Hey there, entrepreneurs! We’re back with some more FAQs to guide you in working with a VA agency.
If you’re thinking of starting your own business or have already put one up, you’ve probably thought about how to reduce your costs, increase your revenue, and save time. And what better way to make all of those happen than by hiring a Virtual Assistant to help you manage your daily tasks?
Research shows that VAs can reduce operating costs by 78% (Delegated) and are 13% more productive than employees who work on-site (Virtudesk). In the pandemic, lots of business owners caught on to the trend—that’s why offshore VA agencies thrived in 2020, increasing by over 40%!
In short, VAs are a business asset you don’t want to miss out on!
In our VA FAQs, Vol. 1 blog post, we discussed how communication with the VAs works, the turnaround time, and the billing system. We hope that it made you less hesitant to dip your toes in the water!
Today, to help you understand how to make the most out of VA services, we’ll be talking about how you can source the best virtual assistants, keep track of the hours they bill, and what you can do if you don't like your VA.
FAQ #1: Where can I find the best VAs?
Now, before anything else, list down what skills and specialties you’re looking for in a VA. Do you want them to handle administrative tasks? Take charge of your business’s social media posting? Do you need them for graphic design?
If you don’t know what you want your VA to do, you could hire some of the highest-rated VAs and still not see the returns in your business. Get clear on the roles you need them for, and use that to guide you when selecting and screening candidates.
Of course, if you want to skip that hassle, you can look for a VA company. VA companies will usually have several VAs working under them, each with their own specialties, so you don’t have to worry about looking for a single candidate who has all the skills you’re looking for.
And after that, it’s only a matter of hopping on a few job listing sites or asking other business owners you know for recommendations if they’ve worked with VAs before.
FAQ #2: How do I keep track of the hours spent on my project?
In our previous VA FAQs blog post, we talked about the different rates. Most VAs or VA companies will use hourly rates. They only bill productive hours and exclude idle time or breaks.
A trustworthy VA company will usually use computer-based time tracking software, like Toggl, Clockify, Timeular Tracker, or even just a simple spreadsheet! These make all the logged hours easy to oversee, so you can easily check and clarify with your VA about the time it takes to complete your projects.
Having a time tracking system also allows for daily or weekly reports to be issued for more transparency.
FAQ #3: What if I don’t like my VA?
The beauty of working with a VA company, rather than an individual, is that they have a team of VAs ready to assist you. While VAs will try to match your communication and working styles to the best of their ability, sometimes you may just prefer another VA for their personality or for their insights.
While it may depend on your specific contract, in most cases you can ask to switch VAs if you’re not 100% happy with who you initially paired with, no sweat!
That's a Wrap!
And that wraps up our second entry into our series of VA FAQ blog posts! We hope you find this blog helpful in demystifying what it’s really like to work with a VA for your business. Trust us, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
So if you or a fellow entrepreneur needs a little help managing your day-to-day demands at work so you can get more time to relax, give TopVA a call! Learn more about what we do or reach us through our website.
See you in the next one!