URL: http://www.womenentrepreneur.com/2009/06/the-flip-side-a-virtual-assistants-advice.html
In my article You Can't Afford Not to Hire an Assistant, I spoke about the need to hire an assistant and why many women business owners don't do it when they should. I recounted my own story about missing several meetings in a single week, the catalyst for finally hiring a virtual assistant to help me with my schedule.
I asked my virtual assistant, Stephanie Lee of Scratchpad Secretaries, to offer her advice to women business owners who may be on the fence about hiring an assistant. Why would someone want to hire an assistant, much less a virtual one? Here are some of her ideas for what you could have an assistant do for you:
When it comes to hiring an assistant--virtual or "real"--it's critical to know what you need done. Then start your search with that specific "needs list" so you can hone in quickly on the right person with the right skills.
I asked my virtual assistant, Stephanie Lee of Scratchpad Secretaries, to offer her advice to women business owners who may be on the fence about hiring an assistant. Why would someone want to hire an assistant, much less a virtual one? Here are some of her ideas for what you could have an assistant do for you:
- Template development. If you're in the startup
stages of your business, or even if you've been in business for years, have a virtual assistant prepare templates for you. It takes so much time
to prepare correspondence if you start from scratch each time,
with each new client, contact, supplier, etc. So have a VA prepare all
these bits and pieces in advance--everything from your letterhead and
simple introductory letters to contracts, thank yous and how-did-we-do?
letters. Then there are internal workings, such as critical path
templates, contact databases . . . anything and everything you can think
of that you'd use on a regular basis. Templates save so much time.
- Presentations. Creating the copy, design and formatting of PowerPoint presentations can take days. Outsource it. You can send the copy to your VA and have her create
the slides for you, completely branded. You can even conference via
Skype or Google Video Chat to work together in building the content
and editing.
- E-mail management and screening. Inboxes are
inundated with inquiries, requests, questions and, of course, spam. Let your virtual assistant get in there and manage it! Virtual assistants can also
answer routine customer-service e-mails, inquiries and the like. How
nice would it be to get into your e-mail in the mornings and have it be tidy?
- Website maintenance and updating. Quite often we
put our website maintenance in the "to do" folder, and there it stays
for days/weeks/months. Do you have a quick update but can't seem
to find the time? Want to revamp or freshen up your site but don't have time to take care of it? This is a perfect job for
your virtual assistant! Take it out of the "to-do" folder and put it in
the "done" folder.
- Online reputation and brand management. Let your virtual assistant keep track of what people are saying about your company/product/service and that of your competition.
When it comes to hiring an assistant--virtual or "real"--it's critical to know what you need done. Then start your search with that specific "needs list" so you can hone in quickly on the right person with the right skills.