Hiring a Virtual Assistant

You're sick and tired of being tired. You're exhausted. You're over worked and on the brink of burn out. You feel like you're always busy, yet never seem to find enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Well, let me tell you - you're not alone. It sounds like you've reached the stage where you know it's time to look at hiring a Virtual Assistant. Many business owners who set up their businesses eventually realise they need help.

It’s such a positive turning point in your business journey and means you are growing and ready to start outsourcing. Ready to take control.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

Firstly, chances are you’ve seen the term Virtual Assistant but might not fully understand what they do.  Have a read of this article which gives you a better idea of what a Virtual Assistant does.

One way to look at it is to imagine having your own Virtual Personal Assistant.  Someone on hand (such as a helping-Mand!) to assist you as and when you need it (sounds like a dream I hear you say!)

How do I hire a Virtual Assistant?

You don’t want to waste time choosing the wrong person. So you need to make sure that your VA is fully on board with you and your business. Finding the right one (often via networking groups) is key to making your business grow. A lot of our business comes via referrals.

How much does a Virtual Assistant charge?

I guess by now, the first thing in your mind is "can I afford a Virtual Assistant"? Let's face it, cost is the biggest deciding factor with anything we are looking to invest in these days. Virtual Assistant rates really do vary but like anything in life, you get what you pay for. 

Can you really put a price on valuable business support?

Having someone there to complete tasks when you don't have time, someone to keep you organised, work on your marketing, engage with your audience on social media and remind you of important dates...  Ultimately it's going to have such a positive impact on your business.

Imagine this, you've found the perfect Virtual Assistant who specialises in your industry. She charges £30 an hour (the going rate for reputable VA's in the UK is between £30 to £35). You're unsure and worried it’s too expensive.

Ask yourself the following:

• If I don't look into hiring a Virtual Assistant now how long can I keep running my business alone?
• What are my goals and how important is it to have business support?
• How amazing would it be to spend more time with the family and not be on my laptop or phone all the time?
• What is my rate/how much do I make in a day?  How much am I spending per hour when doing my own admin vs outsourcing it for £30 an hour? 
• If I look for a cheaper option what will the experience and level of support be like?

Remember, you can't grow your business if you don’t invest in valuable support.

Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Now you’ve switched your mindset from the cost to the actual investment it’s time to get started on the steps you need to take when hiring a Virtual Assistant.

☆  Decide what tasks you want the Virtual Assistant to do

I can’t stress how important this step is. You need to identify what tasks you want your Virtual Assistant to carry out.

If you put out a LinkedIn post saying "I'm looking for a Virtual Assistant" you will be inundated with lots of messages and probably feel more stressed than you did before.

An outsourcing exercise is the best way to work this out.  Grab some paper and divide into four sections.

Label each section: section is labelled as follows:

☆ Tasks I love 
☆ Tasks I don't love
☆ Tasks I don't know how to do 
☆ Tasks you feel you shouldn't be doing

What sort of Virtual Assistant are you looking for?

Now you’ve listed your tasks into sections you need to consider what type of Virtual Assistant you’re looking for.

Project based Virtual Assistant

Are most of your tasks one off projects - for example, creating a logo, supporting with an event or updating your website with new content?

Permanent Virtual Assistant

You might need a permanent ongoing Virtual Assistant who would fulfil a role and become a member of your sidekick or virtual team member. This is someone you ask for support regularly!

Industry Specific Virtual Assistant

If you work in the financial industry then you might want to look for a Virtual Assistant who specialises in this area - whereas if you are an artist or photographer, you may want to work with someone who's creative. You may even look for someone who can support neurodivergent people. 

☆  Identify their skill set

You need to consider hiring to your weaknesses. There is no point in hiring a Virtual Assistant who is equally as good at everything that you do. Unless you want them doing all the tasks you can do!

Soft skills v hard skills.  Figure out what areas you need help with.  Are you poor at calendar management or useless when it comes to doing your own marketing and social media?

If you struggle to keep up with the latest tools and technology, a Virtual Assistant who is totally clued up in this area would be a huge benefit to your business.

Now you know what tasks you want to outsource and you've ascertained the skill set that will compliment you, you can put together a "Job Description".

☆  Create a Job Description

Hiring the right Virtual Assistant begins with defining the roles of your business needs.  Putting in the time at this stage will save you time later on.

Your job description should have:

• Job Title – some examples might include:

"Virtual Business Assistant for admin tasks, bookkeeping and CRM updates"

"Virtual Assistant needed to support CEO with meetings, event management and minute taking."

"Creative Entrepreneur seeking a Virtual Assistant to help with Social Media, Website Management and Marketing Strategies."

Try and be as specific as you can.

• Roughly how many hours per week you'll need.
• Location – the whole point of a Virtual Assistant is to be virtual. However, you need to consider this if you want her close to attend meetings or run events . She'll need to be within a reasonable travel distance.
• A brief overview of the tasks you’ll be looking to outsource (taken from the exercise above).
• Skills that are important to you - for example - problem solving skills/communication/minute taking/WordPress or SquareSpace expert/minute taker

☆  Ask for recommendations

Easily the most tried and tested method. Word of mouth or a solid recommendation from a contact goes a long way.

However, even if you are recommended a Virtual Assistant who your friend uses, you still need to discuss your Job Description with her to make sure she is happy with it and can fulfil the role.  

☆  Ask some interview questions

Part of the success of finding and hiring a Virtual Assistant comes from asking the right questions.

How did you end up where you are today?

A great way to start the conversation and to find out their history and experiences to date.

How long have you been a Virtual Assistant?

It's good to find out what they were doing before and whether they come from an admin background?

Where are you located?

The whole point of being virtual is that they work from home but in the event you are looking for a Virtual Assistant to help on site or attend events then it will be best to find someone relatively local who is also willing to come into your office. This will also cut down travel costs.

What are your core services and what do you enjoy doing the most?

Find out what they specialise in and what they enjoy doing. Hopefully they love doing the things you don't – a perfect match!

What is your preferred method of communication?

If you prefer to communicate via text/phone but the Virtual Assistant only communicates via email - you may need to work around this as it might cause difficulties.

What are your working hours?

If you need support between the hours of 9 to 5 and the VA works only in school hours this might not work. 

Do they have capacity?

This will help you decide whether or not they can give you the time you need to complete the tasks you outsource.

What sort of clients are you currently working with and what tasks do you regularly do for them?

A good question for the Virtual Assistant to share what they are currently working on. Some might be relatable to you that you hadn't thought of. Add to your outsourcing exercise sheet!

What software and tools do you use and/or would recommend?

Make this an open ended question and see what she recommends. The Virtual Assistant might have some good suggestions to help you work smarter and more efficiently. Which is the ultimate goal here!

What's your hourly rate and payment terms? Do you offer retainer packages?

If the hourly rate is more than you'd hoped, remember hiring a Virtual Assistant is an investment.  This is also a good opportunity to find out if she offers packages which can help with monthly budgeting.

☆ Give the Virtual Assistant a trial task to complete

If you've reached this step then well done! You've found a Virtual Assistant who might be the one. However, we highly recommend that you ask your new VA to complete a trial task. Perhaps you could ask her to complete a research task? Or create a few templates for your social media?

Personally I have recommended this many times and it's worked wonders. It helps both parties learn about each other and whether they want to work together.

A final thought…

Working with a Virtual Assistant will completely change the way you and your business operate. For the better. 

Give it a try.

Want to work with a Virtual Assistant? Book your discovery call today.