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How to hire a virtual Assistant: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Outsourcing

Apr 20, 2022

The hiring of a virtual assistant is one of the first but most crucial hiring decisions you could make as an Entrepreneur. If you don't have someone on your team who you are able to give specific tasks to you will continue to waste valuable time and energy on tasks that do not contribute to the growth of your business.

Solopreneur vs Entrepreneur

One of the main distinctions between a "solopreneur" (someone with the status of being the only individual in the business) and a business owner/entrepreneur is a group. Business owners don't have to handle everything by themselves. They create systems and employ individuals to take care of things for them. These are essential steps for creating a business that continues to grow, even when they're not working.

The hiring of a team member is crucial to making transition from being a sole proprietor to one who owns a business - or as Michael E. Gerber, author of the top-selling business guide The E-Myth says that you go from working within your business to doing work in your business. Having other people on your team will make your life easier so that you can concentrate on the tasks that have the greatest impact on your business and income.

In this guide I'll take you through the steps involved when hiring a virtual assistant as well as provide specific suggestions and tools that can help you control your virtual employees effectively.

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When you've hired the first Virtual Assistant, you can take the same steps to find more tasks to delegate, create new positions in your company as well as hire additional team members until you eventually occupy only one position in your business that is CEO.

But for now, let's tackle hiring your very first Virtual Assistant.

Benefits of employing virtual workers

If you employ one virtual assistant or create an entire virtual staff, outsourcing to remote team members can significantly impact your productivity and the growth of your business.

Here are the main benefits of hiring Virtual Assistants:

  There is no need for an office space  

The location of your residence can affect the cost, renting a physical office space could be expensive. The hiring of a virtual assistant allows the building of your workforce while keeping expenses minimal. Apart from some software tools that assist in communication with and managing the virtual team, the primary cost of hiring virtual employees is what you pay for their time.

  Virtual Assistants cost nothing  

Virtual Assistants can be a cost-effective alternative to employing regular employees. The majority of Virtual Assistants operate as independent contractors . Depending upon where they reside, their hourly rate can be substantially lower than what a local employee costs you. A Virtual Assistant working in the Philippines, for example, is typically less than half the amount an equivalent Virtual Assistant in North America costs for the similar tasks and duties.

  It's not restricted by the local talents (hire only the very best of the most talented)  

Every entrepreneur is not privy to a local talent in the form of candidates who are qualified for a specific role. Virtual Assistants are able to technically operate from any location in the world provided they're connected to the internet. The absence of having to recruit local workers increases the number of candidates you could consider for certain job roles dramatically.

ConvertKit Remote Team

  Delegation helps prevent burnout  

Giving specific tasks or the responsibilities of others is an important step in stopping burnout. There are, unfortunately, a lot of entrepreneurs that think they need to do all things themselves. This is the exact thing they do. This can lead to extremely long workdays, lack of focus, feeling overwhelmed, and having little time for different aspects of their lives including activities, exercise, and families.

  Make sure you spend longer in your areas of strength  

It is impossible to be the master of everything. Nor would you ever attempt to be. Every task or process needed to manage your business (including those you don't like or have a hard time with! ), there are other individuals who are experts in these things and enjoy doing these tasks. Employing people to help delegate work allows you to focus on activities that you enjoy and that you're good at.

  Focus on high-value and revenue-generating tasks  

Lastly, when you hire a Virtual Assistant You free up time to concentrate on tasks that bring more value to your business as opposed to the tasks you assigned to your Virtual Assistant. In other words, you can free up time to work on projects that directly impact on your income.

"Your most precious asset as a human (not just a business owner) is time. The less you commit to, the greater your focus. The greater your focus and the bigger impact you can have with the time you're given. This is why everybody should at least employ one Virtual Assistant."
- Matthew Turner

Types of Virtual Assistants

One of the main issues you're likely asking yourself as you contemplate employing a Virtual Assistant is what can they do for you?

The answer is almost everything.

Insofar as they possess the appropriate training, abilities and equipment Virtual Assistants are able to technically do anything that doesn't require their physical presence that, when you look at it from a different perspective can be quite a bit.

There various types of Virtual Assistants. You need to determine which Virtual Assistant is best suited to the job you want outsourcing.

  The General Virtual Assistant  

The most commonly used form of Virtual Assistant is known as an General Virtual Assistant (aka a General VA). General VAs are those who is able to handle the everyday tasks and routines which are essential for the running of your company, but is not dedicated to growing the business.

The duties you'd give to an General VA typically are more technical and repetitive, such as managing your emails or travel schedule, scheduling your appointment, data entry, research, scheduling posts for social media, and so on.

  The Specialized Virtual Assistant  

A Specialized Virtual Assistant is one who has specific skillset and is better at managing a specific procedure for your business. They tend to be higher priced in comparison to General VAs since they have specific skills and require only minimal instruction from the business.

The tasks of client service, bookkeeping editing videos, or project managementfor instance, are better suited for an experienced VA.

  Tasks that are outsourced. the results  

When you hire the help of a General VA, it's best to delegate certain tasks and processes as well as give them training on how to do those tasks and procedures correctly.

When you hire a specialist VA, it is recommended to outsource certain outcomes. A Specialized VA should be more skilled that you (that's why you should hire them!) at the specific procedures and tasks that form the basis of their work. Since you're counting on their expertise and knowledge in the specific tasks and processes, you should tell them how to you're doing and instead of the best way to accomplish it.

An increase of Twitter followers by 10 percent per month, as an example, is an example of the result. Importing blog posts to Google Drive to WordPress, for instance, is an important job to be completed. What is the difference?

What is the best way to become the Chief Executive Officer of your own company

If you didn't immediately hire a team as soon as the business was launched, you're probably assuming the responsibility for many different roles. This means that you're trying on many hats, and consequently, your time will be divided between many different tasks and responsibilities.

To become the CEO of your firm, and to spend your time exclusively doing the things the CEO needs to devote their time on, you need to delegate specific tasks and responsibilities to employees.

It boils down to basic math.

If your aim is to make more than 100,000 dollars in revenue per year such as, say, you can't expect to accomplish this goal through focusing your efforts on jobs that cost you just $20 an hour. If you're able to work more than 5,000 hours during a twelve-month time frame (unlikely) then the numbers isn't a good fit. Your time should be spent on hours on tasks that earn you a higher hourly rate.

One of the reasons why people are reluctant to hire assistance is that they see hiring others as an expense rather than an investment. If you've ever felt this way about hiring, the following exercise should be helpful for those who are.

  Determine your desired hourly Rate  

The Target Hourly Rate (THR) is the price at which your work time, as director of your company needs to be worth for you to reach your goals for income.

For calculating your Target Hourly Rate, consider each month's (or annual) budget and multiply it by the number of hours you plan to work during that period of duration.

Example: $250,000 (annual income amount) multiplied by 2,000 (# of work hours) equals $125/hour.

"Personally I made the decision to hire ahead of when I believed I was ready for an assistant. I also encouraged other people to do the same. Most people wait until they are at a specific revenue, or have been operating for during a specific time. There is no "magic" time that employing support is a good idea and only if it lets you concentrate on doing what you do best, there's no need to go into debt for it while the time you be able to concentrate on activities that generate revenue Then it's time."
- Trivinia Barber

  Every task in your business is estimated to have dollar value  

Being an entrepreneur, it's your job to identify activities which add the greatest worth to your company. You should spend the majority of your time on those actions. Any tasks or activities that do not meet your target Hourly Pay Rate, you should delegate them to another person.

If you're having trouble achieving your financial goals, I'm pretty sure it's because you're not spending enough time on high-value activities.

  Low and high worth tasks  

The tasks of low-value require your company but don't directly contribute to increasing revenue. Examples of low-value tasks are customer support, bookkeeping projects, project management, graphic design editing, and so on.

Tasks with high value directly increase revenue. Examples of high-value tasks are the marketing of leads and lead generation, selling, launching new products or services as well as forming strategic partnerships .

The quickest way to increase your income as an entrepreneur is delegating less-valuable tasks and fill your calendar with as many tasks of high value as is possible. Utilize the earnings you earn from tasks that are high value to fund the outsourcing of the low-value tasks.

How to choose what jobs and procedures to outsource

Each business is armed with a lengthy list of tasks and processes which are essential to running that business. For you to decide which tasks you should outsource and which you need to keep doing, start with categorizing your activities and procedures.

  Every process and task that you conduct in your organization is part of 1 of 4 areas:  

1. Things you must do High-value jobs that you enjoy doing that you're proficient at.

2. Tasks that you should not perform: tasks with low value that are not the best utilization of your time even if you're skilled at them or you enjoy doing these tasks. (These are the hardest ones to outsource!)

3. Things you do not want to do: tasks that you don't like doing however, others will.

4. Tasks that you can't do: tasks that you lack the knowledge or skills in order to complete.

If you're not already, make sure you downloaded the Outsourcing Worksheet. We included a table for you to record and categorize the tasks and processes that you use in your organization.

"The things you don't like performing or cannot do ought to be on the most important list of delegated tasks. The harder tasks to part with are those that you can do and may even be enjoying However, in reality, you should not be performing them."
Nick Loper Nick Loper

How do you hire a Virtual Assistant

Virtual staff hiring for certain tasks on your team is different from for specific projects.

When you hire a freelancer for a specific project, that project has an initial date as well as an expiration date. Since most freelancers work with multiple clients, you won't always be their first priority.

If you choose to hire a virtual Assistant, you are making an additional team participant. While the work they are delegated to alter over time, they will continue to play a particular role within your team. This doesn't mean that they won't be found on the freelancing sites like Fiverr or Upwork. There are numerous virtual assistants searching for work on these sites that will meet your requirements.

6 steps to hiring an online Assistant

  First step: Record the tasks you want to outsource  

Begin by creating a list of all the tasks and procedures you're planning to assign to your virtual Assistant. If these are things that you already perform by yourself, write training documents (aka Standard Operating Procedures) to perform these duties. If you want to learn to write powerful Standard Operating Procedures, check out this guide.

If you're using the services of a Specialized Virtual Assistant, document the outcomes you want for them to achieve instead of specific tasks or steps.

  Second step: Create an employment description  

After you've compiled your list of duties that you'd like to delegate, you'll have prepare a description of the job to describe the job who will have responsibility for the duties.

tasks that require specialization are not included in the description of a job for General Virtual Assistant. The tasks you assign to a General Virtual Assistant need to be of the same level of skill and rate per hour.

The job description must include:

  • Background information about your business (your industry, what you offer, and whom your clients/customers are)
  • Education, experience, and/or skills required
  • The list of responsibilities and duties
  • List of any apps and tools or programs that they are making use of

Here's an example of a properly written Virtual Assistant job description that we adapted from Shopify's manual for hiring Virtual Assistants:

  Step 3. Upload your job description online  

If you've got the job description written then the next thing to do is to put it on the internet and begin accepting applications. You can post your job description directly on Craigslist (post in the city/country you want to hire in). A different option is to utilize the Virtual Assistant hiring service or directory.

These are other well-known directories and websites you could utilize to search for Virtual Assistants:

"It's crucial to develop a thorough job descriptions so that expectations can be met by both parties. I always ask people whom I have met for recommendations. A virtual assistant should have references and samples of their tasks. Speaking with them by telephone is a great way for getting acquainted with them as well as their character to determine if they are a great match."
" Sue Canfield

  step 4: Read applications and plan interviews  

Check the resumes that come through and schedule interviews with your top 5-10 candidates. It is recommended to conduct videos with your best applicants. Video interviews are the next best thing to chatting with someone face-to-face. You can figure out how much you enjoy the person and can communicate with them on a video conference. If they aren't prepared to conduct a video interview with you, it's untrue and shouldn't hire them.

In your interview with the candidates, don't simply question them about their previous work experience and skills. You should ask them about their ambitions such as their interests, hobbies, where they like to work and how they like being managed. Perhaps you can ask your candidate to complete a complimentary personality test. This can help you better understand their strengths, values, strengths, and how they work.

"We ask a very specific collection of questions to examine how a person would behave towards other human beings. We also have "automatic disqualifiers" that remove individuals of our process instantly based on the answers they provide. We are able to avoid talking to anyone who isn't a part of our values, and not letting us get glitzy about their resume. This has saved us from many bad hires and has made our screening process go much quicker."
- Trivinia Barber

  Step 5: Take the top candidates an exam  

Before you commit to hiring a specific candidate, give your top 3 candidates a task to complete as a test. Choose a job that is part of their regular responsibilities in the first place, and then observe the way they do in the task. Inquiring your candidates to finish a real task will help you determine who the top candidate really is.

  Step 6: Give the best candidate a trial time  

Choose the best candidate to fill the position, then start them off with the trial phase (30, 60 or 90 days for instance). Trial periods give the Virtual Assistant additional incentive to do a great job for you, as it could lead to a permanent role on your team. You should ask them to sign an official Service Agreement to avoid any problems later on.

How to manage your Virtual Assistant

Finding a virtual assistant to work for you isn't the end of the story. When you've added someone to your staff, a part of your job as an administrator is to maintain a positive, professional and beneficial partnership with your staff.

  Evaluate performance  

Before all else You should evaluate the performance that you have achieved with Your Virtual Assistant based on their performance. To do this, be sure to have clearly defined expectations, and/or key performance indicators (KPIs) set up. If your employees are meeting their goals are you truly concerned about the number of coffee breaks they take in the course of the working day?

  Don't micromanage  

If you set clearly defined expectations for your Virtual Assistant and you assess them on their ability to meet these standards, there's no reason to supervise them. Yes, there are programs that let you "spy" onto your Virtual Assistant's computer screen and monitor the amount of time they are working. They're not necessary when you are confident and set expectations for your virtual Assistant. If you don't enjoy being handled by the same way you manage your Virtual Assistant, you're probably not doing things right.

  Schedule check-ins  

Utilize a tool for communication such as Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, or Slack for quick checks-ins with your Virtual Assistant. Maybe this is daily between the start and end of their workday, or every second day, or even weekly. You can do whatever is best for the two of you. Take this opportunity to ensure sure that everyone knows what they're doing and that there isn't anything or anyone (including yourself!) that is hindering them from finishing their work throughout the entire day.

  Requires weekly reporting  

At the end of each week, let your Virtual Assistant send you a summary of their activities during the week. You can provide them with the template they can use to submit their report. Here are a few questions that we recommend requiring the Virtual Assistant to respond to in their weekly reports, together with any particular metrics or KPIs that they're accountable for.

  • What projects or tasks did the team complete?
  • How much time did they devote to each job or undertaking?
  • What is it that they are still working on?
  • Have they encountered issues or difficulties?
  • Do they have feedback, questions or thoughts to share with you?
  • Do they require any further instruction?

  Set up a system of feedback  

Develop a culture Virtual Assistant (and any other person you collaborate with) of trust and open communication. Encourage them to share thoughts, inquire about issues, and offer feedback on a regular basis. This will allow you to become a better manager and leader. This helps to build mutually beneficial relationships with the team members you work with. We're huge supporters of the book by Kim Scott. Radical Candor as basis for providing and receiving feedback to get to a point.

Best tools to outsource and manage virtual employees

Although the idea of hiring someone that will never meet in person may seem bizarre, with the appropriate toolsyou will be able to build and sustain productive and pleasant relationships with your virtual staff.

The most important categories of software required to work effectively together with virtual Assistants as well as remote team members is communication projects, management of projects, file sharing , and security (password security). Below are a few of our most used tools for each of these categories below.

If you're interested in learning more about additional programs and tools to help you run your business, then check out our guide to the .

  Communications Tools  

  Project Management Tools:  

  File Sharing and Security  

Engage a Virtual Assistant to help you to help you focus on what is most important to you

If you're tired and overwhelmed in creating your own company, don't worry. You're not the only one. Most entrepreneurs work long hours simply because they don't know how to leverage their time and give their tasks to others efficiently. They are suffering from what our colleague Chris Ducker, best-selling author of Virtual Freedom is calling "Superhero Syndrome".

Many entrepreneurs believe they're able to handle everything themselves, and because they believe that, this is exactly what they do. What they lack in efficiency they make up for in their work ethic, and often with the risk of becoming exhausted.

As an entrepreneur, your job does not only consist of creating an income for yourself. This is what self-employment and freelancing serve. Entrepreneurs are those who develops systems and employs staff that help run their business to run their business.

A virtual assistant may not be the only one you will add to your team when you grow your business, but they should definitely be the first. Hiring a Virtual Assistant helps make more time available for your time to concentrate on tasks that have a greater impact on your life and business.

"One of the things we can do to keep from exhaustion is to be better delegators. It can be difficult at first letting go, but trust me when I say that once you let loose of the wheel and you're ready to get an all-time driver sooner or sooner!"
- Chris Ducker

  The original blog was published in May of this year. The blog was updated in April 2022.