While there are probably hundreds of different tasks you’d like to offload to someone, and thousands of virtual assistants worldwide ready to help, you may want to focus your attention on just some key items at first to help you gain back some of your time. Listed below are three jobs you should definitely be contracting out to an assistant.
Customer Service You are the owner of a business. You should not be answering phones, taking orders, sending invoices, troubleshooting for customers, etc. Take a look a just how much time you spend doing these tasks and ask yourself where your time could be better spent. Maybe you spend 20 hours per week on customer service issues. Think about what you could be doing to grow your business if you had those 20 hours in a week. VAs are great at being customer service reps for your business. Once properly trained, we’re happy to keep your customers happy, answer emails, reply to questions, send out invoices, etc. Social Media Monitoring/Posting If you’re going to have Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts, you’re going to need to be active on them. What’s the point of having them otherwise? With over 2 billion active users on Facebook alone, having an active social media presence for your business is important. But it’s not easy to keep those accounts up. You want to make sure you’re posting interesting things that people will share. You have to be responsive to visitor’s comments and questions. You don’t want a negative comment/question/problem to sit out there for days without a response. You want definitely need to share your products and services. And all of this can be time consuming. A social media VA will set up a posting schedule, create and keep fresh content out there, and respond to your customers (and potential customers). Transcription Depending on the type of business you are involved in, you might be having a lot of meetings or interviews that are recorded. (If you have a podcast, you definitely need to have transcripts available!) You absolutely must get a VA to do this transcription. An experienced one, too! Transcripts are incredibly important for many business owners, but to do them on your own is completely unwise. Transcribing audio takes a very long time to do. On average, for one hour of audio, it can take about three hours of time to transcribe. And if you do not have the proper equipment and experience, it can take several more hours. Hand off your transcription to someone who will turn it around quickly and accurately. Remember, your time is valuable in growing your business. Don’t waste it doing those things that should be handed off to a virtual assistant. Free up your time to develop your products, network with others and grow your business! If you’re ready to hire a virtual assistant, please contact us here at Your Gal Friday and we’ll talk about the best solutions for your business.
0 Comments
Guest author Christie is jumping in here and offering some great advice. A few weeks ago I decided to beat the New Year’s rush and begin my resolution early. Although because I tend to think on a grander scale, I would like to think of it more as a revolution than a resolution. But the point is, I am now getting up off my backside and going for a run every day. For me, running is therapy. It gives me much needed time to think; to find my center. I’ve found many lessons from my running that can be applied universally in life- to business, to relationships, to our personal lives. Perseverance: With running, there will inevitably come a point when you hit a wall. You’ll find that your energy is fading fast, and you’ll begin to doubt whether or not you have the strength to continue. We hit walls in the business world, too. It’s at this point, whether running a mile or running a business, that we need to make the decision to persevere; to push through the tough part regardless of how difficult it may seem. It’s only upon doing this, and reaching the other side of the wall, that we realize we are stronger than we thought. Goal setting: I quickly learned that if I didn’t set goals for myself, I wouldn’t get very far. The goal can be as big as “I’d like to be able to run a 5K race by Spring” or as small as “I’d like to run the entire mile without stopping to walk." The important thing here is just to have a goal. If I set out on a run saying to myself, “I’m just going to run until I get tired” then I won’t make it very far. But with a goal, I’ll continue to run even once fatigue sets in, and I’ll go much further than I otherwise would have. Conditioning: When I first started running again for the first time in years, it was…..well, let’s say it was a less than Olympic performance. There was a lot of gasping for air, a lot of pain, and a lot of “What am I doing to myself?!” type thoughts going through my head. The second time was better than that. The third time was bordering on something I could be really proud of, and so on. This is one of those universal principles that go far beyond running. There are times in our workday when we feel maybe we’ve taken on too much, or we’re not pleased with our performance. Sometimes there’s no special magic answer to perfecting our work. Sometimes the magic lies in simply doing it again and again, and you’ll find with each passing day, you’ll begin to consistently get results you’ll be proud of. Enjoyment: Perseverance, goal setting, and conditioning all require a bit of hard work and tenacity, but don’t forget that there is enjoyment in those things as well. Getting from point A to point B is important, but for goodness’ sake, don’t forget to lift your head up, look around you, and enjoy the run! Unlike my solitary runs though, in business you don’t have to go it alone. If you're at a point where you're hitting the proverbial wall, talk to us. We're here to cheer you on and help you push through to reach your goals. |
Author28+ years of business experience. 15+ years of virtual experience. topics
All
Archives
May 2020
|