Do you have a virtual assistant?
They’re one of the best business-building resources available. And they can prevent you from getting overworked, burnt out, and just plain old cranky. Yes, a good virtual assistant can be a real life saver. However, many business owners aren’t making the most of their virtual assistant. Here are a few tips, ideas, and strategies to make sure you’re using your wonderful virtual assistants in the best manner possible.
Specialize
Some virtual assistants provide a wide variety of services while others specialize. In general, it’s often better to find assistants that specialize. This ensures that you’re getting help from someone who is an expert at a given set of tasks and has specialized knowledge. They’ll be more efficient at their specialty task which means they’ll be able to accomplish more. Most assistants charge by the hour.
Broaden Your Horizons
You don’t have to have just one assistant. You can hire one assistant to manage your bookkeeping, one to manage client communications, one to manage social media and so on. Specialization means you’re getting the best for your money and it makes good business sense to hire assistants for all of your administrative tasks.
Beyond Basic Admin
You might be surprised just how sophisticated virtual assistants can be. You can hire an assistant to write code for your site. You can hire an assistant to do market research for you and you can hire one to find clients. Don’t limit your assistants to checking email and sending invoices. Find assistants to help you with all of your business administration needs.
Create a Central Communication System
If you’re working with a number of virtual assistants, consider creating a central communication or project management system. This will help keep all files, milestones, and messages in one central location. It also makes it easy for your assistant to ask questions and for you to see the status of projects and tasks.
Don’t Micromanage
Presumably, you’ve hired top-notch assistants who are more than capable of handling the tasks you’ve asked them to manage. Let them take care of it without your interference. If you spend your time micromanaging them then you’re wasting your time and probably irritating your assistants. If they can’t handle a task without your constant interaction, find a new assistant.
Virtual assistants are significant business assets. If you’ve never worked with an assistant before, consider hiring one to take some of the workload off of your shoulders. It frees you up to focus on the profit-generating tasks of your business. And if you’re presently working with an assistant, consider hiring them to manage one more task or seek to add another assistant to your team.