In this day and age, and for as long as we can remember, one of the main reasons business owners struggle to grow their businesses is due to the fact that they are taking on too many tasks. This is something that we refer to as “Superhero Syndrome” and it is something that many entrepreneurs are suffering from. If they don’t change the way they’re running their business, it can get dangerous. If this sounds like you, then you should look into outsourcing some of that work. To who? To virtual assistants! There are many different types of virtual assistants available right now, and this is something you should take advantage of.
Some entrepreneurs haven’t hired a virtual assistant because they have no idea which tasks they can delegate. We’re going to help you out by giving you an idea of the general administrative tasks a virtual assistant can complete for you:
Manage Your emails
How long does it take you to check your emails? If you’re like most, chances are, those emails take up most of your morning. The bigger your company is, the more emails you’re going to have. By hiring a virtual assistant, you will have someone that can filter those emails so that you are only responding to the important ones. You could also have them answer the emails for you and even send out invitations.
Manage Schedules
In this day and age, there are scheduling tools available on the Internet, so you can easily have your assistant manage your calendar. The assistant can book flights, book hotels, schedule appointments with your clients, and do follow-ups.
Social Media Management
Today, if you lack a social media presence, then you’re a step behind your competition. Establishing a social media presence is important, but on the same note, it’s something that can take up a large amount of your time. You can hire a virtual assistant to help you keep up to date with your social media accounts. If the virtual assistant is also good at writing, you could ask them to handle your company’s blog.
Online Research
From time to time, you’re going to need some research done and that is another task your VA can do for you. They can help you keep up with the industry, and research topics for newsletters. Taking it a step further, they can help you find the best hotels and flights for those business trips.
Transcription of Video and Audio
You can deliver digital files of your meetings, interviews, reports, and file notes for your assistant to transcribe. To be honest, this is better than using some sort of speech recognition software, because when you have a human do it, there will be fewer errors.
Organization and File Storage
Here we are, living in a world of buttons, flashing lights, and other things that are distracting us throughout our very important work day. By being organized, you will be more productive. A virtual assistant can help your business become more organized as they can create/manage spreadsheets, using dropbox/Google drive organization, prepare Powerpoint and so much more.
Content Writer
If you’re in need of a content writer, then a virtual assistant with good writing skills will come in handy. There are VA’s out there that can handle press release writing, SEO writing, newsletter writing, article marketing, directory submission, Blog post creation and so much more.
SEO/Web Marketer
In case you didn’t know, over the last couple of years, the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) field has changed a lot. What used to work at one point in time no longer works and what is working for you right now might not work for you tomorrow. However, if you create good solid content, regardless, you’ll be on the right track. What happens after you have promoted that new blog post? The storm starts to calm down. By having an SEO/Web Marketing VA under your belt, they can market your content in a manner that will bring long-term traffic on a consistent basis.
Web/Graphic Designer
For an entrepreneur that isn’t familiar with graphic design, playing around in Photoshop can be a major waste of time. Yes, many still choose to do it, even though they have no idea what’s going on. You see, that’s the Superhero Syndrome taking over as you’re under the impression that you can do everything, even graphic and web design. Hire a web/graphic designer VA so that you can put more time towards doing something you actually know how to do.
Conclusion
You see, virtual assistants are capable of doing almost everything you can think of. The idea is to figure out the tasks you would like to outsource and find a VA that is capable of doing it. Mind you, you may have to hire numerous VA’s, depending on the tasks needed. For example, if you need a VA that can answer emails, but you need a web/graphic designer, then you may need to hire a web/graphic designer, along with someone else that answers your emails.