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How to hire a Virtual Assistant: Entrepreneur's Guide to outsourcing

Apr 21, 2022

Hiring a virtual assistant is among the most important options you'll make as an business owner. If you aren't able to find someone in your team to assign specific tasks to, you'll continue to waste valuable time and effort on projects which do nothing to aid in the growth of your company.

Solopreneur vs Entrepreneur

One of the main distinctions in an "solopreneur" (someone that is sole person in their business) and a business proprietor/entrepreneur is that they work as a group. The business owner isn't able to do everything on their own. They create systems and employ workers to take care of things for them. This is an essential stage in creating a business that grows even when employees don't work.

Employing a team member is a critical step in making change from sole proprietors that owns a company and, as per the words from Michael E. Gerber, creator of the most-read business book "The E-Myth can be said to mean that you can go from working in the business , to doing work on behalf of your business. The addition of other members to your team can decrease your workload so that you can focus on tasks which have the most impact on your business and the income you earn.

In this piece, I'll guide you through the steps in hiring a Virtual Assistant and give you some tips and tools to help with managing your virtual assistants effectively.

You can jump into:

When you've hired your Virtual Assistant You can then follow these same steps to identify even more tasks that you can delegate, design new positions for your company and also recruit additional employees until you are in only one job in your company that is CEO.

For now, let's start by hiring your the first Virtual Assistant.

Benefits of using virtual employees

If you are a company that employs one Virtual Assistant, or you build an entire virtual workforce and remote employees, outsourcing remote workers could have an impact on productivity as well as the expansion of your business.

Here are a few the most important benefits to hiring a Virtual Assistant:

You don't need an office space

Based on where your residence is located, the cost of leasing a physical office isn't cheap. Employing a virtual assistant enables you to begin building your staff while keeping expenditures minimal. Other than software tools that assist in managing and working with your virtual team, the main cost of employing virtual employees is the amount you pay for their time.

 Virtual Assistants don't cost a fortune

Virtual Assistants are an affordable alternative to regular employees. The majority of Virtual Assistants are self-employed . The location they live in will determine the rates per hour could be significantly lower than the amount a local worker costs the client. A virtual Assistant in the Philippines can be an example, and usually costs just a fraction of the cost that a similar Virtual Assistant paying for the same job in North America costs for the similar tasks and responsibilities.

There is no limit to your local expertise (hire one of the top)

Not every entrepreneur has access to a local pool of competent candidates to fill a particular job. Virtual Assistants are able to technically work in any location around the world, provided that they are accessible to internet. The absence of having to recruit local employees can boost the quantity of applicants for specific roles significantly.

ConvertKit Remote Team

Delegation helps prevent burnout

Delegating specific tasks and responsibility to other people can be major step toward avoiding burning out. There numerous entrepreneurs who believe they need to do everything on their own, which is the exact thing they are. They end up working for a long time with no energy being overwhelmed, and lack of time to different areas of their lives, such as exercising as well as hobbies, family, and friends.

HTML0 It's a good idea to invest more time in strengths

It is impossible to be the ultimate master of everything, nor do you need to strive to become. Each and every job necessary for managing your company (including the ones you dislike or do not know how to do! ), there are other professionals who can handle those jobs and really enjoy these duties. The hiring of people to manage tasks lets you focus on the things you enjoy and that you're skilled at.

Concentrate on high-value earn-based actions

Finally, when you employ Virtual Assistants and you are getting time to concentrate on tasks that add value to your company , as opposed to the tasks you assigned the Virtual Assistant. That means you can have more time to be focused on the tasks that will affect your earnings.

"Your greatest resource as a human (not solely a business owner) is your time. If you're not committed to it, you'll lose attention. Your more focused you are on work, the greater the impact you'll make on your working time. This is why everyone should have at the very least the services of a Virtual Assistant."
Matthew Turner

Virtual Assistants: What are the types? Assistants

One of the primary concerns you're likely asking yourself when you think about the hire of a virtual Assistant would be what can they do for you?

It's pretty much anything.

If they've got the right knowledge, experience, and training Virtual Assistants can effectively do anything that doesn't need their physical presence, and, looking from a different perspective, is actually a lot.

There are various types of Virtual Assistants. It's crucial to know which kind of Virtual Assistant is best suited for the specific task you're planning outsourcing.

The General Virtual Assistant

The most commonly used type of Virtual Assistant is known as an General Virtual Assistant (aka a General VA). A General VA can be described as someone capable of handling the daily tasks and processes which are essential for the running of your company, but does not focus on growing the business.

The duties you'd delegate to General VA General VA typically include more technical and repetitive including managing your email or travel schedule, scheduling your appointments, entering data, conducting research posting schedules on social media, and much more.

The Virtual Assistant Specialized

Specialist virtual assistants are one who has special set of abilities and is superior at overseeing a very specific method for your business. The cost of specialist virtual assistants is generally higher when compared to general VAs due to their specific set of skills and need very little instruction by the company.

tasks like bookkeeping, customer service, editing videos, or the management of projects for instance most suited for a specialist VA.

Outsourcing tasks vs. the result

If you are hiring a General VA, it is recommended to contract out certain processes and jobs as well as offer them training in the best way to complete these tasks correctly and follow the correct procedures.

If you are a specialist VA you should outsourcing certain outcome. The specialized VA has more experience than you (that's why you select to work with them!) for the methods and duties that comprise part of their work. Since you're counting on their expertise and knowledge in the specific procedures and tasks, you should inform them how to be expected, but not what to do and the best way you'll accomplish the task.

The growth of Twitter followers at a rate of 10% each month, as an example might be an outcome. Importing blog content from Google Drive to WordPress, for example, is a job to be done. See the difference?

How do you become the CEO for your company?

If you haven't hired someone as soon as you launched your business You'll likely be taking on the charge of many different duties. This means that you're trying on many hats, and that means your time is spread across multiple tasks and duties.

To become the CEO of your company as well as to devote your time exclusively in the activities that a CEO ought to spend their time on, you must assign specific tasks and duties to other employees.

The key is simple math.

In the event that you want to make more than 100k in revenue per year, this is a significant amount of money for this goal with the help of jobs that cost 20 dollars per hour. If you're not able to put in longer than 5,000 hours in the twelve months (unlikely), the math does not work. You should focus your time doing things that earn you more at an per hour rate.

A reason why people don't want to employ employees is due to their perception of the hiring of employees as an expense and not as an investment. If you've ever been in this situation when you were hiring someone, the following procedure should help you.

Find your Hourly Target Cost

The Target Hourly Rate (THR) represents the value which your time spent working, as head of the executive team at your business, must be worth in order to reach your financial goals.

In order to calculate your desired hourly wage, you must take your month-to-month (or annual) earnings goal, and then multiply it by the total number of hours that you will work during that period of duration.

As an illustration: $250,000 (annual income objective) divided by 2 000 (number of hours spent) equals $125/hour.

"Personally I took the choice to hire before I thought I was ready to have an assistant. I also encouraged other employees to take the same path. A majority of people hold off hiring until they're in a certain income level or are operating at a certain period of time. There is no "magic" date to engage support other than: If it will allow you to focus on what is your best at, and you don't have to go into debt for this, and the time you'll be able to save allows you to focus on the activities that bring in revenue, then it's time."
Trivinia Barber

Each task that you perform within your organization will have an estimated value in dollars

Your job as an entrepreneur is to determine the areas that contribute the most worth for your business. You should you should spend most of your time on those actions. If you find that your actions are not in alignment with your goal or falls below your Target Hourly Rate must be assigned to an individual.

If you're having trouble achieving your goals for income, I'm pretty sure this is because you're not investing the time and effort required to engage in activities of high worth.

 Low and high value tasks

Low-value tasks can be essential to the running of your business but do not directly impact revenue growth. Examples of jobs with low value include customer service, bookkeeping projects, graphic design, project management editing, and so on.

The most valuable tasks directly influence revenues growth. The most valuable tasks include managing generation, marketing and sales, in addition to the launch of new products or services as well as forming strategic alliances as well .

The most effective method to increase your earnings as business owner is to outsource less-valuable tasks and to take on as many high-value jobs as is possible. Make use of the money earned from jobs with high-value to fund the outsourcing of low-value tasks.

Which processes or tasks you want to assign

Every company has an extensive checklist of processes and tasks associated with managing the business. In order to help you determine the tasks that you can outsource and the ones you'll be performing in the near future start by classifying your tasks and processes.

HTML0Each task and every process in your business belongs in one of the categories below:

1. Things you must do High-value jobs you love that you're adept in.

2. Tasks that you should not perform: tasks with low value that are not the best utilization of your time even though you're skilled in them or enjoy performing them. (These are some of the hardest jobs to outsourcing!)

3. You don't want to do: tasks that you're not a fan of or think that someone else will.

4. You can't complete tasks The task isn't one you have the skills and knowledge to complete correctly.

If you don't have it completed, download our Outsourcing Worksheet. We included a table for you to track and categorize the tasks and processes that you employ in your business.

"The tasks you don't like doing or cannot do should be given the most priority of delegated tasks. The harder tasks to part with are those that you are able to do, and might even enjoy doing, but realistically, aren't worth your time."
Nick Loper

How to hire a Virtual Assistant

The hiring of virtual employees for specific positions on your team can be distinct from hiring to work on projects you are specialized to.

If you hire a freelancer to complete a particular assignment, that job has an initial date, as well as the date of its end. Because most freelancers have to work with many clients, it is unlikely that you will always be their top priority.

If you employ a virtual Assistant, you're essentially hiring one of your team participant. The work they're assigned to change as time goes by, they'll stay with a particular position within your group. This doesn't mean that they can't be found in a freelancer website like Fiverr or Upwork. There are several virtual assistants looking for work on these sites which can meet your needs.

Six steps to hire an assistant online

HTML1 Step 1: Document your requirements outsourcing

Create a list of every process and task you plan to assign to your virtual assistant. Assuming these are tasks which you are already performing on yourself, you must develop training resources (aka Standard Operating Procedures) for these tasks. For more information on how to create powerful Standard Operating Procedures, check out this guide.

If you're using an Specialized Virtual Assistant, document the results you'd like them to accomplish instead of certain tasks or methods.

2. Create a job description

After you've compiled your list of duties that you'd like to assign, you'll have make a job description for the position that is in charge of those duties.

These tasks that require expert expertise shouldn't form part of the job description for a General Virtual Assistant. All of the tasks which are assigned to a General Virtual Assistant need to have the same degree of proficiency and cost per hour.

The job description must include:

  • The background information you have about your business (your sector, the services you can offer, and individuals who are your clients or clients)
  • Education, experience, and/or skills required
  • The following list of duties and the responsibilities
  • A list of all apps and tools or programs that they'll use

Below is an instance of an expertly composed Virtual Assistant job description that we borrowed from Shopify's manual on the selection of assistants Virtual Assistant:

Step 3: Upload your job description onto the internet

If you've got your job description ready then the next step is put it on the web and to begin accepting applications. Another option is to put the description of your position in Craigslist (post on the area that you'd like to recruit for the position). A different option is to use a Virtual Assistant hiring service or directory.

Below are the most popular websites and directories you can search through to find Virtual Assistants:

"It's important to create detailed job descriptions so that expectations can be met from both sides. Always ask the people whom I have met for recommendations. Virtual assistants should be able to provide some references along with some examples of the work they perform. Making contact with them by phone is a great way for to get acquainted with them to determine if they are suitable for them."
Sue Canfield

 step 4: Read applications & schedule interviews

Check the resumes that come through and set up interviews with your five to 10 candidates. I would suggest conducting video interviews with the top candidates. Interviews via video are the next best thing than having a conversation with someone in person. You will be able to gauge how much you enjoy individuals and communicate effectively through video conferences. If someone doesn't want to participate in a video chat with you it's an indicator that you shouldn't hire them.

When you interview each candidate, don't only ask the candidates about their knowledge of work and experience. You should ask them about their interests and ambitions, as well as what they think about their working and how they prefer being treated. You can also have your candidate complete a an assessment of their personality for free. This will help you to gain a better understanding of their strengths and strengths, their values as well as how they operate.

"We run a rigorous set of questions that test the way someone would treat an individual. There are also "automatic disqualifiers" that kick people out from our system instantly based on the answers they provide. It prevents us from speaking with anyone who's not a part of our core values without us being slick about their resume. This has allowed us to avoid many poor hires, as well as helps make the screening process go much faster."
Trivinia Barber

Step 5: Give the top candidates an examination

If you are deciding to employ one particular candidate, assign your three top candidates a task in a way that they can test. Choose a task which is a part of their work in any case, and watch the way they do when they complete the task. Inquiring your candidates to finish an actual job can help you in determining you can select the top candidate.

HTML1 Sixth Step Offer the best candidate with trial time

Select the most suitable person for the job and start them off on your initial trial (30 30 or 60 days for instance). This trial gives an Virtual Assistant additional incentive to do a great job to you as it can eventually lead to a permanent job on the team. Make sure they complete a formal Service Agreement to avoid any problems at a later time.

Strategies for managing your Virtual Assistant

Hiring a Virtual Assistant is just the beginning. When you've added someone to your team, one of the responsibilities of the job of a leader is to help maintain a productive, professional and mutually beneficial relationship with your team.

Evaluate performance

Then, in the end, You must evaluate the success that you have achieved with Your Virtual Assistant based on their performance. For this to be done, make sure to have clear expectations and/or important metrics for performance (KPIs) established. If they're meeting them are you truly concerned about what number of break-room coffees they serve in the course of their workday?

Don't micromanage

If you set clearly defined requirements regarding your Virtual Assistant and examine them according to how well they comply with those requirements, then there's no reason to supervise them. There are software applications that permit you to "spy" the virtual assistant's computer screen or keep track of the hours they're working. It's not necessary if you're sure and you've establish expectations for your virtual Assistant. If you aren't happy with the way you're handled in the manner you handle the management of your Virtual Assistant, you're probably in error.

Schedule check-ins

Utilize a communication tool like Workspace from Google, Workspace, Microsoft Teams along with Slack to set up quick check-ins using your Virtual Assistant. It could be in the middle or at the end of their workday as well as every other day, or perhaps regularly. You can do whatever is best for the two of you. Use this time to make sure they know their work and nothing or someone (including your own!) which is hindering them from finishing their work during the day.

Requires weekly reports

Every week, let the Virtual Assistant give you a brief summary of their activities this week. Provide them with a template they can utilize to send their weekly report. Here are a few queries that we would suggest to the virtual Assistant to address on their weekly reports or any other particular KPIs or metrics they are accountable for monitoring.

  • What tasks or projects did them finish?
  • What was the amount of time that they devoted to each job or undertaking?
  • What is it that they are still working on?
  • Have they encountered any issues or difficulties?
  • Do they have ideas suggestions, feedback or even ideas for you?
  • Do they need any additional instruction?

 Create a culture that is based on feedback

Create a sense of community among your virtual Assistant (and other people you work with) of trust and open communications. Inspire them to discuss ideas ask questions, and provide frequently with feedback. If you do this, you will become a better manager and leader and help establish positive relationships with your coworkers. We're huge fans of the book by Kim Scott. Radical Candor as base for giving and receiving feedback. going.

The best software to outsource as well as managing virtual workers

The idea of employing someone who isn't likely to talk to could seem odd. However, with the proper technology, you can to build and maintain productive and pleasant relationships with your virtual staff.

The most important categories of software needed to effectively work together with remote assistants, virtual assistants and team members comprise communication and project management, as well as file sharing , and security (password security). We've listed a selection of our most used tools for each category below.

If you're interested in learning about more software and instruments to help manage your business, browse our collection of .

Communications Tools

Tool for Project Management:

Data Sharing, Security and Privacy

Employ a virtual assistant so that you are able to focus on the things that matter most.

If you're exhausted and overwhelmed by the demands of developing your business, you're not all alone. Most entrepreneurs are working long time because they've never learned how to maximize their time or assign tasks efficiently to others. They're suffering from what our friend Chris Ducker, best-selling author of Virtual Freedom describes as "Superhero Syndrome".

The majority of entrepreneurs believe that they're able to do all things for themselves. Based on this belief, that's exactly what they're. However, what they don't possess in terms of effectiveness, is compensated for by their work ethic, often with the possibility of becoming exhausted.

Being an entrepreneur does not only involve creating work for yourself. That's what freelancing and self-employment can be used meant to be. Entrepreneurs build systems and hires people that assist in running their businesses in their place.

A Virtual Assistant likely won't be the only thing you add to your team as you expand the scope of your business, but they should definitely be one of the initial. Employing a Virtual Assistant can give you more time you to focus on activities that have a greater impact on your life both personally and your business.

"One of the things we can do to avoid burning out is to build more effective delegators. In the beginning, it can be challenging to give up, but trust me, once you're able to take a break from the wheel for a few minutes, you're ready for an all-timer sooner!"
Chris Ducker

     This blog first came out in the May of this year. The blog was updated to April 20, 2022.

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