Are you a business owner who is not ready to hire employees, yet you’re overwhelmed with all of the tasks you need to accomplish? Did you know that you can hire a virtual assistant for as little or as much time as you need? And if you did, are you unclear about how the partnership would work?
This blog will help clarify some of the gray areas to help make an educated decision and remove some pressure.
Virtual Assistant Versus an Employee
It’s easy to get confused, but if you’re a small business with a tight budget and lack time, using the services of a virtual services company is more favorable than hiring an employee.
Some of the benefits are:
- You do not have to provide benefits such as medical insurance and retirement.
- There is no need to invest in a location to work, which means no desk, chair, or computer – they supply their own.
- No long-term commitment.
- You’re able to terminate the relationship if it’s not a good fit or they have completed the project, and you do not have anything for them to do
- Less training time is needed as a quality virtual service firm will have experience performing many of the tasks you need.
These are considerable advantages for small businesses. After all, you need help, but you don’t want additional burdens on you and your business.
Prioritize
There are many services a virtual services firm can provide; however, there will still be some tasks best managed by you directly. To get started, to follow is a suggested way to prepare to work together:
- Make a list of all the tasks you manage for your company.
- Divide the list into tasks you feel comfortable delegating and responsibilities that only you can manage (at least for now).
- Prioritize the top 1-3 tasks you want to delegate and place a tentative expected completion date on them. You’ll want to be clear with the virtual services firm, so there is no miscommunication.
- Create documents to help guide them through the steps for that task as a reference, in addition to in-person training.
It’s essential to keep an open mind and realize that no one will be “you,” but the right firm will still do a great job, and who knows, they may have input to improve on how to accomplish specific tasks.
You will gain each other’s trust by being transparent and patient as you move through the process. The more you work with a firm, the more they will understand your way of doing things.
Now go out there and get some help so you can focus on your business.