You’re already convinced that you need to hire a virtual assistant. It’s a pretty compelling concept, especially when you see how much employing one cost. But you might not know when to actually engage one.
Solution: we look online for suggestions. Here’s what a few specialists think:
When Is the Right Time to Hire a Virtual Assistant in eCommerce?
Here’s what Connor Gillivan, chief marketing officer at FreeeUp.com, thinks about the perfect time to get your own VA:
Think about how many hours you spend on other work. Does it leave you with enough time for your personal life? Do you need to spend more time with family, or to get quality rest? If you find that you have run out of time, then you need to hire a virtual assistant now.
The best time to hire a virtual assistant is when you are already using just about all of the time that you have allotted to your business. If you are running that business full time, then that means 8-10 hours per day. If the business is a sideline to supplement your regular income, then that’s however many hours you have to spare for work outside of your regular job.
Do You Need to Hire a Virtual Assistant? Here’s How to Tell
Kim Garst is an influential online marketing expert. She’s also an author, speaker and CEO, so she’s likely busy at any given time, and at one point probably needed her own VA badly.
When Kim shared the signs that a VA is the logical next step for one’s business, we took notes. These include the following indicators:
- You’re spending more time on administrative tasks than on building your business.
- Your family is complaining they don’t see you enough.
- You’ve lost much of the excitement of running a business.
- Things are falling through the cracks.
- You’re doing tasks that you KNOW someone else could do better.
When Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant?
Drop Ship Lifestyle, a site on drop-shipping by entrepreneur Anton Kraly, published a massive article on employing a virtual assistant. Here’s what Anton had to say about when you should hire one:
I am firmly of the view that you should start outsourcing and hiring virtual assistants as early as you can with the smallest and most repetitive tasks first, or, the tasks that you absolutely can’t possibly do yourself.
Get your toes wet early so that you know what to expect when it comes time to exploring more complex or longer lasting arrangements.
But there’s a caveat. Anton adds:
As always though, there is a balance here. Don’t outsource or hire a virtual assistant if you can’t afford it.
There is no point putting yourself under financial stress in the early stages of your business. Don’t put it on your credit card so that you can pay it off once you make sales. That’s a bad strategy.
If you’ve got the cash to put towards virtual assistant services early on, great. If not, don’t sweat it. Wait until you’ve started making profitable sales then reinvest some of that profit into outsourcing.
When To Hire A Virtual Assistant
The Tastemaker Conference is a yearly food blogger event, and its organisers once chimed in on the best time to take on a virtual assistant:
If you’re overwhelmed with the number of tasks it takes to keep your “hobby turned business” blog afloat, it might be time to hire a VA. If you’re finding that there are tasks that you loathe, but know they need to be done… it’s definitely time.
Make a list of the tasks you think you could hand off to someone else; email management, social media posting, post editing, photo editing, etc.
Remember, nobody is great at everything. Focus on the tasks you do well and outsource the rest.
Meet the Remote Workmate Hotlist
Once you’ve decided that it’s indeed time to outsource your tasks to a virtual assistant, do it with Remote Workmate. Unlike freelancing platforms where you do everything yourself, we handle all the heavy lifting for you, including time-consuming processes such as screening, recruitment and payroll.
In fact, you can choose from our pool of notable candidates right away. Simply visit our Hotlist at https://remoteworkmate.com/hotlist
You can browse a wide range of profiles on our Hotlist page. Once you find a qualified VA, simply fill out the form at the bottom of the page, and we’ll get in touch with you right away so we can talk about your business’ needs.
