40 tasks a virtual assistant can do to grow your business
Struggling to manage all the tasks you need to complete to run your business – let alone grow it? Here are 40 tasks a virtual assistant can do to grow your business.
Drowning in a sea of work? Do you have an unhealthy work life balance? Not sure how you’re going to keep on managing everything yourself? Sounds like you need some help and let me tell you, it’s perfectly fine to need help. In fact, by admitting you need support in your work can actually boost your business and help it to grow.
A report by Sage illustrates small businesses are wasting 120 working hours a year on administrative tasks.
With the rise of UK start-ups to a new record, with 5.6 million small businesses at the start of 2018 according to the FSB. Are entrepreneurs thriving for success by doing everything themselves, unconsciously running out of time and racing towards burnout?
You’ve built your business so far solely by your own hard work and by putting in some serious hours, all entirely necessary in the very early days.
However, is this approach really sustainable in the long term? If you always end up hindered in the minutiae of running your business, then where is the valuable time you need to work on scaling your business further? It’s time to ask yourself this important question – wouldn’t it be great to swap working in your business for working on your business?
A virtual assistant frees you up to add real value to your business
Many people hold back from getting help because they’re unsure of employment policies, or worry that they’ll need a work space for their staff to join them in – not any more.
This is where you can take advantage and hire a virtual assistant to free up your time so you can add real value to your business in the areas that are your strength, or you most enjoy.
Why? Because, they are self-employed and you merely use their services under contract, for which they will invoice you. This means that you are not their employer and don’t have to worry about paying their taxes, national insurance, recruitment fees, office equipment, etc.
They also work from their own space, be it a home office or a shared work space, meaning that you can remain working where you have always worked and can connect with them remotely via phone and online tools such as Skype and Zoom.
Hiring a virtual assistant will give you back the gift of time, precious to anyone but especially someone struggling to get everything done, but will also help you achieve that longed for, healthy work-life balance.
As a Business Support Expert we create a strategy and implement actions that deliver results, drive your business forward, increasing business and in turn increasing profits and revenue.
40 tasks you can give a virtual assistant
But what tasks can a virtual personal assistant do for your business? A better question would possibly be, what can’t they do?
Most virtual assistants tend to have a specialism, as well as offering a huge range of general roles and jobs they can undertake. Here are a few of them:
- Executive administration.
- Social media.
- Customer support.
- Personal support.
- Design services.
- Writing and editing.
- Project management.
- Email marketing campaigns.
- Email management.
- Creating newsletters.
- Schedule appointments with clients.
- Organise meetings.
- Minute taking for online meetings.
- Transcription.
- Research locations.
- Event booking and management.
- Entertaining clients research.
- Travel arrangements.
- Comparison of prices for travel arrangements, such as hotel, cars and flights.
- Produce detailed itineraries for upcoming travel.
- Organising contacts with key information.
- Organisation of online filing systems, such as Dropbox, Google Drive and One Drive.
- Database building (CRM).
- Research on certain topics for content creation.
- Research competitors.
- Prepare slideshows (PowerPoint or Keynote).
- Prepare training materials.
- Convert MS Word documents to PDF.
- Set up social media accounts: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn.
- Research engaging content for your next blog.
- Publish posts on your blog from content you provided.
- Filter and reply to comments on your blog.
- Monitor social media conversations for new messages, followers and engagement.
- Answering support tickets inside helpdesk software: Zendesk, Freshdesk.
- Create templates and rules for customer service enquiries.
- Highlight important dates such as birthdays, anniversaries and client milestones.
- Create and send invoices in Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent.
- Collate expense receipts.
- Source quotes.
- Personal online errands, such as gift purchasing for friends and family members.
To be honest the list could go on for another 40 suggestions if not more, because if you find the virtual assistant that is right for you and your business, you’ll soon find there is very little they can’t do or help you to achieve.
The secret ingredients to business success
Of course, this isn’t simply about taking some of the workload from your own shoulders so that you can simply add more. Instead it’s about finding those secret ingredients that will help drive the growth of your business forward towards bigger success.
With a true understanding of the business comes the ability to step out of your comfort zone and seek new yet appropriate growth opportunities.
By choosing to outsource to a virtual assistant, their support with your newly acquired time and chance to take some time away whilst your business continues to run smoothly are your secret ingredients.
Having someone to share the burden, talk with, support you and share the same passion and desire to push your business to beyond it’s limits of success are what will drive the business. You do not have to sit and struggle alone. Take the chance, make the leap and push towards your goals.
The return on your virtual assistant investment is truly a reward you will cherish.
Read more delegation tips
Thinking of hiring a virtual assistant for your business? Here’s some more helpful advice:
- How to get the best value from your assistant
- How a virtual PA can save you money (and sanity)
- Four tips to help you master the art of delegating in a small business
- How to delegate successfully
Selina Johnson is a business support expert who works with established businesses who are overwhelmed and overworked. With over 14 years’ experience of working with six-figure plus business owners, she uses numerous strategies to help her clients free their time. Selina has just been shortlisted for VA of the Year 2018.
