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When people think of your business, they likely envision beautifully designed, delicious cakes. However, they have no clue what takes place behind the scenes to make that happen. And honestly, a lot of those other things have nothing to do with cakes. There are various aspects of running a business that can keep determined business owners up at night. For instance, you probably want to post on social media more frequently and send a weekly e-newsletter, but where would you find the time? You’d likely benefit from having someone else complete admin tasks and assist with customer support, but can you really afford an employee? If these thoughts are crossing your mind, you may want to consider a virtual assistant for cake artists, cake designers, and bakers.

We’ll dive into what a virtual assistant is, many of the tasks they can do, and so much more below!

What is a Virtual Assistant For Cake Artists?

Before we can discuss what a virtual assistant (VA) for cake designers does, we must first clarify what they are. Some people hear “virtual assistant” and automatically think about Siri and Alexa, but we’re not referring to that here. The virtual assistants we’re talking about are human beings. In fact, they’re self-employed professionals who work remotely. Because they’re independent contractors, they take care of and provide their own taxes, benefits, workspace, and equipment.

Virtual assistants are basically fractional service providers, meaning they offer a high-quality service as needed to several clients. They differ from employees, who are often committed to just one organization. With VAs, you’re able to access their skill set and experience without the part-time or full-time employee price tag, which is convenient for scaling businesses.

Why Hire a Virtual Assistant For Cake Designers?

There are many reasons to hire a virtual assistant as a professional cake artist, but some of the top benefits are that they’re efficient, flexible, and inexpensive.

Virtual Assistants for Cake Decorators Are Efficient

Let’s start by looking at how they’re efficient. As a cake decorator, you’re likely most efficient at baking cakes, as that’s your forte. However, you might not be as productive at social media, email marketing, or even admin tasks. The same goes for if you currently have some employees working with you. If you have an administrative assistant who’s also doing social media tasks that they’re not particularly good at – you’re not maximizing their time (or your money).

Ideally, people should be doing tasks that they’re proficient at, as we naturally make fewer mistakes and work faster when we do. Therefore, if you have a virtual assistant dedicated to a specific set of tasks they’re great at, you and your team can focus on what you’re best at. This increased productivity will also lead to less overwhelm for everyone, as each person is doing what they enjoy.

VAs Are Adaptable

Virtual assistants are also incredibly adaptable to your business needs. For example, maybe wedding season is one of your busiest times, and you need more support during that time. If such is the case, you could hire a virtual assistant to work 10, 20, or more hours each month to help you focus on your craft. Once that busy season calms down, you could decrease their hours or pause their services until the next time.

Virtual Assistants for Cake Decorators Reduce Operating Costs

While virtual assistants might charge more per hour than employees, they’re often still more cost-effective. That’s because virtual assistants (at least at our company) only charge for actual time worked. So, if they spend 2 hours on a project, you’re charged for 2 hours. While employees might be scheduled for an 8-hour shift, recent research shows that they only truly work about 4 hours.

Flexible

Virtual assistants for bakers only work when you need them to. So, if some months are busier than others, they can adjust. In addition, if you need assistance after hours or during the weekends, that may also be possible.

Efficient

We match our clients to top-tier U.S.-based virtual cake design assistants with the specialized skills required to complete the tasks you need help with most. As a result, they are less likely to waste time or money when handling to-dos.

Cost Effective

Cake artist virtual assistants are responsible for paying their own taxes, benefits, and computer equipment, allowing business owners to save more than they would with in-house employees.

What Tasks Can Virtual Assistants for Cake Artists Do?

The real question is, what can’t they do? Sure, they might not be able to come in and bake a cake or pastry with you. However, whatever can be done remotely, they’ve got you covered. Keep reading to learn how they can help you with administrative functions, customer support services, social media management, and more.

Virtual Assistants Can Do Administrative Tasks For Cake Designers

You can assign tons of admin tasks to your cake design virtual assistant. Here are some examples to give you a few ideas:

  • Spreadsheet creation and management

  • Data entry

  • Prepare service proposals and quotes; also monitor them to see where leads are in the process

  • Send contracts

  • Prepare and send invoices; send reminders if needed

  • Order supplies

  • If you deliver, they can coordinate delivery details

  • Schedule staff for different shifts

  • Assist with hiring in-person cake assistants and delivery drivers – creating job descriptions, posting on job boards, arranging interviews, sending over new-hire paperwork, and more.

  • Calendar management

  • Update CRM (customer relationship management) tool

  • And so much more!

Virtual Assistants for Cake Designers Can Help With Customer Support Tasks

There’s no question that customer service can make or break your business. However, we know it’s difficult trying to bake delicious treats AND respond to emails and phone calls in a timely fashion. You might need a customer service virtual assistant for bakers to help with the following:

  • Answers phone calls (if you schedule them to be available during a certain block of time)

  • Reach out to clients about their specifications

  • Manage communications with vendors, like event planners and floral designers

  • Respond to text messages

  • Follow up on social media comments and messages about service inquiries

  • Listen to voicemails and circle back with the lead or client promptly

  • Upsell services

  • Take messages and forward them to the correct staff member

  • Assist with video call consultations

virtual assistant for cake designers

Virtual Assistants for Bakers Can Help Manage Your Social Media 

What if you’re just one photo or video away from going viral? Imagine how that might change your business. Stats show that most people spend over 2 hours per day on social media, so posting content is one way to meet them where they’re at. A social media virtual assistant can assist you with:

  • Creating a social media content strategy for various platforms
  • Retrieving your photos and videos and organizing them in a digital folder, like Google Drive, so they access them when making content.
  • Researching content ideas that would resonate well with your target audience
  • Design graphics using tools like Canva, Photoshop, etc.
  • Using social media scheduling tools like Planoly, Hootsuite, Buffer, etc., to plan postings in advance
  • Evaluating the analytics and making adjustments as needed
  • Replying to comments and direct messages that come in
  • And more!

Virtual Assistants for Baker Can Help With Email and SMS Marketing

How many more leads do you think you could win over with email and text marketing? With 4 billion daily email users and smartphone users preferring brand communications via email – it probably could make a big difference. However, even if you like the idea of sending branded emails, it’s likely difficult to execute if you need to bake cakes for your current clients. If you want to continue focusing on your craft, consider hiring an email marketing virtual assistant so you can still tackle this beneficial task.

  • Oversee and execute email/SMS marketing calendar

  • Develop effective target audiences and list segments for every message to boost engagement and revenue performance

  • Review customer data (like their purchase or web behavior0 to push the message and personalize the content

  • Do A/B tests to assess which subject lines, call to actions, segments, and more work better

  • Test how the emails look for subscribers on different devices before officially sending it – ensure the images, videos, text render correctly

  • Produce performance reports

  • Research and identify trends and see how they would align with the brand

  • Build email campaigns using templates and/or HTML: this may include retrieving graphics, writing the content, etc.

  • Schedule email marketing campaigns

  • And more!

Virtual Assistants for Cake Designers Can Help With Some Tech Tasks

If you want a successful business that thrives in this changing market, you must embrace technology. And if you’re not tech-savvy, that’s completely okay! A technical virtual assistant can support you with certain tasks like:

  • Setting up your email service provider

  • Helping with payment gateways (PayPal, Stripe, etc.)

  • Setting up blog posts in WordPress, Wix, Shopify, etc.

  • Building out a digital course delivery system, like Teachable, Thinkific, etc. (if you decide to sell courses showing other people how to bake like you!)

  • Ensuring your invoicing and billing platforms work correctly (e.g., Quickbooks, Dubsado, etc.)

  • Preparing calendar management tools (e.g., Acuity Scheduling or Calendly) that align with your brand (maybe you have people schedule a consultation, or you teach an in-person baking class)

  • Setting up project management tools (e.g., Trello, Asana, ClickUp, etc.)

  • Organizing your affiliate marketing program tool (e.g., ThriveCart)

  • Adding or updating inventory in e-commerce store (if you sell any products)

  • Creating sales and landing pages using ClickFunnels, Leadpages, etc., that align with your sales funnel

  • And more!

A Virtual Assistant For Cake Decorators Can Aid With Personal Tasks, Too

Consider working with a personal virtual assistant if your business needs are covered, but your lifestyle is chaotic. They can help you and your family with different requests, such as:

  • Find and schedule housekeeping services

  • Shop online for gifts on your behalf

  • Help manage the family calendar and ensure everyone has what they need (e.g., if Valentine’s Day is coming up, find a gift for your partner or add cards and candies to the online cart so the kiddos can take them to school)

  • Arrange for grocery delivery using apps like Shipt, InstaCart, Whole Foods, Kroger, etc.

  • Plan vacations – look for hotel accommodations, find and book flights, identify excursions that appeal to your interests, etc.

  • Schedule appointments (e.g., doctor, dentist, etc.)

  • Arrange for transportation

  • Research child care options (e.g., babysitters, nannies, etc.)

  • Set up pet care services (dog walking, vet visits, etc.)

  • Research senior care services (e.g., assisting living facilities, in-home care, skilled nursing facilities, etc.)

  • Help with meal planning (if you’re following a strict diet, they can find recipes that align with your needs)

What Qualities Do Great Virtual Assistants for Bakers Have?

The best virtual assistants have the following traits:

  • Solid communication skills

  • Very organized

  • Proactive – someone who takes initiative without having to be told

  • Detail-oriented

  • Outstanding interpersonal skills, especially if they’ll be client-facing. You need someone who can navigate relationships with customers, vendors, and staff.

  • Accountable

How Can I Prepare for a Virtual Assistant for Bakers?

If it sounds like hiring a virtual assistant for bakers and cake decorators is the right thing for you, consider taking these next steps:

  • Come up with a list of tasks you’d like them to do.
  • If you’d like them to follow certain steps when completing tasks on your behalf, create work instructions (written and/or videos). When you create those, you minimize the likelihood of being asked, “How do I do this?” later, which can become time-consuming.
  • Decide when you’ll want your virtual assistant to work. Do you need them for a one-time project, or will it be as-needed? Would you prefer your VA to be available daily or just a few times per month? It’s up to you!
  • If there are certain software or tools your virtual assistant will need access to, jot that down. Adding users sometimes results in additional fees, so you’ll want to plan for that.
  • Determine your budget
  • Schedule a discovery call with Imperative Concierge Services so we can match you to a qualified virtual assistant for cake designers.

When is the Best Time to Hire a Virtual Assistant for Bakers?

We personally feel that the best time to hire is before your business gets very busy. Training someone during slower periods is much easier than when your services are in high demand. Virtual assistants are flexible and can adjust to your changing business needs. Therefore, if you only need 10 hours per month during a slow season, that’s fine, but it can be bumped up to 20 or more hours once things start to ramp up.

The other time to hire is if you spend more time doing every other task BUT baking. As a business owner, it’s easy to wear a bunch of hats, but doing so takes you away from your revenue-generating tasks. Hiring a virtual assistant can help you get back to what you’re best at: making delicious cakes.

Another sign that it’s time to hire is if you’re doing tasks you don’t enjoy or aren’t good at. As a baker, you didn’t get into business to figure out things like social media and email marketing. However, this stuff comes with the territory. Fortunately, though, you don’t have to be the one who does these tasks. A virtual assistant can swoop in and help you with those tasks that they’re most proficient at.

Ready to Find Your Ideal Virtual Assistant for Cake Designers, Cake Artists & Bakers?

Working with a virtual assistant offers many benefits, but you must find a good one first! At Imperative Concierge Services, we match specialized virtual assistants to busy business owners like you. All you have to do is schedule a free, no-obligation discovery call so we can get started. And if we seem like a good fit, we’ll work our magic to find you the best virtual assistant(s) for your project.

Plus, guess what? The match-making process doesn’t cost you a thing. You won’t have to pay a dime until you’ve identified the best VA for your needs from our talent pool and selected which package works for you.

So, what are you waiting for? Book a discovery call below to hire a virtual assistant to help you achieve your personal and business goals.

Book A Discovery Call Today | Learn About Virtual Assistants for Cake Decorators