Many businesses see their business pick up as the days start to lengthen, and spring turns into summer. And a great way to plan for the boost in your business, is to get in touch with a virtual assistant.
In addition, there will inevitably be the need to think ahead and consider how to cope with staff holidays. Summer is the time when most parents are keen to take a holiday with their children, particularly if they are of school age. This always tends to put pressure on those members of the team, who are not away, as they are inadvertently expected to take on the work of their colleagues.
So, how can a virtual assistant, or VA, help? There are plenty of ways, and the ideal way to find out, is to give one a try. Consider making a list of tasks that will need to be completed over the coming weeks, and consider those items which are not your core skills. We’re thinking here of tasks such as: chasing up late payers, issuing invoices, keeping expenses up to date, scheduling updates to social media and your website, preparing mailshots etc – in most businesses, the list of tasks can be long!
Think about who does those tasks, and where the bottlenecks will likely occur, if your business gets busier. If customers start demanding more, then executing orders, dealing with inquiries and getting quotes out the door may be your key considerations. So think for a moment or two, about which tasks get sidelined as these more urgent or important items are attended to.
Now you have an idea of some tasks you may be able to ask a virtual assistant to carry out for you. Now, get in touch with one or more VA companies, to see who could help you best. Different virtual assistants have different skills – some may specialise in outbound phone calls, others in bookkeeping – but all have rock solid administrative and organisational skills.
If it seems strange to ask for work to be done by an outsider, remember that very large organisations, from government departments to major PLCs, often use outside contractors to help them complete projects. And, with phone, Skype and email, it is easy to work with someone who sits several miles away, rather than in the same room. Today, many business computing tasks are carried out using web-based systems, so it is easy to create a remote log-in for your virtual assistant, and then ask them to carry out certain tasks for you.
And the beauty of using a virtual assistant is that you only pay for the time that you use. There are no staff costs such as National Insurance or holidays, and you can stop using a VA just as easily as you started, if you are no longer so busy. So, what are you waiting for? Plan ahead, starting today, and ensure that the next time you get busy, contact us today and see how Time Wise VA can help you out and remove the stress.