Five Ways Your Virtual Assistant Can Help Build Your Business

Join the business owners of tomorrow with a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants can employ the skill set of a team at a single hourly rate.

The average person spends eleven minutes refocusing after a distraction. Eleven wasted minutes interspersed throughout your day adds up, particularly if you run your own company. How can you, a professional,cultivate business if you spend your time supporting smaller tasks? We understand: the phone must be answered. Calendars must be maintained. The business must stay afloat as it grows. There are better ways to manage your day.

As a business owner or entrepreneur seeking efficient business practices, you are probably familiar with your options. Do you work around a learning curve,adapting to a revolving door of apps and software? Or do you hire in-house staff, adding yet another layer of business to your business? Each option comes with a list of viable pros and cons, but why not combine the best of the internet with personalized support?

Let's explore five ways a virtual assistant can optimize your workflow, bridging the gap between nuance and technology.

1. Virtual Assistants Offer Fully Customizable Services

Today’s entrepreneurs and company managers need more than an assistant who completes average office tasks. To keep up with the current business landscape, your company needs an intuitive self-starter who adapts to your business practices without overhead or barriers. You can outline your expectations and rely on your assistant to tailor day-to-day tasks around your preferences.

Virtual assistants offer many common reception services such as scheduling, interacting with established and potential clients, researching on-going projects, and streamlining current practices. They also offer the benefit of personalization through their extensive work experience. The online model allows virtual assistants to operate across multiple industries, gleaning the benefit of different skills. A seasoned virtual assistant is versatile, which translates into efficient,accurate support. You might need someone to manage your calendar and emails today, but pilot proprietary software and organize travel plans tomorrow, all within a scalable time-frame. You can run your business your way by delegating the details you deem necessary.

2. Virtual Assistants Employ a Wide Skill Set

When employing one virtual assistant, you grow your staff by an entire virtual team, harnessing the collective hive-mind of their firm. Each virtual assistant, vetted through background checks and industry experience, is one of many, each with a unique skill set backing their administrative proficiency. This provides two benefits: Longevity, and expertise.

You will never experience a gap in service with a virtual assistant. If you employ staff, you’ve probably fielded sick days and turnover. Both issues disappear with a digital team. Yes, you work with one person who oversees your file, but that one person works with a backup assistant, ensuring that someone can take over in their absence. Should your assistant change jobs or clients, or maybe receive a promotion, a new dedicated virtual assistant can hit the ground running.

The second benefit allows your company to vary their tasks without having to negotiate individual limitations. Take a look at a hypothetical situation: You have a nice rhythm with your virtual assistant; they complete your customized tasks accurately and efficiently. What happens if you assign a project that requires a new skill, due by the end of the day? Your assistant can access a team with the wide-ranging experience needed to complete the work. This model provides prompt resolution and cost-effective service. Gone are the days of employing one person who engages in a lonely conversation with the internet, searching how-to videos.Contracting one virtual assistant grows your business into a team.  

3. The “Virtual Office” Model Comes with Benefits

As technology evolves, companies of all sizes run the risk of falling behind in their fields. This pertains not only to efficiency but also to employing any best practices or standards of 2020. The internet is your virtual assistant’s office. To remain on the cutting edge of their own industry, they keep abreast of advances in productivity and security.

Your assistant has a duty to retain and protect their client’s sensitive information on their digital platform. Virtual assistant companies use proprietary software that stores business files, tracks billing time, safeguards reference information, and integrates platform-based processes. They host these features on secure servers and private internet connections with multiple firewall measures.

On a less urgent note, your assistant knows their way around the most efficient software and programs on the market.It’s their job to be the best in the field, therefore, continuing technical education is key. Unless you work in the tech sector, you probably lack the manpower and time to scout the latest developments used by your peers. As your assistant becomes acquainted with your business, they may suggest new systems and practices. Goodbye, ever-growing list of learning curves. Hello,streamlined efforts that integrate with your current work-flow. Let your virtual assistant keep you on the cutting edge of your industry while trimming the fat.

4. Your Virtual Assistant Is Dedicated to Your Company

Many companies express reservations about virtual assistants and their potential inconsistencies. This fear stems from the idea that your virtual assistant receives your request, becomes familiar with your file, and then disappears for the next task, leaving you to train the next virtual assistant on basic information and tasks. That is not a sustainable business model.

The best assistants are people who understand your company. This person should work with the same dedication as a brick-and-mortar employee. Virtual assistants know that every business is unique. They understand that maintaining one point of contact, or one assistant, creates the best working environment. Consequently, delegation becomes easier. You and your assistant develop a short-hand style of communication. This level of nuance yields trackable results. Recurrent tasks happen faster as your assistant anticipates your needs.

5. Virtual Assistants Provide Financial Flexibility

When calculating the risks and benefits of contracting a new team member, monetary investment becomes an important part of the decision. Is your new virtual assistant worth the cost? When breaking down resources versus services rendered, you’ll find your virtual assistant to be low-risk.

If you are an entrepreneur or you operate a start-up, you know that employing staff can be an obstacle. You might not have the financial capacity or resources to hire in-house assistance. By contracting a virtual assistant, you bypass paperwork, taxes, office space,insurance, paid time off, and other logistics needed to engage full or part-time employees. A virtual assistant only charges for the time it takes to complete the dedicated task. You are not charged for delegation or inter-office research. As you only pay for the time and support you need, you can easily budget your staffing needs as you build your business.

If you are a seasoned business owner or collaborate with larger companies, you may have more detailed needs. Perhaps you and your team require high-level, consistent, daily work. Or, maybe your company requires intermittent support that changes from month to month. With a virtual assistant, you are never locked into a contract. You will never find yourself keeping your staff occupied with busywork. You simply purchase the hours you need and adjust as necessary. This format ensures cost-effective service, and-therefore, a solid investment.

So read some fresh advice on how to get started with your virtual assistant, once you're working with one, of course!