by Manisha Dhalani
I was recently talking to a freelancer who was gushing about her newfound respect for virtual assistants (VA).
Her story was simple. She started freelancing a few years ago. All was well and good until she hit a peak – a fantastic influx of clients in her professional life, and a new baby in her personal.
Juggling both became an immense challenge. She couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing her clients with mediocre work, and yet no mother can ignore her crying child. She had automated some of her processes, but a lot of it was still manual labour that needed both time and attention.
She came to a point where she considered dropping everything to become a full-time mother.
That was until she was introduced to the concept of VAs.
Lucky for her, she quickly found someone to take charge of tedious tasks like researching, resizing pictures, and paperwork. She only had two things to do now – take care of her baby, and do the work that her clients hired her for (in her case, it was graphic design).
In my friend’s story, the damsel in distress gets saved. She was fortunate enough to recuperate from her stressful situation quickly with a VA who was willing and capable to pick up after her so quickly.
But not everyone is that lucky. I also know a bunch of people who are constantly overwhelmed with their work; desperate for help, and yet, no sign of a VA.
If this story isn’t convincing you enough, here are some other reasons why you should consider hiring a VA before you start getting busy.
Help you build a foundation
When I first started my business, one of my first expenditures was to allocate some money for help. A VA was just what I needed to help me strengthen the pillars of my business. I needed to make sure I had my own branding, my passive income, and my business processes in place before I dove into the sea of entrepreneurship.
My VA helped me test my website, research plugins I could use, and figure out the gaps I had to ensure my passive income will continue running while I focused on my freelance writing. On top of that, every time I have a client with a big request, I outsource my research work to my VA so I can focus on getting good quality words out to my paymasters. My business processes started to become more automated.
Make way for bigger projects, better client relationship
With a business process in place, I knew how much more work I could take on. Writing is, after all, not a quick-rich business. It takes time and perseverance to churn out words that will pull on the heartstrings of the right target audiences. With the knowledge that I had a VA to back me up at work, I was more confident to take on bigger projects and deliver them. This, in turn, has resulted in the conversion of new clients to loyal ones who give me repeat business.
You don’t want to wait until the eleventh hour to find someone to help you out with your work; and this is a strong message I would like to impart to all freelancers. You may not see the need to get an office and staff on payroll but you still need help. A VA is someone who can assist you only when you need them to, without straining your work or your pockets.
Allow you to stay sane
You may enjoy being a workaholic, but if you’re a one man/woman show, you need to know that you can get away from your desk without any serious repercussions happening. Hiring a VA can do just that but remember that the person who you have hired is there to assist you, not to take over your business dealings.
VAs can answer phone calls or emails when you decide to take that road trip with your family. That way, you can have fun and take a break, knowing that your clients won’t feel abandoned.
As the saying goes, prepare an umbrella before it rains. Hire a VA today if you want to see your business grow without you having to lose sleep.
Feel under pressure? Need someone to pick up on tasks that you’ve left off? Contact VA-SG today to find out how we can help.
