What is a Virtual Assistant?

You might have heard the term 'Virtual Assistant' but do you know what they are and how they can help your business?

We all know that running a business can be tough and sometimes it feels as though there aren't enough hours in the day. As a business owner, you're not only delivering your service or product (the bit you're good at!), but you're also taking care of the day-to-day administration, emails, finances, marketing, social media – all of which can be massively time-consuming, can have a huge impact on your work/life balance, stress levels and, in many cases, is simply not making the best use of your skills. Time is such a precious resource, and getting bogged down in everyday admin can prevent you from focussing on opportunities to develop and grow your business. If any of this sounds familiar, then maybe you need a VA!

Essentially, a Virtual Assistant (or VA) is somebody who works remotely for your business as a subcontractor, either fulltime or part-time, or even on an ad-hoc basis. VAs can provide a range of support services including:

▪ Administration

▪ Email management

▪ Diary management

▪ Customer services

▪ Data input

▪ Social media management

▪ Marketing support

▪ Research

Many specialise in certain areas (eg. marketing, website management, systems administration, bookkeeping). Typically you can work with a VA in one of three ways:

1. Pay as you go. As simple as it sounds - you pay the hourly rate for the agreed amount of time on an ongoing, ad-hoc, or one-off basis;

2. Fixed-rate. You agree a fixed amount for a specific job or task (eg. a project);

3. Retainer. More commonly used in ongoing, long-term working relationships with a fixed payment per month for an agreed set of services/amount of time.

One of the biggest advantages is getting much-needed support for your business without the costs and constraints of employing somebody (which as we know is not possible under certain business regimes for those of us in France!). You can literally pay for the hours you need with no overheads or employment/recruitment costs. Your VA can be based anywhere in the world, so you’re not restricted to the local market and thanks to modern technology, working together effectively isn’t an issue. VAs are already professionals in their field and what's more, they know about running a business – they’re already doing it themselves. This means you get a professional, dedicated, flexible VA who can not only become a valued team member but also a useful sounding board whilst you free up time to do the bits of the business that you do best.