A virtual assistant is the newest and most convenient way of getting help with your business without worrying about all of the problems that usually come with taking on new staff. Often, virtual assistants are professionals experienced in this type of work or freelancers who are looking for a project to work on that can benefit both themselves and their employer.
If you’re a busy work from home mom with an equally busy family life, then not only hiring some help at home, but hiring a VA or virtual assistant is right for you. Sometimes you need to pour all of your effort into organically developing your business, or you might need some help because of family commitments. Either way, a virtual assistant can help you cut through your work load and let you focus on what’s important to you.
Why hire a personal assistant?
A personal assistant is something to think about when your business grows to a point where you’re starting to turn a profit, but your workload is threatening to swallow you. Otherwise, they can be a great edition to a new business and can help you deal with the day-to-day running whilst allowing you to focus on larger goals.
While at the moment you might spend valuable time and energy on mundane things like checking emails or putting appointments into your diary, a virtual assistant can take on everything a normal assistant would. They can cut through the red tape and free you up.
Virtual assistants, like you, work from home and manage their own career; they can help lend perspective to your job and free up more time for you to spend with your family. And the biggest advantage? They are location independent!
You don’t need to worry about giving them desk space or setting up a time shift system for them to work in. They work from home just like assistants in an office, but don’t provide so much of headache. The only downside is they can’t get you coffee, but if you’re working from home, your coffee machine is just in the other room.
How do I hire a virtual assistant?
Nowadays the ways to hire a personal assistant are varied and come with many different parameters. Regardless of what way you choose, the most important first step is to write a job description outlining exactly what you want your virtual assistant to do and how you want them to do it. This is universal for every different way of hiring a VA.
You might consider using a freelance site like oDesk or Freelancer.com, as these are often populated with a great number of highly skilled freelancers. This way, possible candidates ‘bid’ for the job and try to showcase exactly what they can do for you. Whilst these sites take a small percentage for the service, it is more than worth it. All pay is easily facilitated and there are often measures in place to enable easy collaboration and communication.
The other popular and effective method is to post a job listing on an online site such as Craigslist. However hiring a VA in this way often involves more work, and considering you want a virtual assistant to decrease your workload to spend more time with your family, the first option might be more appropriate for your needs.
Whichever you choose, you can be assured of more free time and a more enjoyable business with a virtual assistant, as well as having help to develop your business and increase your output. With a VA in place you can start to concentrate on the important things in addition to organically developing your business and growing your client base.
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