If you are a busy executive, entrepreneur, small business owner, teacher, or head of a household, you probably ask yourself everyday how you can achieve some type of work-life balance, whatever that means to you. In 2020 shutdowns and uncertainty in your personal and professional life may have blurred the lines between work and home.
If you weren’t doing it all before, you’re probably feeling like you have to do it all now!
Maybe you wish that you had someone to help plan a family vacation (if you have time to take one). Or you’d like someone to help you organize your business finances, respond to emails, and answer calls (giving you time to take a vacation). Maybe you need someone to focus on the tasks that you don’t enjoy or areas outside of your expertise so that you can run the business and still have personal time for your other pursuits.
If this describes you, consider hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA).
What is a VA?
When you hear the term Virtual Assistant you may think about someone sitting behind a computer in a far-away place answering calls from all sorts of businesses and referring them somewhere else. You may even think about chat bots that provide pre-written responses to emails or software designed to automate customer response time.
Not all VAs are the same
If you are thinking about hiring a VA, you have many different options. There are websites and apps that allow you to hire someone yourself, but do you really want to add yet another task and responsibility for supervision to your already full plate?
When you go to certain sites, you may see that what you may think of as a VA can also be called a Virtual Personal Assistant (PA), a Virtual Executive Assistant, an Online Secretary, Remote Personal Assistant, or any number of other titles.
Some of these may be individuals who work as freelancers and may be located anywhere in the world. Others may be services that can provide just one specific kind of task or job using a rotating pool of employees. Do you want to spend time sifting through ads? Are you even sure what services you want right now?
An easier way to find a VA is to use a company whose mission is to hire, train, and match VAs with people like you. This gives you flexibility without the hassle of starting over if your needs change, or the person you’ve hired doesn’t work out.
VA Companies are Different
When using a company you’ll typically be dealing with one contact who will help you set your goals for a VA and customize the role for your specific needs. You will get a plan for an amount of time that you select, and your VA will work with you to keep you up to date based on your preferences. These companies have a pool of trained VAs, allowing you to select the right person (or persons) without you having to manage the hiring process.
VAs can specialize in very niched tasks in a limited scope role, or you may need an entire team of VAs, each specialized in a different task to tackle all the mundane parts of your job and life.
A good VA company offers premium services, allowing you to start with one project or set of expectations and add or subtract different services as needed.
Ultimately, VA companies want to help their clients achieve work-life balance, whether that happens with just one task, or over many years.
If you’re ready to explore your options, you probably want to know how to get started, and what a VA company will cost. Find your answers here.
Who Uses VA Companies and What Services Can I Get?
Whether you need help with your small business, large company, executive staff, volunteer board, or family of any size, a premium service company will offer a range of choices for both your business and personal needs. If your goal is work-life balance, they will find the best VAs with the appropriate training and skills to accommodate you.
Some basic services that a VA can perform include:
- Scheduling calendar management
- Data entry and spreadsheets
- Travel planning and booking
- Email organization and management
- Finding the perfect birthday gift for your mom
- Scheduling appointments for you, your family members, and pets
VA companies can also help you with specialized services such as software training, copy writing and editing, event planning, social media management, and marketing. All you have to do is ask your VA to point you in the right direction.
Ultimately, VA companies want to help their clients achieve work-life balance, whether that happens with just one task, or over many years.
If you’re ready to explore your options, you probably want to know how to get started, and what a VA company will cost. Find your answers here.