Do-It-Yourself Versus Hiring a Virtual Assistant

As an entrepreneur, especially if you are just starting out, you probably have limited funds. It is easy to think you should do everything yourself rather than hiring someone to help you get organized, but if you aren’t careful you could lose money by letting things fall through the cracks.

Every business needs a proper organizational structure to make sure tasks get done on time and determine where your business can grow.

While it is admirable to try to handle this organizational structure on your own, sometimes hiring a virtual assistant is your best bet to increasing productivity, and thus profits.

But, how do you know when the time has come for outside help? Let’s explore a couple of scenarios that would benefit from the aid of a virtual assistant.

You Are Not an Organized Person

Let’s face it, if you are not good at organization, no amount of self-help books or articles are going to significantly change that fact. While you may be able to add a little structure to your life with these aids, you are still not likely to get the full benefit that comes from thriving on structure.

This is where the virtual assistant, a person who has most likely chosen this profession because they do thrive on structure and organization, will be of great help to you.

A virtual assistant can create a schedule for you, prioritizing tasks and contacts in order of importance, and take the guess work out of what is next on your to-do list.

They can manage your inbox, removing those things that are unimportant and flagging those things that need your immediate attention.

A virtual assistant can keep up with your schedule, respond to event invitations, make your travel arrangements, and keep you up to date and on time for everything in your planner.

And this is just the beginning of the benefits.

If the words organization, planning or scheduling make you shudder and want to withdraw, you would probably benefit from putting those “dirty” tasks into the hands of someone who is ready and willing to take on that role.

You Have Too Much Work to Get It All Done by Yourself

A virtual assistant can do more than just organize your schedule. If you find that your workload is more than you can handle, hiring someone to take care of some of the day-to-day tasks could ease some of this stress.

This could be someone who responds to general questions, takes care of follow-up contacts, reaches out to new prospects, posts updates on social media sites, or any number of these daily tasks that eat up chunks of your time.

If you are finding it difficult to get everything done in a day, look at what tasks you could delegate to someone else. What is taking up the biggest chunk of your time? What tasks are necessary, but not a priority? What are some tasks you would be comfortable letting someone else take care of?

Think of tasks that could be done without requiring your approval before completion. These are the tasks you could farm out to a virtual assistant. If you find enough of these tasks to hand over to someone else, you can free up your time to focus on the growth of your business.

Your Business is Growing, But You’re Not Ready to Hire a Full-Time Staff

As businesses grow, they go through awkward stages where they aren’t quite ready to take on more full-time staff, but they really need an extra hand. This is where a freelance virtual assistant can be a great asset.

Generally, freelancers are comfortable with taking on a part-time gig, which allows you the breathing room you need for that awkward growth bubble.

You can work out a schedule based on your needs, and make sure tasks aren’t going unnoticed or unfinished.

This is a great option to make sure you don’t over-extend yourself, which is a real concern with a growing business.

If you don’t have enough staff, you could lose business from tasks not getting done. If you have too much staff, you could over-extend your finances or outgrow the actual needs of your business.

Taking on a freelance virtual assistant could help you make that transition more seamlessly.

You’re Trying to Expand into Other Areas

If you are trying to run multiple business ventures or attempting to expand into other niches with your current business, you may need help balancing the workload in these transitions. A virtual assistant can help you keep up with the extra work this type of expansion creates.

Balancing multiple ideas can become tricky, and having someone to keep your tasks in order, to help you move back and forth between your different roles and keep up with the minutia can help you keep everything moving forward.

A virtual assistant can also be helpful in keeping things going in your established business, so you can focus your time and energy on getting new ventures moving forward.

A good virtual assistant can act as an office manager, stepping in for you when you need to focus your attention in other areas. New ventures can be time-consuming, but you don’t want your established models to fall apart.

Hiring a virtual assistant can ensure everything will continue to run in your “absence”.

You Only Need Temporary Help

One good thing about freelance virtual assistants is that they are comfortable with the concept of temporary work. Anyone doing freelance work understands there is a lot of flexibility within this work model.

Freelancers are used to transitions and they are usually able to accommodate people seeking temporary help.

Another great part about this flexibility is if you find you need help again later, you can always hire that person back for another contract.

Or, if you realize you could use the help regularly you can work out a new contract with the assistant you hire, bringing them in on a more permanent part-time basis.

This flexibility can be helpful to an entrepreneur.

Making the Best Decision for Your Company

Keep in mind, hiring a virtual assistant is not the right move for everyone. Hiring someone you can’t afford to pay will not only create debt for your company but could also create a bad reputation for you.

If you find your business taking off however, and you’re ready for that extra help, a virtual assistant can be a great asset to your company, helping you increase profits and improving your company’s reputation by keeping up with deadlines and maintaining smooth processes.

Plus, a virtual assistant can decrease the stress of keeping up with the daily minutia and helping you stay organized.

Are you in need of a virtual assistant? You can contact Penny Layne Writes today to help with your organization and workflow needs. Check out the services page and contact Penny Layne Writes for a free consultation.