Ditch the jobs you hate once and for all…

This post is from Kathryn of My Virtual Sidekick – use it to convince your clients to outsource more:

Are you running a business and not enjoying every single aspect of it? Perhaps you’re struggling to be a …(deep breath):

• Super creative
• Thorough researcher
• Wonderful organiser
• Fabulous communicator
• Bubbling ideas person
• Accurate analyser
• Social media guru
• Geeky technologist
• Person who does all the above at the same time, whilst still having fun, staying on top of your life commitments and finding time to relax with a glass of wine or beer at the end of the day?

Really?

Erm, well here are some home truths. NO-ONE can do all that. You are what is called a human being, and like all human beings you have things you are amazing at and some things you are ok at. Some things you love and some things that bore you. And, most importantly, not only a desire, but a right to enjoy what you do on a daily basis and still have time to spend with the people you love (which is what life is all about, right?)

A great way to ditch all those jobs that you don’t have the time or inclination to complete, is by hiring a Virtual Assistant. So, here is a little introduction to the world of the VA and some rockin’ reasons why working with one might just be for you…

Lower your blood pressure. When you have a million and one things to do on your list and are pulling your hair out trying to get everything done, a Virtual Assistant can step in, take some of those tasks off your hands and help ease the pressure.

Make more money. How much are you worth? If you earn a higher hourly rate than what you would pay a Virtual Assistant, is it really worth you spending a whole day on admin when you could be out working with clients and boosting your income? Just do the maths.

Push your business forward. By delegating the tasks that take up a lot of your time but aren’t necessarily making the most of your skills, you can free up time to work on all those fabulous projects that keep getting put on the backburner.

Be happy, be healthy. There are hundreds of advantages of running a business but it’s not just about the 9 – 5. Seeping into your weekends, evenings and holidays it can be hard to find time for other things and the work-life balance can easily be tipped.  If you want to have a break, and I mean a real break, where you switch off from work completely. A Virtual Assistant can temporarily take the reigns, keep an eye on your business and ensure your customers aren’t left hanging. Just put your feet up and grab a cuppa.

Ditch the boring jobs (because life is too short). Do you dread your admin because it is just so dull? Or maybe you sit on your computer trying to get the job done but end up getting distracted by more exciting tasks like laughing at ridiculous facebook pictures or watching crazy YouTube videos. Sound familiar? Then pass these jobs onto a Virtual Assistant so you can focus on the parts of your business that you actually enjoy.

Forget all the employment faff Virtual Assistants are freelance and work remotely. This means you can forget the staffing costs or legal responsibilities that go with employing somebody. No overheads. No HMRC hassle. No trying to work out complicated tax paperwork until you want to scream. They deal with that, so you don’t have to. Simple.

They’ve been there and done it Virtual Assistants are running businesses themselves and consequently will have a great understanding of your needs and the challenges you may face as a business owner. Always handy if you need a ‘been there, done it, bought the T-shirt’ approach.

It’s all about being flexible. As a business owner, your workload isn’t always going to be consistent. One week you may be working 3 or 4 hours work a day and then BAM! Suddenly 3 big projects land on your doorstep. Exciting, but also slightly scary as you realise just how much you have to do. Virtual Assistants are all about being flexible. Often working outside of the traditional office hours, many VAs can be available at short notice. You simply pay for the time you need and then they’ll slink off into the background till you need them again.

It makes travelling the world easy. Due to the nature of how Virtual Assistants work, you can keep in touch from wherever you are. If your perfect VA is based on the other side of the world, it really doesn’t matter. With today’s technology and the tools that have been developed, keeping in touch is simply no longer an issue. So book that flight!

Virtual Assistants have a wealth of knowledge.  Don’t go thinking all VAs are your traditional run of the mill secretarial types that just happen to work from home. Depending on their backgrounds, they can offer a huge range of skills and experience, such as social media management, SEO support, event planning, techie help, website development, copywriting and lifestyle management. Make the most of it.

Get your business running like a well oiled machine. Planning, setting up systems, using time saver tools and advising you on how you can cut down your admin. Virtual Assistants can help with all of these. Ultimately your business will be running more effectively, you’ll have more time to focus on the stuff you love and your customers and clients will reap the benefits. Seriously – what’s not to love?!