The Power of Getting Help! When to contract or hire, local or remote:

Virtual assistants are not only the best way to free up time, but they can also help a business scale. The right person for the job can make all the difference.

Why outsource tasks 

Hiring a virtual assistant can be a great way to free up time and delegate repetitive tasks. There are many benefits to hiring a virtual assistant, including cost-effectiveness and the ability to scale your business.

THERE IS ALWAYS WORK TO BE DONE - think about all the things you know you should be doing but don’t take the time to do it. 

The following is a list of ways that virtual assistants can help your business grow: 

• -Efficient delegation of repetitive tasks and projects
• Free you from time-wasting and distracting tasks
• allow you to focus on critical tasks
• help you hit deadlines and goals
• -Increase in productivity and efficiency in the workplace
• managing your inbox and schedule 
• keeping you organized on a daily basis
• -Cost-effective solution for small businesses
• Frees you from non-revenue generating tasks
• Help you spend more time with business owners looking to sell or clients of your acquired businesses 

 Where to find them:

 In my opinion, there are two distinct types of needs for assistance - 1 is short-term, one-time tasks that may or may not require a very specific skill set, and the other is long-term repetitive tasks, the stuff you know needs to get done regularly. 

What are short-term tasks and where do you find people for them:

Short term -  likely only do it once,  tasks- 

• website set up
• Setting up your systems (task management, CRM, etc)
• Press releases 
• logo design 
• voice mail voice talent 
• Marketing materials (graphic, brochure, press release)

For these, I find  Fiverr - to be best, it’s somewhat cost-effective and often they’ve done what you need multiple times and you can read the reviews on their work. 

Fiverr is a website where people can offer their services for tasks starting at $5. From design to programming to business assistance, there is a talent for almost any task on Fiverr.  it is a great place to find talent for functions that you may not have the time or expertise to do yourself and don't need to be done often. With such a wide range of services available, you're sure to find someone on Fiverr who can help you with your next project.

Visit Fiverr 

For longer-term needs such as repetitive tasks and even those above and beyond administrative assistance related tasks.  

I love using workers from the Philippines, and the best place to find Filipino virtual assistants is on onlinejobs.ph —

Picking The Right VA

While hiring a virtual assistant can be a great way to free up time and delegate repetitive tasks, and there are many other benefits to hiring one, you still must figure out what you need and who fills that role. 

Here is the quick version of how I select a VA:

1. Write down all the tasks you need to be done (see 40 things to let VAs do at the end of this article).
1. Group the into areas so you can make a concise job description - example: post to Facebook, update Twitter, create infographics, check my direct messages - becomes “Social Media Management” 
2. Write done 2 or 3 interview questions someone who would be doing this task should know the answer to. 
3. Got to onlinejobs.ph (VA tasks) or Fiverr for one-time tasks.
4. Search profiles and read reviews. 
5. Contact potential candidates.
6. Ask lots of questions via email 3-4 questions at a time, once the candidates answer them (some will fall out, expect that), 
7. Do voice-only phone interviews with them with zoom. 

Why the Philippines?  

Filipino virtual assistants are some of the most sought-after workers in the global marketplace. This is due to their strong English language skills, as well as their ability to complete a wide range of tasks. In addition, Filipino virtual assistants are known for their dedication and hard work. As a result, they are often able to help businesses grow and achieve their goals. 

Filipino virtual assistants are often very well-educated (often MBA and PHDs) and can provide a high level of support for tasks above and beyond just customer service, data entry, and appointment scheduling. 

 What to know before you start interviewing Filipino VAs:

The Filipino people are loyal almost to a fault. They’re loyal to their employers. If you contact them and they already have a job, their likelihood of replying to you isn’t good (this is great for once you’ve hired someone...you don’t have to worry about them leaving you). 

 They don’t care to be on camera, they are shy and easily embarrassed.  Forcing them to be on camera will cut down the number of valid candidates you have. 

 Why I avoid Upwork, Taskrabbit, and other such sites:

Most of these sites take a share from the worker driving costs up and making it unclear what they actually keep. onlinejobs.ph has a membership fee.  You pay them separately and they take nothing from the VA.  

As a side note, I don’t outsource everything: 

What should stay local to your state, country, etc? 

• Financials - your books must be kept in line with local and federal (governmental) laws, certain reporting requirements, and the general confidentiality you want around sensitive financial matters will usually dictate that these are tasks to keep in-house or outsource to local trusted teams.   It is not impossible to remote work even overseas these tasks remote team members can be trained on local methods, the risk/reward, in my opinion, is a bit too high to have my team of overseas workers manage this aspect of the business.  
• Computer Security tasks.  Setting up secure commerce, controlling assess to administration accounts, access to key servers. 
• Human Resource Compliance - making sure you comply with local and federal HR laws is critical and may need local attention. 

40 Somewhat Random  Tasks to Outsource to Virtual Assistants

1. Email Management/Filtering
2. Setting up Autoresponders (Aweber, Mailchimp)
3.  Booking appointments with clients
4. Following up with clients/customers (sending thank you and other reminder emails)
5. Receptionist duties (answering occasional calls)
6. Calendar Management (booking, rescheduling, coordinating)
7. File Management (organizing files using Dropbox etc)
8. Database building (eg. updating email or contact lists on your CRM)
9. Research on certain topics for blogposts, newsletters, or others
10. Personal errands (purchasing gifts for loved ones/family members online)
11. Hotel and Flight Booking
12. Transcription (transcribing voicemail, video or audio, podcasts, etc.)
13. Taking down minutes of meetings
14. Creating basic reports (reports on weekly tasks, deliverables, sales)
15. Preparing Slideshows (Powerpoint Presentations)
16. Liaison between you and other team members
17. Recruitment (source for other team members like writers or graphic artists)
18. Set up Social Media Accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube)
19. Manage and update Social Media Accounts
20. Manage your Blog (Basic WordPress Skills)
21. Publish posts on your Blog (content you provided)
22. Filter  and reply to comments on your blog
23. Answering support tickets (with the use of Zen-desk)
24. Participating in discussion forums or message boards (more promotion!)
25. Manage CRM updates
26. Bookkeeping
27. Send client invoices
28. Prepare training modules
29. Launch and manage pay-per-click campaigns
30. Translate written, audio, or video content
31. Create marketing campaigns
32. Fill out forms
33. Write content
34. Proofread and edit content
35. Format content based on the platform
36. Create content strategies
37. Do competitor research
38. Publish content on different platforms
39. Spin articles (re-write for other platforms)
40. Submit content for guest posting

Get more out of life by hiring a virtual assistant today! A virtual assistant will free up hours each week so that you can concentrate on revenue-generating activities instead of repetitive tasks like data entry or customer service. Virtual assistants are affordable and easy to find online through onlinejobs.ph

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