Five perfect tasks for your new virtual assistant

Most small busines owners start feeling stretched and get to the point where they can no longer do it all alone. You realize you need another pair of hands to complete everything that’s on your plate. So you decide to hire a Virtual Assistant (VA) and think this is a way to help you get more done faster. You may not know right away what tasks your VA should handle, but you would love for this service to somehow pay for itself. I had this idea myself when I first thought about hiring a VA. At the time, I could only afford 10 hours per month so I wanted to be really careful about how we used those hours. My goal was to have her tasks pay for themselves. I realized that with my time free, I could focus on money making activities. In fact, if you choose wisely, your VA can actually help you close more deals and get more clients. Carefully consider the jobs you want to hand over to and establish your criteria for doing this. For me, tasks to give my VA fell into two categories: - Tasks I wasn’t competent at, like technology. - Simple projects that kept me from generating more money. For example, I handed off projects requiring technical knowledge because that is not my strong point: 1. Technical projects, html, web stuff. The other jobs involved administrative duties like: 2. Sending out my newsletter. 3. Scheduling clients. 4. Sending out cards. 5. Mailing warm letters. This second group of activities can actually bring in new clients. You will need to craft the communication and write the letters of course, but your VA can do the busy work of sending everything out. Look at your list of low-hanging fruit: prospects who expressed an interest in working with you but aren’t paying clients yet. Ask your VA to help you think of ways to close these people to get more clients. Your VA can help you stay in touch, mail cards and letters, send them interesting articles, etc. These activities are perfect for your VA because they can bring in new clients, which helps fund your VA’s services. As you get to know each other and gain experience working together, you will discover more ways your VA can help. When you work well as a team, so much more can be accomplished. Your Assignment: Thinking about hiring a VA yourself? Do a time study this week noting everything you do throughout the day. At the end of the week, look over the details to discover what can fit into the two categories that’s perfect for a VA. The sooner you figure out which projects you can hand off, the sooner you are ready to get started.