As an International Virtual Assistant myself, I have an extremely good understanding of what a client-VA relationship should look like. I do understand that you might not have too much intel about how the world of Virtual Assistance may work, which is completely understandable and a very new way of working, compared to hiring a Personal Assistant that is based in your office. So I have compiled some crucial information to help arm you with the right checklist and potential key questions to ask when enquiring about a new Virtual Assistant that you are looking to hire for your small business.
A Virtual Assistant and your Business Plan
A misconception in the online space is that a Virtual Assistant is a freelancer that can come into your business every now and then and type a document for you (and of course I am not knocking this concept, as there are many freelancers out there offering this kind of service). However, when you are seriously looking to get your business, life and tasks organised and processes put in place, you need a serious Virtual Assistant to partner with you and make this all happen. Hiring the right Virtual Assistant is a strategic and crucial decision for your business… and again your long-term vision for where you want your business to go is what I am basing my advice on. She needs to be seen as the missing puzzle piece in your story, that is going to be the person that assists you to reach the high-level goals you have in place for yourself and your business success. So this process needs to be tackled strategically.
What to Look for in a Virtual Assistant:
- Experience
- Background
- Skillset
- Personality
- Processes
- Onboarding and training procedure
- Pricing (always remember, cheaper does not mean quality)
- Way of working
- Interest in your business and goals
- The desire to equally want success for your business
- The need to truly help you on your journey
- Systems knowledge
- Any additional niche skill sets (i.e. marketing, events, social media)
I have come up with some key questions that you should be asking your potential Virtual Assistant below:
- How many working years’ experience do you have?
- What industries have you worked in?
- What tasks have you performed in these roles?
- How many years’ experience do you have working for C-level execs?
- Do you have international working experience?
- What processes do you have in place to onboard a new client into your Virtual Assistant business?
- What packages do you offer?
- How could you assist me to meet my business goals?
- What systems experience do you have?
- Do you have any additional skill sets besides secretarial service offerings?
- How would you help me introduce/set up new systems and processes in my business?
- Can you assist me to run my team remotely? If so, how would you go about it?
- What tools do you suggest to work together virtually?
I truly encourage you to consider looking into the future of your business. I am certain that stress, burn-out and no work-life-balance would NOT be items that you would want to appear on your bucket list and unfortunately, this is the reality for many business owners who are currently struggling with the weight of managing the entire business (and not to mention administration), completely on their own. I almost see it as splitting a business in half. The one half of the business should be the business talent (i.e. YOU), making magic and the other half your business right-hand (Virtual Assistant) busy taking care of all the tasks you don’t have time for and ensuring that your business is running like a well-oiled machine, the way it is intended to.
If all of the above sounds irresistible to you, why not take a look at my “get started” page. There is tons of valuable information and frequently asked-answered questions on this page to help you on your journey to getting started with a Virtual Assistant. And as always, if you would prefer to reach out to me directly, feel free to email me: kim@kimcharris.com. I always welcome questions from clients.