What a Virtual Assistant IS and IS NOT

Looking for someone to join you in your business isn’t an easy decision to make. Sure, you could use the help … but what kind of help exactly? Do you need a coach to help you in moving forward in your business goals? Or is a business manager that you want – someone that takes a lead with your business and makes important decisions? Or do you prefer to start with someone that can save you time by helping with those administrative tasks that just take you too long to do?

If you want to delegate those administrative tasks so you can spend your precious time on other business activities, then a Virtual Assistant (VA) is what you need.

The Virtual Assistant industry is growing quickly around the world – each VA offering a variety of services and specializing in various areas. But do you know what a Virtual Assistant really is and how they fit into your own business?

Firstly, let’s define Virtual Assistant. Essentially, a Virtual Assistant is an independent contractor that offers administrative support via his/her own home office. There are many, many benefits to having a Virtual Assistant join your team, rather than hiring an employee. They have their own equipment, software, space – just to name a few benefits.

Because Virtual Assistants offer such a wide range of expertise and skills, they are quite often able to assist in numerous roles. However, it’s important to understand what a Virtual Assistant really IS and what a Virtual Assistant IS NOT.

A Virtual Assistant IS someone who:
• is an independent business owner
• assists you with various administrative tasks
• you can rely on
• can help you boost your profits
• offers expertise in areas that are not the focus of your business
• provides feedback/becomes a sounding board as your relationship grows
• is genuinely interested in the success of your business
• someone you communicate with regularly, share your business strategy and goals with so they can provide you with the support you need

A Virtual Assistant IS NOT a:
• business coach
• business manager
• decision maker
• expert in every area that you may require assistance in
• responsible for establishing business goals and strategies for your business

As the Virtual Assistant industry grows and offers more and more skills and support to small business owners, the more small business owners seem to expect from their VAs. I’ve heard of people that want their VAs to make important decisions on their behalf – decisions like how much to charge for speaking engagements and even an outline of steps for the business owner to take in order to increase profits.

A Virtual Assistant can certainly help you in researching these items and taking on specific tasks involved in these areas, however they are NOT decision makers nor business coaches and therefore should not be expected to do this on behalf of any business owner.

It’s also important to note that all Virtual Assistants provide support in numerous different areas. Some offer expertise in web design, others know more about bookkeeping/account and others are more involved with ecommerce and internet marketing etc. There are even some Virtual Assistants that simply provide traditional administrative support such as word processing etc. Therefore, before looking for a Virtual Assistant to help you in your business, be clear with what kind of expertise you would like your VA to offer. Also, remember that even though they are proficient in the areas you have identified, they may not know the answer to every one of your questions or know exactly what to do in every situation – especially when it comes to ever changing technology options on the internet. What you can expect is that if your VA does not have the answer, that they can research, connect with other VAs and provide you with as much information as possible.

Most Virtual Assistants have a genuine interest in helping their clients succeed and in building a successful relationship with their clients. As the relationship with your VA strengthens, you may find yourself wondering how you ever ran your business without him/her!

Take the time to share your business goals and strategies with your VA and over time it will be obvious how valuable your VA is as part of your business team.

This article was written for small business owners but it includes great information for VAs also.

It takes time to find a great VA – someone who you will share information about your business; someone that will, over time, “partner” with you to help you in building your business revenue.

More than likely, you want someone that is excited about your business. Someone who can’t wait to help you reach your goals and someone who can offer a wide range of knowledge and expertise in using technology to help simplify and automate tasks.

People “find” their VAs in different ways. You may have been referred to a great VA from one of your colleagues, maybe you browsed around the internet, met someone at a conference/meeting or perhaps the VA found you and contacted you regarding your business. Whichever way you found a VA, there are certain aspects that are imperative to ensuring the relationship is going to get off to a good start.

Through managing the Multiple Streams Team and my own VA business, Victoria Business Solutions, I speak to people every day that know want to hire a VA. They are at different stages of their business, however they know they NEED HELP. When I ask them what kind of help they are looking for, they all have a variety of responses – some that don’t match the criteria of what a VA is and can do.

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When scheduling teleclasses, teleforums, conference calls etc., it’s important to book a bridge line that suits your needs.

The bridge line (known as conference call line to non-online folk!) is a way of connecting more than 2 people on one specific line. If you haven’t already experienced the “bridge line reservation” … I don’t think you’ll have long to wait before someone asks you to book one for them.

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