Every time I talk about working with my VA it sparks so much interest and so many questions.
So I thought I’d share a few tips on how to choose the right VA for you. I also created this lovely infographic to give you some ideas on what you can take off your plate, so that you can focus on the more impactful areas of your business.
If you need any help finding, onboarding or training a VA, I’ve had so many enquiries about this that I now offer this support service, so just ask. For now, I hope this inspires a few ideas…
What kind of VA do I need?
First, have a look through this infographic and then think about what you need support with. Once you know that, the tips below should help you get a sense of who you need to work with.
Given you some ideas? So now to consider who is right for you to work with.
One-off or ongoing? Once you’ve identified your areas to outsource, you will be able to see whether this needs ongoing or more sporadic support. And so whether this requires a VA or a specific skill set at a certain point in your business, such as when setting up your books or designing your brand identity. This will impact who you look for and also, importantly, where you look.
Do you want someone to think for you or do for you? This changes everything from the type of person you look for, to how much they are involved in your business, to how you brief and work with them.
Team mate or task do-er? If you want someone to be part of your team, soft skills will be much more important to you vs. simply wanting to have someone to brief tasks to and get outputs back. So an honest look at your own working style is key.
Hours. Do you need someone on this time zone or not? Do you need them to work fixed hours, or not? Remember, the reason many VAs are VAs is because they have great skills and busy lives juggling other jobs, clients or families, so slotting in a few hours here and there throughout the week will work better for them. Flexibility will give you more options.
Budget. Most people start here - and let’s be honest, we all have limits. But ideally, this is the last thing to consider, once you have more clarity on the things above first. The old adage is certainly true that you get what you pay for, but there are always ways to find the right skills for the right financial investment.
As a final thought, I’d point out that your investment in your VA is not just financial - it takes time. Time to find one, time to on-board one and most importantly time to think through and properly explain to one what you actually need. For example, I have training videos, structured briefing documents and a task management system for mine. You can’t just get a VA and - snap - your work is done. Could you arrive at a new job on day one and suddenly know who, what and where everything is to smash it out the park? If that feels overwhelming, don’t worry - the good thing is that this means that the success of your VA is totally in your control; like anything, the more you put into something the more you get out of it. Even if that time investment is just needed once at the beginning to ensure a year’s worth of high yielding time from your new VA. And if all else fails don’t worry, I can help you - so outsource that, too!