What is a virtual assistant, and what can a virtual assistant do for you?
Well, if you are a small business owner or even a regular person whose very busy and has little time on your hands, a virtual assistant could just be the person you need to help with your life.
We hire for general services in so many other aspects of our lives, that it makes sense to consider hiring a virtual assistant.
If you want to know what a virtual assistant is and how one could help you get more done and be more productive, then read on. We’re going to take a dive into the world of online secretaries, aka virtual assistants and answer your questions.
What Is A Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant is someone who can help you with administrative duties for your business or even your personal life. Your virtual assistant can help grow your business by performing basic daily business tasks, or can even perform more advanced business development and outreach.
A virtual assistant can respond to your emails, moderate website comments or even handle every aspect of your social media and public relations.
Really, the sky is the limit. You decide how much responsibility you want your assistant to have based on your experience with them and your business needs.
A virtual assistant doesn’t take up space in your office and you don’t even need to hire someone in your own country.
A result of the ‘gig economy’, for better or worse, your virtual assistant can be there for you when you need them and are not a burden when you don’t need them.
The Benefits Of Hiring A Freelancer
If you’re trying to grow your business, then you’ll know the challenges you face as you begin to need more people to perform more tasks.
It’s all well and good to hire someone to help out, but taking someone on a contract means you have a long term responsibility. If your need for help disappears, then you may be left in an awkward or expensive situation.
Freelancers allow you to overcome this hurdle by only hiring for the period of time that you need the help.
Tasks can be highly specific and time-constrained – if that’s what you want.
And if you want someone for the longer term, then they can be there for you in those situations as well.
The ease of hiring virtual assistants for your work means that you can make your business more flexible and risk-averse than ever before.
How To Hire A Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistants can be hired on one of the many freelancing websites that have become popular in recent years.
In addition, there are many good virtual assistants that advertise themselves on their own websites.
Both routes have benefits and drawbacks.
When you hire on a freelancing website, there is an element of accountability for you and the freelancer. Money is held in escrow by the site, and any disputes can be managed openly and fairly with the help of a third party.
Hiring an individual can be cheaper in the long run as usual, the freelancing website will take commissions from both the freelancer and employer for their services. The downside here though is that any disputes between you and your virtual assistant won’t be moderated by a 3rd party.
Modern Help
So, if you’re struggling to keep up with administrative tasks, try a virtual assistant. You may be surprised.