Why I love working with a Virtual Assistant

Back in 2007, I decided to hire a VA to support my business. It was an eye-opening experience.

In my posting, I indicated the specific skills I was looking for and requested work samples. Some people sent no samples with no explanation as to why they were unable to provide them, others sent samples with glaring mistakes in them, and another one said she didn’t know what kind of sample I was looking for. I didn’t contact any of them.

I selected the VAs I felt most closely met my needs and set up times to chat with each of them over the phone, which was a draining exercise for someone who is not a big fan of the telephone. Happily, I found someone with the background I was looking for, whose rate I could afford, and with whom I “clicked” and we began working together.

As I expected, it was challenging at first to relinquish control to someone else – especially someone who isn’t just a few feet away – but it was truly liberating!

Although we only ended up working together for a few months for various reasons, I was sold on the concept and hired another VA a few years later. By this time, I’d started the Golden Horseshoe Virtual Assistants group, and directly approached a member that had the skills and workstyle I needed.

I just love that I can simply fire off an email to my VA about work that needs to be done. This rarely takes more time than adding the task to my to-do list. Furthermore, my time is freed up to focus on other work or even take a break.

Of course, some things need more detailed instructions, but I enter anything that’s apt to come up again in a shared OneNote notebook so my VA will have them as a reference going forward.

Saving time is only one of the benefits. The service I’ve received from my VAs has really highlighted the importance of maintaining effective communication with my clients and striving for excellence in the services that I offer.

Photo by IgorTishenko / Depositphotos