All businesses, especially small businesses and startups, have difficulties handling the ever-growing number of tasks that come their way. It seems like an endless process ‒ you complete one pile and two more are waiting for you. Trying to get everything in order can get quite frustrating and without proper funds for hiring staff that can help out, it will be impossible to do everything yourself.
However, for every problem, there is a solution and in this case, the solution is a virtual assistant (VA). VAs are highly sought after in the business world today because they have a range of skills that can be very useful in managing business tasks. Small business or startup owners can find great help when finding and hiring the best virtual assistant companies to assist them in dealing with the sheer number of tasks, but the problem resides in which tasks should be delegated to VAs in the first place.
Here are a few ways you can use virtual assistants in business.
Social media presence
Both current and potential customers often browse social networks and it’s important for every business to maintain their presence on social media. That task demands a lot of attention and effort because people on social networks have a tendency to notice just how engaged a business is on social media channels. Maintaining presence includes posting and updating the audience regularly, as well as maintaining a good relationship and having a good line of communication with them.
However, this task can be daunting and exhausting for business owners who need to focus on other tasks as well. That’s where a VA can be of a great assistance, as they can focus on building and maintaining your social media visibility and presence, while you focus on something else. All that is required is to provide your VA with necessary information and let them work their social media magic.
Administrative responsibilities
Being a business owner can be overwhelming and there is only so much a single human being can do on their own. You will have your hands full with appointments, meetings, phone calls, e-mails and other minor yet important tasks, while having other business related issues to deal with, at the same time. At one point or another, you won’t be able to handle everything on your own and you will lose yourself in the sea of tasks.
However, you can get all that trouble off your shoulders just by using a virtual assistant that can help you sort out that entire mess, one task at a time. As mentioned before, VAs have a wide variety of skills that can be useful, including prioritizing meetings with business associates, appointments with acquaintances, as well as answering phone calls and e-mails. Your virtual receptionist can help you schedule all those mundane tasks, while you focus your attention on more pressing matters.
Managing your e-mail
Dealing with e-mails is similar to maintaining regular social media presence. If you don’t read your e-mails, you might miss out on something important and if you don’t respond to e-mails, then some people might get angry or some business opportunities will go out the door. Although managing e-mails doesn’t seem so bad, when there are hundreds of them on a daily basis, it seems like a nightmare.
However, if you focus on a single task on your own, then you won’t have time to deal with other tasks. A VA can focus on managing your e-mails effectively and inform you if something important that demands your personal attention comes up. Furthermore, a VA’s assistance doesn’t have to end at sorting out your e-mails. In fact, you can even delegate your e-mail lead generation to your VA and let them handle the marketing funnel journey.
Bookkeeping tasks
With everything on the plate, a business owner has to juggle with various tasks and manage different aspects of the business. While trying to handle everything else, business owners sometimes forget about paying bills and sorting out their bookkeeping tasks. Either one bill doesn’t get paid at all or it doesn’t get paid on time and before you know it, you’re in trouble. Having a VA that will handle all of your bookkeeping is quite beneficial and it can put your mind at ease, knowing your bills are handled properly.
Moreover, taking care of outstanding invoices and unpaid bills is one of the easiest tasks for VAs and many small businesses delegate their bookkeeping to virtual assistants. However, you may have difficulties with giving away information about your business accounts to your VR. That’s why it’s important to find a dependable and trustworthy virtual assistant that you can rely on.
Travel plans
Sooner or later you are going to need a vacation, otherwise you will burn out and your productivity will fail. For a business owner with a lot on their mind, sitting down to find the right destination, pick the right moment and make reservations for transportations and hotels isn’t really a priority compared to other tasks. You know you need some rest, but if you delay making reservations, you will waste your opportunity to have some time off.
A VA can easily accomplish this task for you and use their skills to find a destination, hotel and transportation that will suit you best. Moreover, a VA has the time to sort through all the offers and find the most economical solution for your vacation. Put some faith in your VA and let them organize your much-needed break.
Running a business is quite difficult and you know you won’t be able to manage everything on your own. You may not be able to hire staff to help you out, but you may get some help from a virtual assistant. As a matter of fact, a VA doesn’t cost as much as a full-time employee, yet their services will prove invaluable when dealing with an overwhelming number of tasks.
