What Can A VA Do For Me & How Do I Prepare to Work with one?

What can a VA do for me?

Virtual assistants do all sorts of tasks. Lucky for you VAs come from all different types of backgrounds and there are VAs that specialize in various areas. Some specialize in shopping cart software, membership software, wordpress or graphics design. Here are some examples of items you can outsource to a VA:

• blog management
• website backup and maintenance
• article marketing / submissions
• social media updates
• ezine and auto-responder set up
• eCommerce solutions
• membership sites
• market research
• graphics design
• data entry

One of the really great things about working with a VA is that you’re generally not committed beyond a specific project or retainer. You can work with a VA short or long-term. If you need a VA that specialize in a particular software chances are you’ll be able to find one– Maybe you just need help getting your website online or getting your shopping cart setup. Perhaps you’ve already done that but now your business is growing and you need help setting up a membership area on your website. A virtual assistant can help you with that.

How do I decide what to delegate to a VA once I’ve decided I’d like to work with one?

This is a great question — working with a VA is a big step in growing your business, you want to use your money wisely! I mentioned in the previous post that you should delegate the tasks that you need done on a daily/weekly basis that don’t require your expertise or personal attention. The best way to figure this out is to keep a piece of paper at your desk and jot down all the items you do in a day — Do this for an entire week. At the end of your week look back over this list and pick out the items that

1. Take up the most time that don’t require you personally
2. The items that you really don’t enjoy doing
3. Anything that has been on your list for more than 3 weeks

By picking out these tasks you’ll end up freeing up that valuable time to work on all the other items that do require your expertise, personal attention and that DO bring income back into your business.

What do you need to do to prepare to delegate your tasks?

If you have any tasks that require specific steps that are specific for your business you should consider spending the time to write those steps down the next time that you complete them yourself. Yes, it will take you a few extra minutes but remember, when you do hire that VA you’re contemplating hiring you’ll be gaining ALL that time back and more.

Next we’ll discuss how to choose the perfect VA for your project and your business. You can subscribe to my RSS feed and have it delivered via email (check out the side bar) or you can connect with me over on Facebook where I’ll be sure to post the link when it’s ready.