How to Know When to Hire a Virtual Assistant (and how to do it!)

Sep 21

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I get asked this question ALL. THE. TIME. And the truth is, I think most of the time, business owners know when it's time to hire out. But they don't realize it because they don't know what to delegate to a virtual assistant or other team member. So they keep putting it off.

Let's change that right now.

Truth is that there is no specific, steadfast rule to follow to know if it's time to hire out some of your work. But there are several things to take in to consideration.

Tasks that are taking a lot of your time but aren't directly affecting your income. This could be anything from scheduling social media posts to sending invoices to clients. Your time is better spent on working with your clients to give them a stellar experience and finding new dream clients.
Tasks that you are not good at. I know, we all want to be good at everything, right? But let's face it, we aren't. Some of us are good at tech, some are more creative, some are better at giving advice and direction. While all our businesses need a little of everything, it's best to hire out the tasks that are not your expertise. Having a kick ass, professional graphic instead of something that looks like a 3rd grader created will be worth every penny.
Tasks that you hate doing. Maybe you are good at creating graphics for your business but you hate doing it. Or you can schedule social media posts but the thought of the time it takes makes you want to stay in bed. Hire it out. I can guarantee you there is someone out there who loves doing what you hate doing. Hire it out. Check it off your list. And know that it will get rocked.
If you have a team or maybe one assistant that helps you with side tasks, don't write off adding to that. The same goes for your current team that goes for you. They may be helping you with a little of everything right now, but when it's time to up your game in certain areas, hiring experts is the way to go.

Hiring out will totally change your life. I've mentioned this before, in other blogs, on Facebook...but it's worth repeating. Hiring a virtual assistant, someone to help you work in your business, is probably the best thing you can do for yourself.

You will almost instantly have more free time. More time to give your clients or spend on creating your courses. You'll be able to start finally going on all those vacations you envisioned when you started working for yourself.

More wine (enjoyed, not downed out of stress!), more dog walks, more time with hubby. Know that your business is taken care of when you need to walk away for a few days.

Now comes the question: How the hell do I find this unicorn VA?

Historically, Fiverr. And if you're looking for one-off projects, maybe this is still a good place for you to look. But most likely, you won't find your long-term, unicorn team member here.

Facebook groups are another option. You are more likely to find someone who specializes in what you need help with here. Chances are they are also running their own business and understand exactly what you need. You may still find someone who can help with one-off projects, if that's what you need. But you will also find a potential long term team member who can become your right hand person.

A top notch VA will also have some sort of client on-boarding process. This is important because you want to be sure that there are provisions in place to protect both sides of the agreement. They should send you a contract, a timeline of your project (although this may not be set in stone if you are hiring for overall business assistance), and a welcome pack of some sort that includes their business hours, ways to contact them, etc.

I've used the term VA pretty freely through this post, but it's totally possible that you don't need a VA. You may need a designer, a social media manager, or an online business manager. If you're not sure which one you need, think again about what tasks you want to get off your plate!

Then...

Click here to get the checklists to end all checklists to achieve time freedom and figure out what you can give to a virtual assistant. PS: There’s lots of other goodies in here too.