Being a freelancer is no easy task, especially if you’re a first-time business owner. You’ll soon realize you have to wear multiple hats ranging from a marketer to a salesperson to a customer service representative. Understanding and doing all of these jobs is difficult by yourself.
By hiring a virtual assistant, you gain a knowledgeable, experienced entrepreneur who can offer the flexibility to multi-task across many aspects of your business for a decent price.
Why You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant For Your Startup
Have you ever noticed some businesses tend to scale faster than others? They’re likely hiring specialized virtual assistants for their startups who may help them with the following:
1. Manage Your Time and Money
Time is the single most important asset you have. Once you spend it, you can’t get it back. Successful business owners know that they need time to forge new relationships, develop ideas and think strategically, but they can’t do that if they’re tied up in administrative tasks.
While you can reclaim your time by hiring employees, several startups don’t have enough cash flow to take on the extra financial burden. Virtual assistants solve this problem by being efficient and cost-effective, so you can continue to grow without cutting into your bottom line.
2. Solves Task-Based Overwhelm
It’s hard for entrepreneurs to hand over their business operations to someone else, either due to a lack of trust or from financial complications. However, startups that don’t start hiring employees or independent contractors will soon find it difficult to handle day-to-day operations.
If you find your tasks or to-do lists are pulling up, you can delegate them to a virtual assistant. Simply prepare a detailed list of tasks for your virtual assistant. They can help you prioritize and stay organized, allowing you to stay sane while you’re managing your business.
3. Streamlines Business Operations
Most entrepreneurs have a basic understanding of their business operations, but that doesn’t mean they’re great at them. Not everyone is good at everything. Still, for your business to thrive, you need to find someone who can complete specific tasks quickly, like payroll or admin.
Having a well-documented process and system in your business is the recipe for your success, and a virtual assistant can offer this and more. Since most virtual assistants work remotely, it forces you to increase your focus on an efficient process that requires effective communication.
4. Improves Your Products/Services
Many virtual assistants can improve your products and services by acting as the eyes and ears of your market. A part of being a business owner is knowing your clients’ needs and monitoring your industry. A virtual assistant can help you with customer research.
Virtual assistants can also listen for conversations on social media, watch your competitors, and ask for reviews from your current customer base. Having quick access to this data can be a game-changer because it helps you improve your business operations and customer service.
5. Provides 24/7 Customer Service
Your customers expect you to reply to their emails in one hour. 88% of consumers surveyed in SuperOffice’s report say that a company will meet their expectations if they reply diligently. A virtual assistant can help you reach a wider market by providing prompt customer service.
Virtual assistants can respond to customer questions, create email responses, a frequently asked questions page, check-up on clients, and handle complaints and refund requests. If you already have a 24/7 customer service team, a virtual assistant can fill in for sick team members.
Virtual Assistants Can Change Your Business
Virtual assistants have a lot to offer your business. Not only can they free up time spent on administrative tasks, but they can also conduct product research and help your customer service department. Freelance virtual assistants are also more cost-effective than employees.
