While you’re out there wondering how a virtual assistant (VA) can help you scale your business in order for it to rise to new heights, I’m here to tell you how my VA helps me keep my family happy. It sounds a little odd. How would a VA, who isn’t even part of my family or household, able to do that so well?
The ways are endless.
Giving Me Time I Don’t Usually Get
I should clarify first that the ways how a VA helps me keep my family happy aren’t direct. Still, my VA is probably the greatest contributing factor who helps me to do so. And she does that by taking away tedious tasks that would otherwise take up a lot of my time; time that I would rather spend bonding with my family members.
Some of the things that I outsource to my VA when I’m sure I have a family commitment planned during the week include researching for my content, or for things that I’m unsure of yet need to know for my business to process – say, for example, to work out how I should add a Paypal button to my e-book landing page.
Being One-Call Away
As with many typical families in Singapore (where I currently live), families enjoy going out for
lunches and dinners as the perfect get-together during weekends – what with Singapore being a food haven and all. While we could easily visit Google to give us the best listings of new restaurants and cafes to try out, my family is one that prefers word of mouth recommendations. My VA, being a foodie herself, has a ton of suggestions stored in her hard drive (as in her brain), and she’s always one call or WhatsApp message away from proposing a great place to dine at.
But this happens probably because I’m lucky. Corporate clients will have no time getting to know their VA on a personal level, unlike me who was fortunate enough to get familiar with my VA even before she ventured into it full-time.
Still, there’s a long list of resources that my VA can provide me. If I keep aside the fact that I’m
aware of her personality traits, I would still be able to keep my family happy with the other menial tasks that she can handle. I’ve employed my VA for ad-hoc services like running through selling applications to help my family figure out how to price our brand new massage chair that we wanted to get rid of, and also to figure out the best places for us to donate our truckload of books to a good cause. These errands may not take a lot of time, but it saves a lot of crucial family time that I usually don’t get since my sibling works six days a week.
Work It Out
I know for a fact that my VA is a family-oriented person, too, so I try not to overwhelm her with last-minute tasks. With mutual understanding, we have worked out a great system of communication whereby she is immediately able to inform me if she can handle a task or if I have to manage it on my own. This way, not only can I make use of the hours I hire my VA for, but I can also manage my family’s expectations of seeing me more often well. Being a freelance writer, I still require a lot of time writing out my articles and books, but having a VA onboard helps to lessen my load and schedule my writing timeline that will be able to keep both my clients and family members happy.
Stop neglecting your loved ones for the sake of projects or work. Hire a VA today!
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About The Author
Manisha Dhalani is a freelance content manager who, if not found with her head buried in a book, is usually busy trying to find ways to better the world with words that tug on the heart’s strings. Thanks to years of experience as a writer, editor and entrepreneur, she is also capable of using content to boost your business awareness and help you gain a competitive edge.
Visit her website at www.manishadhalani.com for more information. |
