4 Fantastic Tips For Hiring A Virtual Assistant

Does this situation sound familiar?

You’re a small business entrepreneur, doing it all yourself. You have a big project due by the end of the day that only you can work on. Unfortunately, you also have to post your company’s social media, finish up writing a blog post, sort through your emails, and build a sales page. And that isn’t even counting the hundreds of distractions that can occur throughout the average business day. How on earth are you going to get your big project finished with all of those little, non-specialized tasks in your way? The answer is that you need to hire a virtual assistant!

A Virtual Assistant can take care of all of those tasks for you, so you to focus on only you can do. Effectively utilizing a Virtual Assistant can double your income and daily productivity, allowing you to focus on growing your business. So, you’re sold, you want a Virtual Assistant. But now the question is, how do you hire the right one?

#1: Figure Out What You Need a Virtual Assistant For

This is a big one. You want to make the process of hiring a Virtual Assistant as smooth as possible. So, before hiring one, you need to figure out exactly what you are going to hire them to do.

Take stock of your daily and weekly activities, making note of every single task that you have to devote your time.

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#2: Research Which Virtual Assistant Company is Best for You

Now that you have your list of tasks that you want your Virtual Assistant to do, you need to find a Virtual Assistant company that can do them. Not all Virtual Assistant firms offer the same services. Some might specialize in email and phone management, others in graphic design. As the demands of businesses grow and change, my suggestion is to find a company that offers a wide array of different services, so that they will be able to help you out, no matter what kind of a task you need done in the future.

#3: Figure Out Project Management Systems

There is always something else to do and that work can pile up, pulling your focus off of the big picture. Keeping all of those balls in the air becomes a lot simpler once you set up a project management system to keep your business running smoothly.

When hiring a Virtual Assistant for administrative work, you want to make sure that they have experience in project management. Effective project management can make the difference between a struggling small business and a thriving one. When hired, I always help all of my clients set up project management and task management systems.

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#4: Discuss Time Tracking

OK, so you’ve found the perfect Virtual Assistant company that offers the services you want. Now, how do you pay and keep track of the work that they do for you?

Time tracking will ensure you only pay your Virtual Assistant for the time they’ve spent on the tasks you want done. Utilizing a time tracker such as Harvest can make this kind of time tracking a snap. Prior to taking on a task, your Virtual Assistant should be able to give you an estimate of how long they believe it will take, allowing you to accurately budget your funds. If you hire a Virtual Assistant to do a weekly task, you will always know exactly how much time you can expect them to spend on it.

#5: Always Keep the Lines of Communication Open

Communication is a two-way street. If your Virtual Assistant is working on a time-sensitive task for you and needs more information, they should be able to get in contact with you ASAP.

Sometimes, it’s the actual hiring of a Virtual Assistant that is the hardest part. Once they are hired, a great Virtual Assistant will start to learn everything about your business. This is just one of the ways hiring a Virtual Assistant can be the superior option for many small businesses.

As the owner of a small business myself, I know the demands that are put on an entrepreneur’s time. If you’d like to schedule a free consultation, please contact me! In the end, hiring a Virtual Assistant is as easy as starting a conversation. So, let’s have one!