Why Hire A Virtual Assistant?
Businesses around the world seek the help and an experienced professional right at their fingertips. Is this possible? Find out more by reading the article.
Help! I need somebody, not just anybody. Help! I need somebody now! This may be a lyric from the 60’s Beattle song “Help,” but it’s become a modern day business chant.
More and more small to medium size businesses are overwhelmed with the myriad of tasks that face them at work. Hiring staff is not the best solution as it entails higher costs that most would rather avoid. One answer is to outsource the work using the services of a professional Virtual Assistant (VA).
What is a VA? The International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA), the industry’s nonprofit parent organization, defines it as:
A Virtual Assistant is an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery, a professional VA assists clients in his/her area of expertise from his/her own office on a contractual basis.
The first known VA network was started by Kathie Thomas from Australia , who founded “A Clayton’s Secretary” in 1994, followed by AssistU from the USA in 1997. Thereafter more and more started to emerge, as technology made it possible for VAs to establish their home office and reach out to a larger audience. Today, many VAs prefer to be called Virtual Business Operators (VBOs) as it more accurately describes the variety of services they provide beyond just admin support.
The business community in BC consists primarily of small businesses, many with less than five employees. Ajay Sirsi, York University marketing professor at the Schulich School of Business, states, “nearly 70 per cent of new businesses fail within the first five years for two main reasons: the owners lack a solid business plan or their attention is divided among so many tasks that they suffer from attention diffusion.” Trying to wear all the hats is dangerous as it causes the owner to lose focus, productivity diminishes, quality decreases as the chance of errors rise, not to mention the cost of recovery.
Hiring the services of a VA makes perfect sense for small businesses in every industry. The benefits far outweigh the costs, offering small business access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable or not affordable. VAs are also flexible. Although most of their services are provided virtually any time any where, there are occasions when VAs will go onsite to client premises to assist with tasks that require a physical presence.
The next time you find yourself overwhelmed and spending too much time working “in” your business instead of “on” your business, don’t start chanting, “Help! I need somebody,” consider the services of a VA. You’ll be glad you did!
