7 Good Reasons to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant

If you're running a small business and you've never used a Virtual Assistant (VA) aka Virtual PA before, then here are some good reasons why you should consider doing so:

It saves time. A good Virtual Assistant will ideally have extensive skills and experience gained across a broad range of industries. They will hit the ground running and will often do the work in a fraction of the time that it would take you. They’ll probably do a better job too!
You pay a fixed hourly rate for the time it takes to do the job. Simple.
You save on overhead costs, space, equipment, supplies, etc.
A VA is responsible for their own tax and NI. You won’t incur any costs for recruitment, training, NI, Sick Pay, Holiday Pay, pension contributions, smoke breaks, downtime, etc.
You won’t get bogged down in employment legislation. Note that since 1st October 2011 the new Agency Workers Regulations entitle temporary staff to staff benefits – some accruing from day one and others after 12 weeks’ service. Even more reason to outsource to a VA!
A Virtual Assistant offers flexibility. They work when it suits you, fitting in with the demands of your business, working on a single project, covering for absent employees or supporting you on an ongoing basis.
Lucky Number 7. This is the BIG one... Using a Virtual Assistant will free up your time and allow you to focus on your clients and to generate more business income.

At The Back Office we offer pay-as-you-go professional secretarial and administrative support, including:

Quality typing – letters, memos, orders, invoices
Blog and article writing
Managing your social networking - Twitter, etc
Email marketing
Excel spreadsheets
Compiling reports, tenders, business proposals and business plans
Comprehensive proofreading and copyediting of all forms of text
and lots more

Everything is beautifully formatted and presented and we tailor everything to your business – your branding, your timescales and your budget.

There are lots of other areas of your business that you could outsource too, eg HR (we can help with this), bookkeeping, marketing, etc. Don't try to do it all yourself; it will simply consume your precious time and detract from your business goals.

We have extensive experience across a broad range of business, so if you’re not sure where to start, we’re happy to share our knowledge and to offer advice and we don't charge for taking your call!

Why not make outsourcing your New Year's Resolution! You won't regret it.

Best wishes,

Barbara

The Back Office

Reading

Berkshire

Tel: 0118 988 7628

E: Barbara@TheBackOffice.co.uk

Tags: HR, PA, VA, admin, emailmarketing, outsourcing, secretarial, typing

0 members like this

Comment by Chris Lunn on December 5, 2011 at 20:23: Great advice - any tips on how to verify whether someone is a good VA?

Comment by Barbara Patrick on December 5, 2011 at 21:23

Hi Chris!

If you're a bit long in the tooth (as I am), you can generally tell whether someone will deliver.

Personally, I'd be looking for:

a varied career (as opposed to 10 or 20 years in one job or one particular field),
a broad knowledge of business issues that business owners regularly face,
up to date skills on current packages and an ongoing commitment to learning new skills,
recent and relevant testimonials and examples of work, and
a personality and mind-set with which you can gel.

Some VAs specialise and may have particular strengths in databases, social media, etc. Others have more general experience. Horses for courses.

There are some secretaries who set themselves up as VAs and have very little experience or skills. Thankfully, that's not usually the case. If in doubt, have a meeting, agree a trial assignment and take it from there.

Or just call The Back Office!

Best wishes

Barbara

Add a Comment