.
These questions are just the tip of the iceberg amid all the information about Virtual Assistants, and I will answer more questions in future blog posts. In the meantime, I’d love to have feedback on whether these Q&As were helpful and to know if you have anymore questions. Just leave me a little comment below and let me know – I’ll answer each one personally and may feature them in future blog posts as well!