How Can A Virtual Assistant Help Me

What do you do when you find your secretary overworked on a project and you urgently need to get some correspondence out?

Why not call on a Virtual Assistant (VA) to help you.

There are many advantages that you can gain for your business by using a Virtual Assistant. A VA can help you with general correspondence, diary management, a telephone answering service, research, web design, graphic design, book keeping and so much more.

Why not try a VA for that next once off project that you have planned but you know that there is just not really enough hours in the day for your existing staff to be able to deal with it.

The only important thing to remember is that a VA is not an employee. They are not accountable to you for their time off the project. You can ask that they are available to take your calls or email during certain hours and while I’m sure they’ll do their level best to facilitate that if something comes up and they need to be out of their office then they don’t need to ask your permission first.

 

You will also need to check with your VA what services they offer. Not all VA’s offer the same services. While the VA you have been working with might not offer a particular service feel free to discuss your needs with them as they may well know someone who is reliable and can help you.

You can start with something simple like an advertising mail-shot. If that works well then why not see what other services the VA has to offer you. You’ll be surprised at how much work can actually be outsourced to a VA without loosing the integrity of your business.

The only downside for you is that you will eventually have to start making your own coffee. That is one of the few things that a VA can’t do for you.

Before you start working with a VA you need to sit down either in person or virtually (using Skype, or one of the other messenger programs) or on the telephone and explain exactly what it is you want the VA to do for you, how you want the work returned to you, how you will get the work to the VA, as well as the layout that you require. The VA will then go off and do the work for you. Remember that as VA’s work virtually they may often have some other ideas on how to best do the project. Be open to new ideas and you may well be pleasantly surprised at how well your working relationship with you VA will become.