It’s 11 a.m. on Monday. Instead of feeling excited about your startup’s upcoming sales pitches and those contracts you won last week, you feel a crushing sense of dread.
You’re overwhelmed with an endless stream of unread emails. You also need to update your CRM, organize your itinerary for the upcoming conference, and finish uploading some blog posts you wrote last month.
Instead of the 35-hour workweek you hoped for, you’re facing a 60-hour week (if you’re lucky). The worst part is that most of these hours will be filled with tedious tasks you hate.
So what’s the solution? It’s definitely not burnout and overwork. You probably need a virtual assistant for a small business.
Keep reading to discover how a VA can turn your business hours from stress-filled overwork into productive success.
Table of contents
- What is a small business virtual assistant?
- When should you hire a virtual assistant?
- What can a virtual assistant do for a small business?
- What are the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant?
- Can a VA save you money?
- Scale your small business with a Prialto virtual assistant
What is a Small Business Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant (VA) for small businesses is a person who offers a range of services to entrepreneurs or companies remotely.
Because they work online, they're called "virtual" assistants.
VAs typically assist small business owners by handling tedious and repetitive tasks that consume excessive time.
Virtual assistants can help small business owners with a variety of specific tasks, including:
- Administrative support
- Project management
- Calendar management
- Web design
- Phone calls
- Social media marketing
- General business operations
Small business owners frequently need help with repetitive tasks like those mentioned earlier. However, as their business grows, they might prefer not to hire a full-time employee or personal assistant to manage these tasks.
To keep costs low and continue scaling, most small business owners find it more cost-effective to outsource tasks to a virtual assistant.
When Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant?
Entrepreneurs, business owners, and managers waste hours each week on busy work. Workers spend around 62 percent of the workday on repetitive, mundane tasks and only 25% of business leaders feel like they're productive 80% or more of their day.
Sixty-two percent of an eight-hour day roughly equals five hours.
Think about what you could achieve with an extra five hours a day.
Would you dedicate more time to pitching your business to venture capitalists? Or focus on developing that new feature your users are eagerly awaiting? Either way, you could finish your workday a few hours earlier. The decision is yours.
Besides winning back valuable time, there’s a real risk of burnout when you try to handle all your admin and scheduling tasks yourself. Any entrepreneur or business owner will tell you it’s easy to fall into the trap of overworking.
A historical study revealed that most small business owners work twice as many hours as employees. Over 30 percent reported working over 50 hours weekly, and 25 percent work more than 60 hours. If you're overworking or tired of mundane tasks, consider outsourcing your workload to a skilled VA. You’ll be amazed at the time you reclaim and how you can redirect that extra time toward your work or personal pursuits.
Read more: Determining The Right Time to Hire a Virtual Assistant
What Can a Virtual Assistant Do for a Small Business?
Virtual assistants take care of those tedious, repetitive tasks that consume your valuable work hours.
These tasks are different for each person. But here are some examples of tasks that business owners often outsource to VAs:
- Administrative tasks: This encompasses managing emails, scheduling appointments, handling client databases, performing data entry, and organizing meetings.
- Social media management: A VA might manage a company's social media profiles, schedule posts, respond to followers, and analyze engagement metrics.
- Content management: Uploading blog posts, simple graphic design, editing videos, and more.
- Customer service: Handling customer inquiries, feedback, and complaints via email, chat, or phone.
- Research: A VA could gather information on competitors, find new suppliers, or stay on top of industry trends.
- Website management: Updating content on the website, simple troubleshooting, and sometimes even more complex tasks if they have the required skills.
- Bookkeeping: Managing expenses, invoicing, and other financial tasks. However, hiring a professional accountant or bookkeeper might be more suitable for more complex financial tasks.
- Email marketing: Setting up email campaigns, managing subscriber lists, and analyzing campaign performance.
- Event planning: Coordinating webinars, workshops, or even physical events.
- Travel arrangements: Booking flights, hotels, and other necessary travel accommodations.
Learn More: The Top 26 Virtual Assistant Tasks
What are the Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant?
Working with virtual assistants gives you back time, allowing you to focus on valuable tasks that drive impact for your business.
Outsourcing Tedious Tasks
Repetitive tasks, such as email management, social media scheduling, and data entry, can eat into your workweek.
Surprisingly, some of the most frequent email users spend more than eight hours weekly on email. A VA can take over these tasks, alleviating the burden on you.
Justin Albertynas, the CEO of travel booking extension Ratepunk, shares how he felt overwhelmed by admin tasks that took up a considerable percentage of his workweek.
He explains how he spent nearly 15 hours a week on email correspondence and scheduling meetings.
“My VA took over these responsibilities and streamlined the process. By setting up filters, organizing my inbox, and taking control of calendar invites, the VA reduced my email and scheduling time to just three hours a week,” Justin says.
“A few months later, I realized that I was dedicating around 10 hours every week to data entry and maintaining client records. With my VA's help, this was cut down to only 2 hours, thanks to their expertise with CRM tools and efficient data handling techniques,” he explains.
“The VA took over our social media posting and basic customer queries, which saved me another 5 hours weekly,” he adds.
Justin no longer worried about tedious tasks because he worked with a VA, allowing him to relax while a dedicated virtual assistant managed them.
Increase Your Productivity
When repetitive tasks are eliminated, you’ll gain time to focus on more important issues. Additionally, you'll avoid the distraction and stress caused by email alerts and data entry.
Justin of Ratepunk explains that a VA helped him save time that he could use for other activities.
“In total, by hiring a VA, I was able to reclaim around 25 hours out of my 40-hour work week, allowing me to focus on core business strategies, networking, and even enjoying some personal time.”
Adebayo Samson, founder and CEO of education website Academicful, agrees that working with a VA allows him to focus on more critical tasks.
“My VA handles a diverse range of tasks, including managing my email inbox, scheduling appointments, conducting research for blog topics, and social media content. They also played a crucial role in streamlining administrative processes like data entry and maintaining my CRM system,” he explains.
“The time-saving benefits since bringing a VA on board have truly exceeded my expectations. I was pleasantly surprised by how much valuable time I could regain. This newfound freedom enables me to focus on high-impact activities such as content creation, client consultations, and refining my business strategy.”
Michael Nova, founder and CEO of Nova Custom Label Printing, was surprised by how much time he saves working with a VA.
“I estimate that I save 20 hours a week, and it's absolutely worth the expense. Saving time is so important because I am running several businesses at once and don't have time to handle all the daily grunt work that needs to be done,” he says.
“Having a virtual assistant allows me to focus on new opportunities and specific areas for growth. It also saves me from doing the hassle work of eliminating spam emails from my inbox, for instance.”
Organize Your Schedule
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your schedule? Whether you're traveling often or attending numerous meetings, coordinating everything can become quite a headache.
Ronald Osborne, a business coach and consultant, explains how VAs help him manage a busy schedule so that his business runs smoothly.
“Having a VA means I don’t have to sweat the small stuff, so to speak. I travel frequently for business. My VA takes care of travel logistics and provides me with detailed itineraries,” he says.
“Travel goes way beyond just booking hotels and flights. Arranging internal transfers or figuring out the best transport to get me from A to B in a new city or country is an art form. She makes sure the small stuff is in place to help the business run smoothly.”
Can a VA Save You Money?
Saving money is one of the primary benefits associated with hiring a virtual assistant for your small business. You save time for more important activities and avoid the expense of hiring a full-time administrative assistant.
Whether you hire a freelance, part-time, or full-time virtual assistant, the cost will be lower than hiring an in-house executive assistant.
There’s also the option of working with a managed virtual assistant service, like Prialto.
While working with a managed virtual assistant company may incur a larger upfront investment, you won’t need to vet, hire, and manage the VA yourself; the company will do it for you.
What is the typical hourly rate for a virtual assistant?
Hourly rates for virtual assistants vary depending on experience and skill set. According to a study by Zippia, the average hourly rate for virtual assistants in the US is $19.19 per hour. Hourly rates typically range from $13 to $25 per hour, depending on location, experience, level of English proficiency, and skill set.
On platforms like UpWork, you’ll see a considerable range in skillsets and pricing.
For instance, a VA in New York, USA, will probably have higher fees than a virtual assistant in the Philippines or India due to differences in living costs.
If you prefer a managed virtual assistant service that handles sourcing, hiring, and training VAs for you, Prialto provides 55 hours of support starting at $1500 per month.
This flat-rate pricing includes support from an engagement manager who ensures you maximize your Prialto VA's potential. Additionally, your dedicated assistant will have completed a month of thorough training prior to starting your engagement. If your primary VA is unavailable, you will also have access to a trained backup assistant.
If you’re looking for a VA to step in and handle mundane tasks without handholding and creating more admin work for you, then a managed VA service is probably your best bet.
That said, if you’re looking to cut costs, don’t have a problem with training your VA, and have a low volume of tasks you’d like assistance with, you may prefer to work with a freelance VA.
“My VA is always accessible, personable, professional, and so responsive in getting tasks completed (and usually ahead of schedule). I would highly recommend working with the Prialto team!” says Laura Mendelow, founder of Mendelow Consulting.
Scale Your Small Business with a Prialto Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants save small business owners from burnout and overwhelm. Instead of spending hours on mundane repetitive tasks, let VAs handle the grunt work for you.
Relying on a managed virtual assistant can enhance your workflow and enable you to focus more on growing your business. Once you start with a VA, you’ll be surprised by how much more time you have.
Ready to find an extra 25 hours or more each week? Learn more about how hiring a managed virtual assistant will save you time.