Outsourcing Tasks to a VA

If you're overrun by your work and the little things are just getting in the way, it may be time to start outsourcing tasks to a Virtual Assistant. Bringing in outside support means that your business is going up to the next level!

To do this, you need to let go of things a little bit , which can be difficult. We get into the habit of doing everything ourselves and I suppose there may be an element of 'nobody can do it as well as I can' or 'nobody understands my processes'. I'm sure every business owner grapples with this for a long time and therefore, finding the right person is key. 

The Onboarding Stage

People think that getting a VA is going to be a quick fix. Unless it is a specialist service - it isn't.

The onboarding process must be done right in order for things to run smoothly. The first month can be a little strange as it can feel that you're paying somebody to learn. In the long run, this will benefit you and there are ways and means of delivering such training, such as recording instructional videos. This saves on meeting times and ultimately, the time that you're paying for.

This is only relevant if your VA is learning to use new systems of course. They may actually be more experienced than you in using certain systems and platforms. If so, trust them and let go! It takes time to get used to the way people work and can seem silly to pay somebody for 30 minutes to do a task that you could do in  2 minutes. In the long run when you have a system in place, it's so worth it!

What should you have in place before working with a VA?

 To sum it up - Anything that would speed up the process of getting going would be very useful for the VA and beneficial to yourself. 

Have a think about which tasks have taken up most of your time over the last week. Could these tasks be outsourced or do you need to do them? If they could be outsourced, pop it on your list. 

➡ Set yourself a project management system up, such as Trello and put tasks on there in advance.

➡ Have your login details and passwords for platforms at the ready.

➡ Decide how you would like to communicate with your VA.

➡ Create a list of everything you'd like to outsource and a VA will be able to help you work out how many hours may be needed each month. 

What can VAs do?

The term 'Virtual Assistant' seems to have become a little bit of an umbrella title for so many different jobs that can be carried out remotely. 

To name a few, there are VAs that carry out tasks such as;

- Bookkeeping (these VAs should be AML registered).

- Email/diary management.

- Social media management.

- Copywriting.

- Community engagement.

- General admin.

- Client onboarding.

- Email scheduling. 

- Systems set up. 

- Lifestyle admin. 

One of the most common tasks to be outsourced is Social Media. This seems to be something that people just want to get rid of because it takes up so much time. A VA can look at your content and repurpose it for other platforms BUT that content needs to be there and you need to have built up your audience. This is why it probably isn't a good idea to outsource this element of your business if you are just getting started. You need to interact with your audience and put time, effort and energy into your marketing. 

It can be hard to let somebody else into your business at first. After all, it is your baby! 

Join communities and build relationships with VAs. You will soon realise who you would like to work with and who you will grow to trust. Finding the right person is key.

🎧 Click below and take a listen to Episode 39 of my podcast where I chat to Danielle Carrigan about 'all things VA and why you may need one'.