Working as a first time “official” VA, I’ve realized that it’s much harder to work with someone that’s miles away. VA`s are not location based, making it sometimes difficult to physically talk to a client or phoning them because of the time difference. My first big client is in Washington and in the beginning trying to communicate with him was a bit of a struggle. Communication is key to running a successful business. With the experience that I’ve gained these past months, I would most definitely say that clients need to educate themselves before working with a VA.
What can a VA do for you, and why is it profitable to your company?
Starting your own company can be difficult and to have a successful business you need people to work for and with you. A VA is the best way to start your hiring process. The meaning of VA is Virtual Assistant. This means that you can hire any-one in the world to work for you, and you don’t even have to be in the same country. A VA is a person how have certain skills and capabilities in logistics, social media, admin, accounting, IT services etc. All these boxes can be ticked by one person. When appointing a VA they can help you learn different kinds of skills, like:
- How to lead a team the right way
- What tasks to delegate to each employee
- How to manage your time and work efficiently
When developing these skills, you will learn how to hire the right person for each skill that you need in your company. A VA not only profits your company by doing work at a lower price, but profits you as a person by gaining skills you did not have. This most important requirement when working with a VA is COMMUNICATION.
Why is communication key when working with a VA?
A VA strongly relies on communication. When a VA struggles to communicate with a client the work that needs to be done can’t be done efficiently. To achieve your goal as a successful business owner it is crucial to communicate efficiently.
Depending on what type of job your VA is doing, they need to be able to contact all the necessary people. Such as someone doing Logistics, they need to be able to talk to the person:
- Taking the order
- Receiving the order
- Producing the order
For a VA to work efficiently they need all the information regarding what needs to be done. Don’t leave them in the dark and think they’ll figure it out, that`s when mistakes happen. Try to answer them as soon as possible, so the work can be done in real time. Get a way that will be the best to communicate with your VA, like:
- Email/Gmail
- Zoom
- Skype
Working with a VA and applying their abilities to your business:
Before talking business and jumping right in, make sure all the rules and boundaries are set beforehand. Most VAs work as hourly consultants, and they always need to be available during these times. Try to keep with the times that were specified, you are most likely not their only client during the day. Weekly updates from your VA can help you keep track of what is happening in your company.
Explaining what exactly is expected of your VA is also important, it helps them to know how to do the job and what is expected. If you don’t like the way they do certain things tell them, remember they don’t know you and how you like things.
Work to delegate to your VA:
- Production management
- Accounting
- General administration
- Social media
- Marketing
Before you hire your fist VA, try to educate yourself as much as possible and understand what it is like to work with a VA. If you are educated and understand the concept of a VA, you can work more efficiently with them. Having a VA work for you can be a good investment, and they can fit easily into your budget. Make your work load light by delegating tasks to them. By having more time on hand you can spend it with friends and family, or maybe go lie on a tropical beach.
