Do you need an extra set of hands at work?
Maybe you should consider delegating some of your tasks to a virtual assistant.
You might be surprised just how much time and effort you can save with a VA.
Of course, the first question is, “What do I delegate to a virtual assistant?“
What Could You Delegate to a VA?
Virtual assistant services have grown dramatically in popularity and offerings. With today’s technologies, a VA can work from anywhere and be a direct contributor to your business. Depending on the service you select, they can even be a representative for your company.
I have used VA services for several years, and have been with my current provider for over a year. In fact, last week was my 1-year anniversary with eaHELP. They are a top-tier virtual assistant company. (They actually call their assistants Executive Assistants or EAs.) My assistant, Kelly, has helped me grow TMN to new heights.
In the past year alone, she has:
- Booked ad sponsors for TMN
- Managed several social campaigns including one that sold over $15K in products
- Helped me prepare my speech/presentation for a major convention
- Proofed and copy-edited all of my writing and projects
- Compiled articles for several of my eBooks
And this is in addition to the myriad day-to-day tasks she does for me.
I have written previously about my Virtual Assistant setup.
However, the #1 question I get is, “How do I get started with a VA?”
- What should I delegate to them initially?
- What systems do I need to put in place?
- What tasks can I let go of?
Getting started with a VA can be the hard part.
Getting Started with a Virtual Assistant
Recently, a good friend of mine decided to add a VA to his small business.
He was overwhelmed with much of the administrative work of running his business and he needed help getting the details done.
I sat down with him and helped develop a plan to get him up and running quickly with his new VA. How to prepare, what systems to set up, and of course what tasks to initially delegate. Within about 45 minutes, we had mapped out (in a Mindmup mindmap!) all of the starting points for his VA relationship.
I thought I would share some of this plan to help others get started with a virtual assistant.
Here are the Top 10 Tasks You Can Delegate To Your Virtual Assistant:
- Calendar – Setup a shared calendar and let your VA manage, schedule, and arrange your calendar. Allow your VA to handle the back-and-forth of setting up appointments. I use Google calendar, and as my VA confirms a meeting it syncs directly to my iPhone.
- Email – I often write about how much time email wastes, let your VA be the first line of defense in the email battle. My VA screens out the small stuff, and screens inquiries so that I only see the ones that I need to see. Set up an Admin email account that your VA can manage, and as well, setup a personal email account for him/her on your business domain.
- Track Projects – Managing projects, deadlines, and deliverables can be tough when you are busy. Setup a common project platform so that you can share project status updates. We use Asana to manage projects, and it too syncs directly to my iPhone.
- Invoicing – Invoicing is an important task that many small businesses put off, yet it it crucial to operating. Let your VA send, track, and receive your business invoices. This is particularly useful for small businesses or entrepreneurs.
- Research – Searching the web may seem like a simple and quick task. However, it can be a major time sink when your quick search turns into a multi-hour surfing session. Let you VA do simple research whether it is for a meeting, presentation, or a new idea.
- Expense Reports – Another paperwork project to delegate to your VA is expense tracking. It seems to be a generally hated task by all business people. Let your VA organize your expenses and receipts. It is easy to share receipt images and documents via Dropbox or an expense app.
- Travel – People don’t like to give up control of travel. But, how long do you waste looking at flights to get just the right one? Let your VA book your travel and use a system such as TripIt to sync your itinerary to your mobile device.
- Proofreading – It doesn’t matter how many times you proofread that presentation, you are still going to overlook the typo. Let your VA be a second set of eyes on all types of documents. My VA proofs everything from blog posts to my eBooks.
- Contacts – I have written previously about the value of collecting contact information. Instead of letting those business cards clutter up your desk, give them to your VA to enter into your shared address book so that they show up on your phone.
- Creative Work – Don’t be afraid to assign creative tasks to your VA. They might come up with an angle you didn’t consider or do a better job than you might. Of course, this is within reason. You can’t have your VA write your next book, but they can write a draft of your bio and copy for the Amazon listing. (Actually, Kelly just did this for me.)
Delegate to Your VA
If you want more time for yourself, maybe it’s time you gave up some of your tasks to a virtual assistant.
Hesitancy to give up control of tasks is probably a sign that you need some assistance. In many cases, a VA can perform your administrative tasks faster, better, and more effectively than you can.
Delegate, delegate, delegate.
If you have been considering a virtual assistant for your business, I highly recommend eaHELP. I have been a client of theirs for over a year.
Question: Do you need a virtual assistant? What do you or would you delegate to a VA? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Great post with some excellent ideas! Can you share the process you and your VA use to manage your email?
Adam, my VA manages all my incoming TMN email. I do maintain a separate personal email that my VA does not manage.
However, from a business standpoint, my VA does have access to all of my communications. That requires that you have a VA you trust as much as an employee. (Which is one of the reasons I use @ea_HELP as my provider… they are top-notch.)
I could probably do another post on how we share/interact on accounts. For example, we use LastPass to share account credentials. This is a great tool and provides account access sharing without actually sharing passwords.
Please let me know what else I can answer. 🙂
I am also interested in the email issue. Allowing access to email may compromise personal infromation
Kathryn… see the answer I just posted below.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Just to answer Kathryn’s question. Its always the discretion of the client whether or not he/she is willing to provide access to e-mail accounts. With virtual assistance, it will always come down to trust. That’s why its vital to ensure that the virtual assistant you plan on hiring has a reputable character.
Agreed. I use @ea_HELP as my VA provider.
The tasks you have mentioned are definitely perfect to be assigned or delegated to a virtual assistance, but you have to be sure that your virtual assistant has the ability to handle the task efficiently. A formal interview via Skype or in personal is a must before hiring a virtual assistant
Regards-
http://www.dublinofficecentre.ie/
How would the va do my accounts?
Thanks for sharing this informative post on the tasks that can be delegated to a virtual assistant. This is very helpful. Cheers!
I am a Virtual Assistant for almost 3 years. I live in the Philippines and I am working for a US company (Arizona) I do 1 – 10 task you stated above. Plus, to be competitive.. A Va should know how SEO AND SEM works. Exposure to Web dev and design is also A PLUS. Now, I am working as Exec assistant to CEO and I have 5 VA under my supervision. Lucky. 🙂 Please contact me if you need VA service or advice.
Great post. A great solution when you are scouting the perfect VA is to look for a VA company like RemSource. We handle the hiring, training and management of the VA’s, and they all work FROM OUR USA OFFICE, so delegating all those tasks becomes less nerve-wracking. Plus, in addition to that first defense on email that you talked about, we provide live 9-5 phone coverage as well.
Thank your for sharing this article. It is a good read. It gives us ideas how to structurized and organized our own VAs.
Hi Craig!, Thanks for sharing this excellent article of yours. This can be very helpful for those who have no idea or having a hard time deciding what tasks to give their virtual assistants. Thank you very much!
I am trying a VA for the first time. This is a whole new concept to me so I am interested to see how it goes.
Hi Semper, As I mentioned to Aime, I am an independent virtual assistant, maybe we can talk someday. I focused more on Admin Job like Travel arrangement, email management, order processing and the like. Currently, I am in UAE. Please visit http://www.peachtip.com/va for more info about what I do.
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Great post! I’ve been with a Virtual Assistant service for personal tasks, for over a year now and they handle all my tasks well. I’m trying to find other Virtual Assistant services that are more affordable. I found this site https://okayrelax.com/ and I think their services sound promising. Are there any other services out there that you know handles personal tasks at a reasonable rate?
Hi Aime, I am an independent virtual assistant, maybe we can talk someday. I focused more on Admin Job like Travel arrangement, email management, order processing and the like. Currently, I am in UAE. Please visit http://www.peachtip.com/va for more info about what I do.
A very nice article. It gives me an added hint on how to extend my help to my client. Thanks Craig.
Wow! This are just amazing ideas. These tasks that you delegate to your virtual assistant are awesome. Could you give us some idea about the research task like what specifically do they research on and do you provide software or application in order for them to complete the task or is it a simple google research stuff?
Good information.
Rightly said that it’s essential to have a mind map prepared beforehand while planning to hire a VA.
Just one thing to add,
VAs are amazingly good at handling social media platforms too.
Thank you sharing the informative article with us.I have outsourced my lot of business activities like SEO,bookkeeping,accountancy etc to my virtual personal assistant in GetFriday(India) and the work they provide is awesome.
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Hello,
Really nice post on Top 10 tasks to delegate to a “cheapestessay” virtual assistant. Thanks for sharing with us..
Rightly said that it’s essential to have a mind map prepared beforehand while planning to hire a VA.
What should you delegate to a virtual assistant?
* First off, plan to set aside time to list down all the types of tasks you are performing daily, weekly, and so on. (You might be surprised by how much time these repetitive non-profit generating activities are taking from your day!)
* Secondly, remove the tasks that must only be performed by YOU. These can be highly confidential systems and processes pertaining to your business.
* Then, everything else left on the list can be delegated. (Sample Tasks to delegate to a virtual assistant)
The post is interesting. The content explores the top 10 tasks to farm out to a virtual assistant. You can understand what could you delegate to a virtual assistant if you go through the post. It says that Virtual assistant services have developed considerably in recognition and offerings. With today’s technologies, a virtual assistant can work from anyplace and be a straight provider to your business.
I’m considering a VA to assist with minor tech-like tasks as well. Can you point me in the direction of a reputable company that I could hire from? Thanks!
Thank you sharing this information. IdeasUnlimited also provide Virtual Assistant service at reasonable price. They mainly focuses on the customers queries.