Love is in the air, Spring is showing her first inklings & January, the longest month of the year, has finally been put behind us.
Whether you are just setting up your business or are an established business owner; there is one reason, for most, which you began working for yourself & that was because you love what you do.
Whether you are an entrepreneur, busy business or home owner, or even a charitable organisation; in the face of changes in the UK political landscape, you may be finding that tasks which you have taken on yourself, are beginning to eat in to the valuable time which should be used for running your business or promoting the good works of a charity.
However, unless you are lucky enough to have a staff & are able to delegate to a PA, EA or a team of secretaries & administrators; the day to day running of a business can take away from the love & enjoyment of the sector you have chosen to be in.
Business owners aren’t the only ones who can be overwhelmed by the administration of running a busy establishment. Charitable organisations who predominantly rely on volunteers, still need their administration, policies, GDPR, email, events & diaries kept in check. Likewise, busy home owners who may be juggling running a busy home, a business, travel timetables, etc; may also find that keeping on top of schedules is getting out of control.
Therefore, how can a VA help & what benefits can a VA bring to any one of the scenarios listed above?
Hours. How many hours a week/month do you need support?
A VA brings a great deal of flexibility to the support they can offer. If you are aware of the tasks you need completing in a week/month, a VA will discuss & agree a retained & set amount of hours worth of support for you, with a defined list of support tasks.
This does not mean there isn’t scope for deviation from any agreed plan; but what it does mean is that you are not having to employ a full time member of staff & you can seek support for the specific areas you are struggling to keep on top of.
One thing to remember. A VA is a self employed person running their own business & as such would not be a member of your staff. VA’s have their own contracts & would expect the boundaries set out in these to be agreed to. A VA is not available after agreed working hours, unless you have a written agreement in place to support this.
Specialisms. What areas are you in need of support?
VA’s come from all manner of backgrounds & therefore the scope for support is vast. If you are seeking a VA for financial support, to boost your social media & or marketing strategies, to give you full Executive Support, provide international/national travel itineraries, set up email monitoring & filters & take control of your diary; the scope & diversity of support from the VA format is vast.
How can a VA support you? (this list is not exhaustive)
Office & administration Support
If you are finding that the everyday administration tasks are eating into your productivity time & taking you away from the running of your business/charity/home; a VA could be your answer.
A VA can have access to your systems & remove the day to administration tasks which can distract you from the running of you business, charitable organisation or your home. The following are areas where VA support can be transformative. (This list is not exhaustive)
- Inbox management
- Finding that email is ruling your life? Not sure how to prioritise? A VA can transform the way your email is managed by creating separate folders to help prioritise, to filter out agreed unnecessary contact & even respond on your behalf to business/charity/home enquiries.
- Policies & procedures
- Not sure if your policies or procedures are up to date? A VA can undertake an impartial review of your company or organisation & can help you put the relevant documentation in place, with additional recommendations & support for future needs.
- Travel & Event Management
- A VA can arrange national & international travel solutions for business owners/charitable organisations & busy home owners. A proficient VA can take away all of the unnecessary stress of booking flights, arranging connections, hotels, luggage & in some cases even translators for international arrangements.
- CRM’s (Customer Relationship Management)
- Is your CRM up to date? Not sure if you have one? A VA can help give an informed overview of your existing systems & make recommendations & even implement a new system for you, to help build & improve your customer relationships, increase sales/profitability & your customer service.
IT upgrades & software
A high proportion of modern businesses & charitable organisations have multiple layers of employees & contacts, often in global locations. If you are struggling to keep everyone abreast of developments & need to keep multiple teams updated with relevant information; programmes like Slack, Trello & Monday.com might help.
A VA can help you implement one of these systems & take you through the pro’s & con’s of each system & help you implement a system which works for you & your team.
Social media management
Social media management can take up an inordinate amount of a business owners time, but this is yet another element which can be undertaken for you by a VA. Once you agree the format of you posting, your platforms, content & regularity; having someone else undertake your social media presence, can be a huge relief for many business owners & or charitable organisations, as they become more & more aware of the need for a social media & content visibility online.
By taking away those tasks which clog up your day & letting the freelance & flexible approach of a VA support you; you can free up your time & bring the love back to your work, your home, your business.
Written by Katy Jane on behalf of Virtually Smart Ltd.
