As a home based entrepreneur, you look forward to getting to the point where
you need to outsource work. If you're outsourcing, you must be busier than you
can handle and looking to lighten your load. If that's the case, you'll want to
take a look at hiring a virtual assistant.
"[Virtual assistants] provide extensive marketing solutions, administrative
support, proofing, editing, website design, bookkeeping and many other
specialized services for entrepreneurs, small businesses, authors and others who
want to bring their business to a new level," says Diana Ennen, author of
Virtual Assistant--The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA.
VAs can help your business grow in many ways. They can take over daily
administrative tasks so you can focus more on clients, customers and growing
your business. And once the VA gets your day-to-day tasks under control, you may
start to move into more of a partnership. "A VA can become the second in command
for the client," says Carolyn Berg, virtual assistant and owner of
CyberOffice Solutions LLC.
"When the trust grows over time, the VA starts to work with the client's
customers, helping make even more money and allowing their business to grow."
Another way a VA can help your business grow is research. Most business
owners don't have time to research or make updates to databases. A VA can handle
research as well as help find new business alliances and opportunities.
And virtual assistants aren't only assistants to business owners; they're
business owners themselves. They understand the ins and outs of running a
business and know what is involved in owning a home based business. "VAs have a
unique way of looking at problems from a business standpoint," says Candy
Beauchamp, virtual assistant and owner of
OffAssist. "Many of them have had their own growing pains and dealt with
them."
Brad Farris, owner of Anchor Advisors
Ltd., a business consultancy in Chicago, uses one VA who performs
administrative tasks, another who does his accounting and a variety of others he
brings in for special projects, such as designing brochures. "If I was doing all
of this work, I would never have time to see the number of clients that I'm able
to see," says Farris. "VAs have given me back time and created a broader range
of services that I can offer to clients."
You don't have to be in a big office building to have an assistant, and you
don't have to invite one to join you in your home office, either. You simply
need to look online for one of the many talented VAs out there. Get started by
checking out these helpful resources:
Lesley Spencer Pyle is the founder and president ofHomeBasedWorkingMoms.com and HireMyMom.comand the author ofThe Work-at-Home Workbook: Your Step-by-Step Guide on Selecting and Starting the Perfect Home Business for You. Pyle has been working from home for more than 13 years.