There’s no denying the value of a virtual assistant. They can handle the more time consuming tasks involved in running a business and free you up so you can handle the bottom line profit making tasks, the core of your business.
The trick is to find the right virtual assistant. The one who will make your life easier and improve your business. Here’s how:
Step One: Determine what you need an assistant to do. Do you need them to handle email? Blog posting? Bookkeeping? Define what you need an assistant to do before you set out to find the right one for your business. Each assistant comes with their own portfolio of skills and knowledge.
Step Two: Ask for referrals. One of the best ways to find any kind of provider whether it is a ghostwriter, attorney or an assistant is to ask people you know and trust for referrals. The presumption being, of course, that the assistant has an established history working with people you know and trust and is therefore trustworthy for your business needs too. Referrals can also help get a relationship off on the right foot because you’re both coming from the same place, a place of common associates and respect.
Step Three: Make Contact. You have your list of the tasks or responsibilities you need an assistant to handle, once you have a handful of potential assistants to contact, start at the top of the list and make contact with them. This doesn’t have to be face to face and in our virtual world it often isn’t however scheduling a bit of time to chat with a potential assistant via email or on the telephone can help answer a lot of questions you both might have.
Step Four: Ask questions. In addition to making sure they’re ready, willing, and able to take you on as a client, make sure they have experience with the technologies you’re using.
Step Five: Systems. Finally, to ensure that you and your assistant are on the same page, it is extremely helpful for them to have systems or a ‘how to’ worksheet for the tasks you need them to accomplish. Establishing these systems and procedures ahead of time will make their job easier and yours.
Hiring a virtual assistant for your business can be an intimidating process however there are steps to take to ensure you’ve found not only a capable assistant but one that will work well with you and your business.
This is really great advice, Crissy–thanks for sharing! When I found my first VA, my mentor suggested that I schedule regular check-ins (at first, they were weekly, now they’re every other week) by phone so that my VA and I could discuss project status and the relationship in general. This way, I could let my VA know of any areas of concern, and vice versa, before they became problems. I found that regular contact to be really useful.
Yes – you are right. Checking in on a regular basis will help keep problems at bay! Thanks for sharing that!