Being a business owner is exciting, but it also comes with a lot of work. Not only do you provide your core offer, but you also have other essential business tasks. For instance, administrative functions can’t be neglected or ignored as they’re critical for business success. However, did you know some tasks don’t have to be done by you? If you need support with behind-the-scenes office tasks, it might be time to consider a virtual administrative assistant.
Let’s dive into what an administrative virtual assistant can do for you!
What is a Virtual Administrative Assistant?
Think about all the tasks receptionists, office managers, and secretaries might do. An administrative virtual assistant can complete those same duties, except they do it remotely. The majority of virtual assistants (VAs) work from home, but others are digital nomads, meaning they travel freely while working virtually. In addition, most virtual administrative assistants are self-employed contractors, which means you don’t have to pay for insurance benefits, workers’ compensation, paid time off, and more. In general, they’re fractional support service providers that you can easily access as your business expands.
Why Hire an Administrative Virtual Assistant?
For many business owners, they’re a much more budget-friendly solution, especially if you can’t yet justify the cost of a part-time or full-time employee. Virtual administrative assistants also offer business owners flexibility. Business needs can change at any time. For instance, a busier month might mean you need a VA for 30+ hours, but the next month, it might go down to just 10 or 20 hours. At Imperative Concierge Services, you’ll get access to highly skilled virtual talent when you need it most, allowing your business to scale strategically.
Plus, did you know that the typical entrepreneur spends about 36% of their workweek doing administrative tasks? Delegating some of those to-dos to a virtual assistant can help you focus on more revenue-generating tasks. In turn, you’d likely see an increase in revenue and profit.
What Qualities Do Great Administrative Virtual Assistants Have?
Without a doubt, there are certain traits you’ll want your admin virtual assistant to have. We consider these some of the most important ones:
- Attention to detail: If you ask a VA to complete a task, you want someone who doesn’t overlook the instructions, deadlines, etc.
- Time management: A great VA will be able to prioritize their responsibilities based on importance, urgency, length of completion, etc.
- Organization: They can juggle multiple to-dos while still providing deliverables in a neat and well-polished manner.
- Experience: Our administrative VAs have prior experience providing administrative support services to others, allowing them to hit the ground running when they work with you.
- Adaptable: The ideal virtual assistant will seamlessly adjust to new tasks, challenges, and business changes.
- Problem-solving: If your VA faces an obstacle, they should know how to identify the resources needed to help them overcome and solve complex administrative issues. They should also be comfortable asking for your guidance if they just absolutely don’t know.
When is the Best Time to Hire an Administrative Virtual Assistant?
If you say YES to any of the following, you probably should consider hiring a remote administrative assistant:
- Are you spending more time doing administrative tasks than providing your core offer?
- Are you missing important deadlines?
- Do you often find yourself doing tasks that you don’t know how to do or don’t like to do?
- Do you have new and innovative ideas that you don’t have time to focus on?
- Are customers starting to complain?
What Tasks Can Virtual Administrative Assistants Do?
There are a plethora of tasks your VA can help you with! Here are 21 examples of things they can assist you with:
- Developing and maintaining a digital file system
- Booking travel arrangements
- Scheduling and organizing appointments
- Updating business policies and procedures
- Creating correspondence, digital forms, etc.
- Adding and updating data in a spreadsheet or another database
- Preparing meeting agendas and taking minutes
- Conducting research and compiling information into a digestible format
- Calling vendors
- Ordering office supplies
- Organizing email inbox
- Preparing, sending, and monitoring invoices
- Sending and monitoring contracts
- Replying to emails
- Managing calendar
- Setting up payroll for employees and vendors
- Creating and posting jobs, then arranging interviews with the owner
- Bookkeeping
- Performing CRM clean-up and maintenance
- Sending reminders regarding important dates or urgent to-dos
- Acting as the owner’s main point of contact
How Can I Prepare for a Virtual Administrative Assistant?
If you’re pretty confident that you want to hire a virtual assistant, here’s what we recommend you do:
- Make a list of the tasks you don’t like doing, aren’t good at, and those keeping you away from your CEO duties
- If you want your virtual assistant to do things the way you do them, start documenting how to complete those tasks. Screen recordings and written standard operating procedures (SOPs) are very helpful.
- Determine when you’ll need your virtual assistant to be available
- Come up with a budget
- Schedule a discovery call with Imperative Concierge Services so we can match you to the best virtual assistant(s) for your personal and business needs
Ready to Find Your Ideal Virtual Administrative Assistant?
We’ve been matching our clients with top-tier virtual assistants since 2015, and we’re ready to help you, too! Schedule a discovery call below so we can learn more about your business needs. Once we chat, sit back, relax, and let us work our magic. You don’t have to create or post a job description, read through hundreds of resumes, or try to tediously schedule interviews. We’ll handle the time-consuming parts because we know you’re already busy enough. Then, once you’re aligned with your ideal virtual assistant, we’ll be there to help you every step of the way. Hiring a virtual assistant doesn’t have to be complicated with Imperative Concierge Services.
