Finding a Virtual Assistant to take some of the weight from your shoulders can be an absolute game-changer in your life and business. It can mean:
- an increase in income, because now you’ll have more time.
- that you can finally take on more clients.
- that you can create that online course or programme that you have been wanting to create forever.
- that you will no longer feel overwhelmed with tasks.
- that you will no longer have to worry about how much you have to do because tasks will just get done.
- no more tasks that you hate doing.
- that you can up your marketing game.
- that you can offer more higher priced offerings because you have more time for them.
- you will have more time to spend with your family.
- you can finally get those bigger projects off the ground with some additional support from your VA.
…and so much more.
But, you need to prepare yourself and your business for a new team member first.
Here are my top tips for getting ready to hire a Virtual Assistant:
#1. Figure out what you ACTUALLY need help with
Yeah, pretty obvious… but also an overwhelming question when you dive deeply into it especially if you are on the fence about handing certain tasks over to someone when you have always done them yourself and feel worried that they might not do it right. Your business is your baby, but VA’s completely get that, after all our businesses are our babies too. (Some VA’s actually have their own VA’s)
Dive deeply into what you love to do in your business, what you don’t enjoy doing and what tasks feel like massive energy/time suckers. Divide them up and make a list of what you want/need to be taken off your hands.
You can download the free workbook at the end of this post to help you do this and some of the other points below.
#2. Work out what you need to do to be 100% ready to have a VA on your team
Hiring a new team member can feel scary at first because it really is hard to release the reins on certain aspects of your business that you have always done yourself but imagine how it will feel when you can finally let it go and still see that same work getting done to the same high standard that you did yourself and be using your time way more efficiently.
Work out what you need to feel ready to let go and have someone helping you. That could be thinking about specific procedures that you want your VA to follow for certain tasks.
#3. Decide how many hours you will need your VA to work each month
Most VA’s work on monthly retainer packages of blocks of hours so having an idea of how many hours you need them to work will help you gauge where you need to start.
If you are unsure, I recommend finding a VA who can start with a smaller block of, let’s say, 5 hours per month but who also has the capacity to increase the hours per month as you get into the flow of working together.
You can use the free workbook at the end of this post to help you figure out your tasks and how much time you think you will need them
#4. Prepare your systems
What systems does your VA need to have access to in order to do the jobs you are going to be asking of them?
Are there any systems that are not working as you need them to? Do you need to make some tweaks before you take on a VA or could you get your VA to take on tackling your systems set up and improving it?
Think about how you would like to communicate with your VA. Do you want to have monthly catch-ups on Zoom? What project management app would you like to use with your VA? Remember, your VA might have preferences here but these are great things to have in your mind when looking for the right fit for you and your business.
#5. Finding the right VA
What do you need your VA to be proficient with in order to work with you? (Think skill set and proficiency in specific apps and systems etc.) Use this as a basis for finding the right person to join your team.
There are few ways that you could go about finding a Virtual Assistant:
– Ask others in your niche who they recommend.
– Put a job description with an application form on your website and post it to a selection of Facebook groups. Don’t post it in huge VA specific groups though as you might end up with a ton of applications to sift through.
– Or you can book in and chat with me to see if we would be a good fit. Here’s how.
#6. Give yourself some space when you first get started
Leave some room in your schedule to allow for things to crop up that you need to act on straight away. This could be simple things like explaining to your new VA that something has to be done in a certain way. Once you tell them, they’ll know forever and they can rinse and repeat from there.
