Kudos! Your business is growing and you have decided it is finally time to hire an Office Assistant.
Hiring in-house staff can become complicated.
Questions to answer are “where to advertise”, “what skills and experience should the candidate have”, “what will their work schedule be”, “what equipment and furniture do I need to purchase” or “what if they don’t work out”.
Before writing up your recruitment ad, consider the advantages of outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant (VA).
A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a highly-skilled, independent professional who remotely provides administrative, technical and/or creative business support services ~VAnetworking.com
1. With a VA, you save money as you don’t have to provide office space, furnishings or equipment. Every VA works from their own office environment.
2. With a VA, you don’t have to worry about coordinating work schedules. Simply send off the work to be done with a due date.
3. A client only pays for the actual time a VA spends on completing the task. No money spent on bathroom visits, water cooler chats, or coffee breaks.
4. When hiring a VA, there is no need to pay for fringe benefits like health insurance, vacation pay or employer wage deductions. A Virtual Assistant takes care of all their own overhead costs.
5. In-house staff will probably require training. A VA is already proficient with the latest tools and technology to do the job.
6. As an independent business owner themselves, a VA has the ability to see the bigger picture. Unlike an employee, a VA knows and understands the challenges of running a business.
7. A Virtual Assistant invests in their own business and has the software available to complete projects. A client can save money by not having to use their funds to purchase software for every new project.
8. As a worldwide organization, VA’s have a resource pool available to call upon. If there is a time constraint, they have access to numerous connections who can be called upon to complete the job.
9. Commuting is never a problem with a VA. Your work will get completed even during the worst weather. No downtime due to traffic accidents, construction or vehicle emergencies.
10. As each client relationship is protected with a Confidentiality Agreement, you can be confident in the integrity of your VA and don’t need to worry about confidential company information being leaked at the water cooler.
When working out the true costs of hiring an employee versus outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant, a client not only benefits by having a more qualified, more experienced professional on hand, but once the math is done, the VA often comes in at a lower price!
Stop by our Virtual Assistant Networking Organization today and find that VA you’ve been looking for. They are waiting, ready to assist you with all your business needs.
Learn more about outsourcing to a VA here and find one for your business.
Working with a professional VA, preferably from the US is better if you need to get “official” work done that needs a confidentiality agreement (NDA).
If you are a simple small online business owner, then you should think about hiring someone from overseas for cost efficiency reasons. It at least is a viable alternative.
I’ve worked with Virtual Assistants from around the world for various reasons as well…good points Francis!
I particularly find it amusing that witht the rise of home internet access, you can almost take your entire office to your home. And virtual assistants are really good they can help do most of the tasks most business owners don’t have time of doing.
Exactly Lance! More and more entrepreneurs are choosing to work from home closer to their family life. Virtual Assistants are an awesome way to get some of those office tasks accomplished virtually 🙂
I think that virtual assistants are the bomb! I’ve been blessed and have enjoyed the opportunities of the ones I’ve worked with and continue to work with. I have learned a lot in the process of hiring them and I can better articulate what I require.
With all on our plates as solo-entrepreneurs it’s important to get the help with need without going broke to do it.
I like your points 6 and 7 so much.
Thanks for sharing
Awesome to hear your success working with Virtual Assistants. I would be lost in business without mine LOL!
Thanks for the tips on the advantage of hiring virtual assistant. Most top and successful companies now are using virtual team for their company and they get lots of benefits from it.
I agree Paulique that most successful businesses online are using virtual assistant services. The cost benefits alone are reason enough 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
You can save more money when you hire a virtual assistant. First, you pay them by the hours they work on your task. Second, you won’t cover the cost for electricity, computer and food, unlike when you hire an in-house assistant. They need little training and they are packed with skills from graphic design, accounting to data entry.
Exactly Leo! I’ve hired some Virtual Assistants who are jackies-of-all-trades and know just about how to do anything I need done. And if they don’t they know other VAs that can do it for me and are very proactive.
I am quite fascinated at how times are changing fast. People now have the option to work conveniently at home or everywhere as long as there is internet access.
Yes, it is amazing isn’t it? 🙂 I love working from my home office as a VA!
I do agree virtual assistant is necessary for any company which is growing small or big
I agree! I wish I had hired a VA for my own VA business in the beginning as I would have been further ahead quicker had I outsourced some of those tedious tasks I didn’t enjoy doing. 😉
Agree! VA could make an entrepreneur’s life a lot easier 🙂
It’s every Virtual Assistant’s mission 😉