What is a Virtual Assistant? The Complete Guide for Small Business Owners

As a small business owner myself, I completely understand the feeling of overwhelm from “wearing all the hats”.  Outsourcing support to a virtual assistant has become a popular go-to solution for small businesses, but you may have questions like “what is a virtual assistant”, and “can they really be of help in my business”?  I can help clear those questions up for you in this article.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant (VA) is a contracted professional you can hire to help in your business.  They work remotely and you can outsource tasks to them that you do not necessarily like doing, or tasks that take too much of your time away from bringing in revenue.

Virtual Assistant (VA) vs. A Traditional Employee

There are a few key differences between hiring a VA versus hiring a traditional employee.

One. A VA is a contract role, meaning they are not hired into your company and will not go onto your payroll.  Therefore there are no payroll taxes to pay, there are no HR headaches, and there is less on-boarding time.

Two.  Working with a VA is considered more of a partnership.  A VA does not “work for you”, and you are not their boss.  They are their own boss and work for themselves.  For this reason, you will want to collaborate with them to make sure you agree on clear contract terms, timelines, and deliverables.

Three.  You will not be required to provide any type of health benefits to a VA because they are a contracted worker.  This saves you money in the long run.

Four.  There is no long term commitment.  You can end your contract with the VA whenever you want, per the contract terms.  So if business slows down and you can’t afford them, or you find someone you like better, you can change your hiring plan.

So what do you have to supply to a VA?

When working with a VA, you will want to supply them with a 1099 form at the end of each year so they can submit their taxes.  You will also want to supply them with the information they need to do their work and receive payment on time.

Common Misconceptions about VA’s

Often, virtual assistants are thought of only as someone to perform administrative tasks, but in fact there are VA’s that perform anything from helping you manage your website to helping you manage your social media and so much more. 

What Services Do Virtual Assistants Offer?

The list of virtual assistant services can be long for what you can hire a virtual assistant to do, but here are some of the major tasks and management roles you can hire out:

• Admin support (email, scheduling, data entry).
  
• Content support (blog management, Canva graphics, WordPress updates).
  
• Social media (posting, engagement, scheduling tools).
  
• Customer support (inbox management, client follow-up).
  
• Tech tools (automation setup, CRM, email marketing).
  
• Note: Services can be customized depending on the VA’s specialty.

How a Virtual Assistant Helps Small Businesses

Part of being a small business owner means wearing all the hats in your business.  Which means that often you are stuck doing things like inputting client leads and invoicing instead of focusing on strategies that will bring in new clients and revenue.

Hiring a Virtual Assistant can help small businesses in many ways such as: 

• Freeing you up from repetitive tasks and saving you time
• Allowing you time to focus on business growth through strategy and revenue
• Creating workday flexibility for you and your employees
• Allowing for scalability through small amounts of growth that won’t require paying  a full time employee.  

As a matter of fact, reports show that hiring a virtual assistant can help you increase productivity by 35%, actually reduce operating costs by 78%, and improve work-life balance by 100%.

What’s It Like to Work with a Virtual Assistant?

You may think that working with a virtual assistant would be difficult since they are remote, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.  VA’s are trained in communicating, tracking projects, and collaborating the same way a regular employee would be.  Here are some things you can expect when working with a great VA. 

Communication tools 

When you speak with a VA, they will probably talk to you about how they communicate.  Some of the obvious being email and text, but they also may use platforms like Slack, Clickup, or Trello to help them track projects and communicate with their clients.

Oftentimes, if there is a platform the client is already using, the VA may be interested in learning the new platform as well.  All of these things should be discussed before you decide to hire the VA.

Typical process (onboarding, delegating, reporting).

The typical process for working with your VA will be something you discuss.  For instance, you may want to communicate with them once a day via Zoom, or once a month over email.  They also may have preferences depending on the package you sign up for with them.  For instance, if you have hired them to create Instagram posts and stories for you, then they may need you to contact them each day with new videos or images you have taken.  

The way I like to work with my clients is through Clickup and Google Drive.  Clickup allows us to both track progress on projects like researching and writing blog posts, while Google Drive allows any images that are needed for the post to be uploaded into a shared folder.  

How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost?

Generally, there are a few ways you can hire a virtual assistant.  Some like to work hourly, some work on retainer, and still some prefer to offer packages.  You can find some newer virtual assistants that work as little as 5 hours per week and for just $15/hour.  

However, I have found that more experienced virtual assistants charge more for their time and packages, and depending on the skill they are providing could charge upward of $50 per hour.  So it is good to do your homework and interview a few different candidates. 

When you are hiring a VA, the cost should be viewed as an investment, not just an expense.  The amount of money you put into a virtual assistant up front can lead to you having the time to bring in extra revenue for your business in the end.

Signs You’re Ready to Hire a Virtual Assistant

Overall, you are going to know best when it is time to find help in your business, but these are some of the signs you may want to acknowledge:

How to Find the Right Virtual Assistant for Your Business

I feel that some of the fear of hiring a virtual assistant, besides not knowing what to expect, is not knowing how to choose the right person for your business.  Here is what I can tell you.  

What to look for (skills, personality fit, industry knowledge).

Make sure they have the skills you need, you get along well with them, and they know the industry.  You wouldn’t hire a regular employee without knowing the person fills these pre-requisites, so you need to do the same interviewing process when hiring a contract worker.

When on a discovery call, ask them questions like: 

• Have you worked with other people in this industry and for how long?
• Do you have some examples of the work you do? (This is good if they are going to be creating marketing for you or managing your social media)
• Do you have experience with ________ platform or ___________ tasks?
• Do you offer a trial?

Oftentimes, a VA will offer a trial period so they can make sure you work well together.  This is not only to benefit you, but also to benefit themselves.  Remember, they are running a business too, so they want clients that fit well in their own business model.

My Final Thoughts About What A Virtual Assistant Is

A virtual assistant is a flexible, skilled, contract worker that you can partner with in your business to help you grow and create more revenue without having to hire a full or part-time employee.

Ready to hire a virtual assistant? Check out my services, or fill out a discovery form.