Want to know one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when hiring a virtual assistant? Hiring one without determining if it’ll make good business sense. Do you have the budget to hire someone? Do you have a steady volume of clients? Would the return of hiring a Virtual Assistant exceed the costs? Ultimately, before you decide to hire a virtual assistant, then you need to know if you’ll get a return on investment.
Wait, What’s a Return on Investment (ROI)?
If you already know what return on investment means, then you can skip to the next section. However, if you aren’t so sure, then keep reading. To put it simply, ROI looks at how much profit you’ll make in comparison to your investment. The return on investment ratio is usually presented as a percentage.
If you have a positive ROI, like 25%, then that would be considered a net gain. In other words, it means that your returns exceed costs.
On the flip side, if you get a negative ROI, like -20%, then that’s a net loss. This means that you spent more than you got back. As you might imagine, a positive ROI is preferred, and the higher the better.
Will Hiring A Virtual Assistant Move Your Business Forward?
The one thing you need to know before hiring a Virtual Assistant is how (and if) it will move your business forward. A lot of entrepreneurs find themselves overwhelmed and bogged down and immediately think it’s time to hire, but such is not always the case.
Truthfully, a lot of business owners spend time doing tasks that could and should be automated. If they had proper processes in place, then that would get rid of some of those overwhelmed feelings. The other truth is a lot of the tasks that business owners do should be removed altogether because they offer no value.
Think 80/20 to Maximize Your Virtual Assistant ROI
After you’ve determined what tasks should be automated and/or removed, then you’ll know what needs to be delegated. You’ll be able to see more clearly what tasks have to be done by you and what you can give to your future Virtual Assistant. You should focus on the 20% of tasks that give you 80% of your results. In other words, focus on your revenue-generating craft and delegate what’s important but doesn’t need to be done by you.
By having proper processes in place, you and your Virtual Assistant will be able to maximize your productivity and ROI.
See a Virtual Assistant as an Investment, Not a Cost
The only way to truly expand, grow, and scale-up your business is by outsourcing. If you wear all of the hats, then you limit the opportunities that you could take on. You also risk experiencing burnout, which negatively impacts both your personal and professional life.
Therefore, hiring a SKILLED virtual assistant is an investment and not just a cost. A cost is an expenditure of time, money, and resources. An investment, on the other hand, will likely provide you a return. The cost of doing it all is:
- Wasted time
- Wasted money
- Poor quality and,
- Your sanity
Your Virtual Assistant ROI should be an efficient use of time and money, better quality products and services, plus work/life balance.
Virtual Assistants and Return on Investment
Now, you’re probably wondering how you can financially determine if a virtual assistant will provide you a return on investment. We’ve made a simple calculator to help you determine just that! But first, let’s do an example.
Virtual Assistant ROI Example
Say you have a client that’s willing to pay you $65,000 to complete a project. Sure, you could do it yourself and pocket all the money, but you might have to decline other projects. You decide to weigh your options and consider hiring a Virtual Assistant. After reviewing your budget, you determine that you can comfortably spend $20,000 on a Virtual Assistant. Do the following:
- Enter 65,000 in the “Amount Earned” section
- Type in 20,000 in the “Cost of Assistant” section
The calculator will show you that you’ll have a 225% ROI, which is a very positive net gain and you’ll profit $45,000. In short, your VA return on investment is a win!
Now, enter numbers that match your own situation below and see what the results are.
Skilled Virtual Assistants = Return on Investment
In order to see a positive Virtual Assistant ROI, you’ll have to ensure you’re hiring someone who can actually get the job done. We match our clients to Assistants that have the skill-set, education, and experience to effectively get the job done. Why? Because hiring someone who needs to be trained on all the software you use to run your business can be time-consuming and costly. We want you to be able to see your Virtual Assistant ROI as soon as possible.
Overall, we hope this posting helps you make an informed business decision. If you’re ready to scale and improve your bottom line, then let us help you hire a Virtual Assistant!
