For my first blog, I wanted to think about the sort of questions a small business owner might be asking themselves, or typing into Google, when they wonder whether a Virtual Assistant could actually be useful to them.
There must be hundreds of variations. What can I outsource, do I really need admin help, is it worth paying someone else to do this? So I thought I’d start with an obvious one, what admin tasks should I outsource first?
When you first start a business, you are usually doing something you are good at. Then, hopefully because you are good at it, the business grows.
That is when the other stuff starts creeping in. Emails to answer, documents to prepare, records to update, appointments to organise and customers to get back to. Suddenly the working day is getting longer and weekends are becoming admin catch-up time.
So what could you hand over?
The jobs you keep putting off
This is probably the easiest place to start.
If there are jobs that sit on your list week after week because something more important always comes along, ask yourself whether you actually need to be the person doing them.
Updating spreadsheets, sorting records, preparing documents or dealing with routine emails are obvious examples.
The inbox that never seems to empty
Emails can take up so much time.
Some need your personal attention, but lots don't. Routine enquiries can be answered, messages organised and important ones flagged so you can concentrate on the ones that really need you.
Documents and paperwork
Letters, reports, forms, spreadsheets, proofreading and formatting all take time.
They still need doing properly, but that doesn't necessarily mean they need doing by the business owner.
Busy periods and one-off jobs
You don't have to employ a VA for hours every week.
Maybe there's a backlog that needs clearing, a project that needs some admin support, somebody off sick or simply a particularly hectic few weeks.
Sometimes a few hours of help is all that's needed to get things back under control.
Start small
You certainly don't have to hand over half your business.
Have a look at what is taking up your time. What things do you really hate doing? What keeps getting pushed back? What are you doing in the evening that could easily have been done by somebody else?
Those are probably the best jobs to start with.
After all, if you started your business to do something you are good at, it makes sense to spend more of your time actually doing it.