businessbuildingstrategies

What is a Virtual Assistant and Why Would I Ever Need One?

Whether your business is a one-man show that’s just begun or an established company with more than one team member, a virtual assistant may be in your best interest. Their purpose is to allow you to focus on what matters most, your passions and running the business you love. 

No matter if your business is completely online, in person, or maybe both- tremendous benefits come along with hiring one. 

Managing a consistent/cohesive brand image across all of your social media platforms, website, local listings, and more can become a serious challenge. Alongside keeping up with all of your clerical/general administration tasks can seem nearly impossible. That’s why Virtual Assistants are there to help you! 

Save Money 

Most brands like to outsource when it comes to hiring someone to handle all of the busy work because it normally results in a profit save. As well as cutting back on things like training costs.  Virtual Assistants are already knowledgeable in everything that comes with the job. 

Save Time

Starting a business can be so exciting and gives you the opportunity to make a profit from something you truly enjoy doing, but will soon be followed by busywork. These amazing assistants truly will take a tremendous amount of pressure off your back so you can stop sweating about the small things and dive deeper into your passion. 

Virtual Assistants are becoming more and more acknowledged today, especially with everything starting to be done remotely. Most assistants work from home allowing a very flexible schedule to fit all of your company’s needs. 

Social Media

  • Content creation 
    • Using your brand colors, the content will be created to match your brand image and engage your following. 
  • Grow Your Following 
    • It’s a proven fact that when business social media accounts post consistent and engaging content- follower counts go up. 

General Admin  

  • Email Marketing / Regular Usage 
    • Including management and cleanup, sorting, scheduling newsletters and general emails, email autoresponders, automations, as well as mailing list setup. 
  • Proofreading 
  • Basic Bookkeeping 
  • Calendar Organization
    • Including management and appointment scheduling, creating daily to-do lists, and creating employee schedules. 
  • Media Creation 
    • Including slides for presentations, word documents, spreadsheets, and more. 
  • Research 
  • Data Entry 
  • Website Management

Life by Design is known for exceptional customer service and guaranteed client satisfaction. Each one of our team members has the same goal in mind – making your life easier while you continue to dive deeper into your passions. Hear from our past clients on our home page where reviews are located. See them here.

2021 can be your best year in business yet, with a little help. 🙂

To your success,

Genean

businessbuildingstrategies

Virtual Assistant VS Employee: Which One Do You Need?

Have you been struggling to make a decision whether to hire an employee or contract out a virtual assistant? Sometimes an employee is a better choice, especially if you need someone to be at a job site in person, but many times a virtual assistant can do anything an employee can do, without the extra hassle. Here are a few ways virtual assistants are more beneficial than an employee.

No Extra Hidden Costs

Did you realize that when you hire an employee for a specific rate of pay, that isn’t the actual pay? You have to factor in those extra costs. There are payroll taxes, worker’s comp, unemployment insurance, vacation days, sick days, holidays, and benefits. Those can add up fast.

That means that many times you are actually paying double an employee’s salary by having them on your payroll. But a virtual assistant’s cost is exactly what was agreed upon in the contract. Much simpler with much less paperwork.

No Wasted Time That You Are Paying For

A virtual assistant only charges for the hours they work, most using time tracking software to keep it as close to the minute as possible. You don’t have to pay them for breaks. No socializing at the water cooler. You only pay for the actual time they are working and for the services they are supposed to provide.

No Overhead

A virtual assistant provides all their own equipment, and their own office in their home. You don’t have to pay electric, phone, internet or office space rental for virtual assistants. The savings there can be monumental!

Many VAs Specialize and Don’t Need Trained

It’s possible to choose a virtual assistant based on their experience and expertise. You choose one specifically for projects you need done, either once or ongoing. In most cases, they already know how to do the jobs you need completed, you just have to show them your particular methods and any specifics they need to know. This saves training time and cost!

Flexible Hours

When you hire an employee, there are normally set work hours. However, a virtual assistant, more often works based on task deadlines rather than set hours. This can be a great time saver as well!

There are many reasons to choose hiring a virtual assistant over an employee, but these are just a few of the top ones. If you are a busy business owner who needs some help with getting organized, lowering your workload, or just getting some things off your plate temporarily, a virtual assistant may be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Schedule your FREE CONSULTATION with me today, so that we can see if what I do may be a good fit for you!

Genean Roberts – Virtual Solutions Specialist

businessbuildingstrategies

4 Reasons Why Your Small Business May Need a Virtual Assistant

If you’ve been in business for yourself any amount of time, I am sure you have felt the stress of overwhelm. Too much to do, there are not enough hours in the day, and you are only one person. If you’re looking to grow your small business further than where it already is, you may need some help. You are already stretched to capacity, and in time, as your business continues to grow, your time will be stretched even more.

Thanks to the growth of technology and the amazing interwebs, it no longer matters if your virtual assistant is located nearby, you can connect online and grow your business together with a single click. There are many reasons why your business may benefit from hiring a Virtual Assistant, but here are just 4 of my top ideas.

1 You’re too busy

As a small business owner, you have a lot of responsibility. You have marketing, IT, finance, maybe payroll if you have employees, and then doing the actual work of your business niche. It can be stressful, almost to the point where you want to give up. That’s where a Virtual Assistant can come in and help take a few things off your plate. A VA can help you with many different tasks remotely. Many can help with social media, website management, and general admin tasks you don’t have time to do.

2 You don’t know how

Whether it’s a blog, eCommerce store, or website, most likely you’re not an expert in everything. Just running the basics of your business can be exhausting, so if you don’t have time to learn all the things, it’s OK. That’s what a VA does best. They could help spice up your social media profiles and business pages, help with your WordPress website, or handle your Constant Contact email campaigns, among other things.

3 Your Social Media is Blah

Social Media can be an awesome tool for small businesses with everyone and their grandma being on some sort of social media these days. However, if your social media accounts aren’t providing any value, not growing, and not getting the exposure you need, you may need a little help from a VA. With multiple accounts to manage, it can be a full time job – and one that you likely don’t have time for. Again, that’s where a VA can step in and use Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule posts. A VA can place ads or boost posts for you, manage groups, add content and respond to comments or messages daily. These little things can add up to a lot of work. Having a VA to help can make a world of difference for your online presence.

4 You just don’t want to

Maybe you know all the ins and outs of building a WordPress site, and you are a pro at Mail Chimp and Infusionsoft, and you are a social media marketing king or queen! But maybe you just don’t enjoy doing those things, and you really want to do things that spark joy in your life and in your business. That’s why you started your own business right? To do what you love and what makes you happy!

If any of these relate to you, it may be time to consider a Virtual Assistant. And many times you really need one sooner rather than later, before things get out of control and the overwhelm is more than you can handle.

Schedule a free consultation with me HERE.

To your success,

Genean Roberts

http://www.lifebydesignvaservices.com