As a learning entrepreneur, you start out as the creator, marketer, support specialist, and sales rep.
However, once the business grows, you need to focus more on the things you alone can do – main on course creation tasks — and there is a case to be made for hiring a virtual assistant.
For example, you need to maintain a solid presence on social media. There are apps that help with scheduling posts, but you still need to create them, which takes time.
Furthermore, online courses come with some time-consuming activities such as answering questions from learners and community engagement.
Your learning management system (LMSs) automation features will shoulder some of these tasks, but you still have to get more hands-on from time to time.
The benefits of hiring a virtual assistant
A hiring decision should never be taken lightly, especially when you are an entrepreneur with limited resources. In this case, finding the right virtual assistant is the best investment.
If you are still wondering what a virtual assistant can do, the answer is: basically anything.
From business-related tasks to virtual errands– such as waiting in line to schedule an appointment with the IRS, a virtual assistant helps you unload your to-do list. Here are some more advantages to hiring one:
You step away from the repetitive tasks and focus more on the creative aspects of your business. This will allow you to grow your portfolio and income;
Your virtual assistant can be located anywhere in the world. If your customer base is globally dispersed it is helpful to have a virtual assistant working in another time zone, so there is someone available to engage with customers all the time;
Virtual assistants are individual contractors and their rates are not prohibitive – the median hourly rate is 13 dollars. You also don’t need to hire them full-time and you can work out what is best suited for your business;
You avoid burnout. This is possibly the most important benefit. As the saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” so make sure you don’t get overwhelmed and save your resources for moving your business forward.
What to look for when hiring a virtual assistant
Before looking for a virtual assistant, you need to figure out precisely what your business needs. There are two types of virtual assistants – general and specialized.
A general virtual assistant can take over the repetitive tasks, which are integral to the smooth running of the business but not necessarily focused on expanding it.
Scheduling social media posts, data entry, managing meeting requests, and sorting emails are some of the tasks you can assign to a general virtual assistant.
A specialized virtual assistant has a specific set of skills such as online marketing, video editing, project management, customer service, sales, etc. Their rates are higher than those of a general virtual assistant, but they will help grow your business.
It’s preferable to look for people with experience in your industry, organizational skills, and basic knowledge of the platforms and tools that you use. Their portfolio, references, and customer testimonials are also highly relevant.
Where to find a virtual assistant
There are several platforms dedicated to connecting freelancers with potential customers. You can browse to see which one is best suited for your needs. LinkedIn is also a good option for finding a virtual assistant – a quick search shows over 71,000 results for virtual assistance providers.
If you prefer recommendations, you can advertise the position on social media. Keep in mind that you need to have a detailed job description before you even begin the recruitment process.
You will have a contractual relationship with your virtual assistant – they need to know what you expect in order to give you a time and money estimate.
How much does a virtual assistant cost
Prices for virtual assistants vary, and usually, American-based virtual assistants cost more than overseas ones. Many charge by the hour. Some charge per task or project. And some will accept a flat rate for a certain amount of time.
Hourly is usually the best route in most cases, especially for daily tasks, and you can monitor your invoices to ensure there’s a consistent output per hour.
If you’re diligent and willing to look internationally, it is possible to get a great virtual assistant for as low as $3 to $10 per hour for a role like customer service.
It also depends on the work you want to outsource to them. Keep in mind that you generally get what you pay for and should always properly vet any potential hires.
If you’re a busy entrepreneur who’s willing to pay a higher rate, you can also hire a remote “executive assistant”, who can act as your right-hand person and do a wide range of business and personal tasks on your behalf.
The platform you use to hire your virtual assistant will also affect the amount of time you spend managing that relationship, which should also be considered alongside the price.
Hiring a virtual assistant
Once you have weighed the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant and you have a budget, you can begin the hiring process.
1. Map out the role and responsibilities
Make a list of all the things you have to do – daily, weekly and monthly – and see which of those you can outsource to a general virtual assistant. If you opt for a specialized virtual assistant, it’s better to assign outcomes instead of tasks.
So, if you have hired a knowledgeable virtual assistant to handle your social media accounts, set them a target of subscriber increase, engagement, shares, mentions, etc., instead of simply completing tasks on time.
2. Document the tasks and outcomes
Be specific about what your virtual assistant has to do. Since there is a good chance that you won’t meet them in person, good communication is essential to an effective professional relationship.
You can’t expect your virtual assistant to jump right in and know what to do and what to do. You have to spell it out, preferably in writing, to be used for future reference.
A specialized virtual assistant should know their field better than you since that’s why you hire them in the first place. Set specific goals that they need to reach – for example, you want a 15% increase in click-through rates on your blog or 20% more enrollments for a course.
Pro tip: you can use your expertise to create a mini-course to train your virtual assistant. In this way, they’ll have what they need to start.
3. Ask the right questions in the hiring interview
The best way to conduct virtual assistant interviews is through video. Here are some questions to ask when hiring a virtual assistant:
- What is your primary field of expertise?
- How long have you been a virtual assistant?
- Do you have experience with online learning?
- How many clients do you have at the moment?
- What is your availability (number of hours, days of the week)?
- What are your favorite means of communication?
- What tools do you use/need to get your job done?
- Do you use sub-contractors? (This question is fundamental if your work involves sensitive information)
- Do you have any questions or concerns about the job?
Of course, they don’t necessarily need experience in the e-learning field, especially as general virtual assistants, but it can be a bonus for specialized ones.
4. Test their knowledge
The best way to determine if a virtual assistant is a right fit for you is to put them to the test. Depending on what you need them to do for you, this can be as simple as creating a weekly schedule for you or showing that they know how to use your project management tool of choice.
If the job description is for a specialized virtual assistant, you’ll need to design a more detailed assessment. For example, if you hire someone to help with digital marketing, ask them to plan a Facebook campaign for one of your online courses.
If your candidate should help out with social media, you can ask them to build a teaser campaign for a course launch. Apart from evaluating their presentation skills, look for how they set objectives – how realistic and attainable they are.
5. Managing your virtual assistant
Once you’ve hired your virtual assistant and brought them up to speed using the documentation you created, and have established a preferred communications channel (Skype, Hangouts, Slack, or email), you’ll need to ensure you only give limited access to your store, social accounts, or whatever else they’ll be using to perform their job.
Trust is a big part of the relationship between you and your virtual assistant, and you should let them earn it through their performance. So avoid giving them your login credentials for your accounts, and opt for restricted user permissions wherever possible.
6. Protect your information and accounts
In your Shopify store, you can add your virtual assistant as a Staff Account with specific permissions based on the tasks they’ll need to execute.
Most of the tools you probably use offer some form of limited access for other users.
In Facebook’s Page Manager, you can assign them a specific role so they can curate and post content. In Zendesk or whatever customer service software you use, you can add them as a new user with the ability to respond to support tickets.
With a Paypal business account, you can give them specific user permissions so they can make payments without giving them your credit card info. And in Gmail, you can set up email delegation so they can see and respond to emails on your behalf.
If you’re dropshipping through Oberlo and AliExpress, you can give them access to your AliExpress account with the payment options saved and ready to go, monitoring your transaction history for any behavior you need to address.
Since virtual assistants work with multiple clients, sometimes with competitors in the same niche, it’s wise to get them to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
You don’t want them to reveal your secrets, after all. Some platforms like Upwork have this covered in their Terms of Service, but be sure to double check before you hand your VA any information that could be used against you or by competitors.
7. Set up a system for keeping them accountable
It’s hard to gauge the pace at which your VA should be working, or how much work they should be getting done per hour. That’s why it’s important to enforce time-tracking.
While there are free tools like Toggl, and some VAs have software that helps them track their own time, Upwork has a robust time-tracking feature that also takes screenshots of your VA’s screen at regular intervals.
While you ideally want your VA to function independently without much oversight, check in with them every once in a while to see if there are ways you can streamline the process or improve their work.
You might even discover that your virtual assistant finds a better way to do the task than the way you prescribed, or that they’ve become so familiar with your business that they start to offer fresh suggestions like a full-time employee might.
Once your VA is comfortable with their tasks, you can even consider expanding their role and outsourcing more processes, or hiring an additional VA to manage another aspect of your business.
Other places to hire a virtual assistant
While Upwork is a great choice for hiring a VA that can take on aspects of your ecommerce business, there are plenty of other ways you can go about hiring a VA that come with their own pros and cons.
For an affordable on-demand virtual assistant that you only need occasionally, you can use Fancy Hands to access a pool of VAs who can complete one-time tasks.
It’s better for outsourcing personal errands (setting up meetings or negotiating your phone bill for you), or parts of a project, rather than an entire process as you won’t get the same VA every time.
Zirtual is another popular option for a dedicated U.S-based virtual executive assistant that’s experienced and skilled in one or many aspects of running a business.
They’ll cost more (starting at $398 a month), but can handle a mix of business and personal tasks for you throughout each month.
There are also agencies and independent VAs that you can hire outside of all of these platforms, but you’ll likely have to handle a lot of the details like finding a good time-tracking tool and enforcing confidentiality yourself.
Learning to let go
In a funny way, the goal of entrepreneurship isn’t just to own a business, but to give up as much of it as you can, leaving parts in capable hands, so that your business can stay afloat without your full attention.
Outsourcing can be an unnatural practice for many entrepreneurs who relish control. But it’s a key consideration for achieving the elusive work/life balance that’s even harder when you’re doing everything on your own.
Hiring a VA lets you focus on the things that matter most—growing your business, spending time with your family, or just giving yourself a few more moments to catch your breath.
