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How to hire a Virtual Assistant: The Entrepreneur's Guide for Outsourcing

Apr 20, 2022

Finding a Virtual Assistant to work for you is among the most basic but most crucial choices you'll make as an Entrepreneur. If you don't have someone on your team to delegate specific tasks to, you'll continue to waste your time and energy doing things that aren't contributing to the expansion of your business.

Solopreneur vs Entrepreneur

One of the key difference in an "solopreneur" (someone with the status of being the sole individual in the business) and a business owner/entrepreneur is the fact that both are a team. Business owners don't have to handle all the work. They create systems and employ individuals to take care of things on their behalf. This is a necessary step to building a scalable business which continues to expand, even when it's not in operation.

The hiring of a team member is an essential step to make the transition from solopreneur into a business owner - or as Michael E. Gerber, author of the top-selling business publication The E-Myth would say to shift From working in your business , to doing work in the business. The addition of other members to your team helps to reduce your workload so you can concentrate on the tasks which have the most impact on your business and your income.

In this post, I'm going to walk you through the process involved in hiring a Virtual Assistant as well as provide specific suggestions and tools to assist you in control your virtual employees efficiently.

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Once you hire one of your Virtual Assistant, you can take the same steps to determine additional tasks to delegate, create new roles in your business, and hire more team members until you eventually hold only one role in your business that is CEO.

For now we'll tackle the hiring of your first Virtual Assistant.

Benefits of hiring virtual staff

If you choose to hire just a single Virtual Assistant or build an entire team of virtual workers, outsourcing remote employees can be a major factor in your productivity and the growth of your business.

Here are a few of the major benefits of hiring virtual assistants:

  It doesn't require a physical office  

Depending on where you live the cost of renting office space can be quite costly. Employing a virtual assistant enables you to start building your team while keeping your expenses low. Apart from the use of a handful of software programs for working with your virtual staff, the primary cost of hiring virtual employees is what you have to pay for their work.

  Virtual Assistants aren't expensive  

Virtual Assistants can be a cost-effective alternative to regular employees. Most Virtual Assistants work as independent contractors and depending upon where they reside the hourly rates can be substantially lower than what a local employee would cost you. A virtual Assistant working in the Philippines, for example, will typically cost just a fraction of the price a Virtual Assistant within North America costs for the same tasks and responsibilities.

  There is no limit to the local talent (hire the best of the most talented)  

Not every entrepreneur has access to an local talent group of skilled candidates to fill the job. A Virtual Assistant can technically be employed from any place within the world, as long as they're connected to the internet. Not having to hire local workers increases the number of potential candidates for specific roles significantly.

ConvertKit Remote Team

  Delegation helps prevent burnout  

Delegating specific tasks and the responsibilities of others is a huge step toward preventing burnout. There are, unfortunately, lots of business owners who feel they have to handle all things themselves. This is precisely what they end up doing. It leads to lengthy work days, a lack of energy, feeling overwhelmed and having little time for other aspects of their lives such as activities, exercise, and families.

  Make sure you spend more time in strengths  

You can't be a master of everything. Nor do you need to strive to be. For every task and process needed to manage your company (including those that you don't like or have a hard time with! ) There are people who specialize in those things and enjoy doing the process. Employing people to help delegate work lets you be able to focus on things that you enjoy and that you're good at.

  The focus is on high-value and revenue-generating tasks  

Lastly, when you hire a Virtual Assistant and you are able to free up time to focus on activities that add significantly more worth to your company as opposed to the tasks you assigned to the Virtual Assistant. In other words, you can free up time to concentrate on tasks that have a direct effect on your earnings.

"Your most valuable source of human resources (not just a business owner) is your TIME. The less you commit to time, the more focused you are. More focused you are, the more impact you can have with your time. This is why every person should employ at least one virtual Assistant."
- Matthew Turner

The types of Virtual Assistants

One of the primary concerns you're likely to ask yourself when you think about employing a Virtual Assistant is: what will they provide for you?

There is almost everything.

As long as they have the right training, skills, and tools Virtual Assistants are able to technically do anything which doesn't need their physical presence, which, if you think about it, is actually a lot.

That being said, there various types of Virtual Assistants, and it's important to know which type of Virtual Assistant is best suited to your specific tasks that you're planning to outsource.

  The General Virtual Assistant  

The most popular type of Virtual Assistant is known as a General Virtual Assistant (aka a General VA). A General VA is a person who can take on the daily tasks and processes that are important for running your business but not necessarily focussed on increasing it.

The tasks that you would assign to an General VA typically are technical and repetitive in nature, such as managing your emails or travel schedules, scheduling meetings, data entry, researching, scheduling your posts on social media, and so on.

  The Specialized Virtual Assistant  

A specialist virtual assistant is someone that has a very particular set of skills and is best at overseeing a very specific process in your business. They are generally higher priced as compared to General VAs due to the fact that they possess specialized skills and need only minimal training from your side.

tasks like client service, bookkeeping editing videos, or managing projects, for instance, are better suited for a Specialized VA.

  Tasks that are outsourced. results  

If you have a General VA, you should try to outsource specific tasks and processes in order to provide them with training on how to perform those duties and processes properly.

When you hire a specialist VA, it's best to contract out particular results. The Specialized VA will be better that you (that's the reason you choose them!) for the tasks and processes that are an element of their job. Because you're relying on their knowledge and expertise when it comes to specifics, explain to them what you're doing but not the best way to do it.

An increase of Twitter followers by 10% per month, for instance, could be an result. Importing blog content via Google Drive to WordPress, as an example, can be a project to complete. Do you see the differences?

How to become the CEO of your business

If you haven't hired a team as soon as you launched your business, you're probably assuming the charge of a variety of duties. That is, you're doing a variety of jobs as a result of which your time will be divided between various tasks and obligations.

To become the CEO of your company, and to spend your time exclusively doing the things that a CEO should spend their time, you need to delegate specific tasks and responsibilities to others.

It comes down to simple math.

If your goal is to generate over 100,000 dollars in revenue per year For instance, you can't expect to accomplish this goal with the help of tasks that are worth just $20 an hour. If you're able to work for 5,000 hours over a 12 month time frame (unlikely) it's a math problem that just doesn't add up. It is best to focus your time on activities that have more hours of work.

One of the reasons why people are reluctant to hire employees is due to the fact that they consider hiring others as an expense rather than an investment. If you've ever been in this mindset when hiring someone, the following procedure should help you.

  Calculate your Target Hourly Rate  

The Target Hourly Rate (THR) is the price at which your timeas chief executive officer of your company, needs to be worth for you to achieve your income goals.

To calculate your target hourly rate, consider the monthly (or annual) earnings goal, and then divide it by the amount of hours that you will be working during the duration.

For example: $250,000 (annual income amount) divided by 2 000 (the number of working hours) equals $125/hour.

"Personally, I hired way before I thought I was ready for an assistant, and encourage others to follow suit. Many individuals wait until they're having a set amount of revenue or have been in business during a specific time. There's no "magic" moment when hiring support makes sense, other than: If it will allow you to focus on what you excel at, and you aren't going into debt for it while the time you be able to focus on revenue-generating activities Then it's time."
- Trivinia Barber

  Every single task within your business is estimated to have amount in dollar  

As an entrepreneur your duty to pinpoint the tasks that add value to your business and you should spend the majority of your time working on those actions. Anything that isn't in line with your goals or fall below your Target Hourly Rate must be assigned to someone else.

If you're struggling to meet your financial goals, I can almost guarantee that it's due to not spending sufficient time and energy on activities of high value.

  Low and high worth tasks  

Low-value tasks are tasks that must be completed to run your company but don't directly contribute to increasing revenue. Some examples of low-value jobs are bookkeeping, customer support projects, graphic design editing, and so on.

The most valuable tasks directly impact revenue growth. Some examples of high-value jobs are leading generation and marketing sales, the launch of new services or new products and creating strategic partnerships and .

The most efficient way to boost the amount you earn as an entrepreneur is delegating less-valuable tasks and to fill your schedule with as many high-value tasks as possible. Utilize the earnings you generate from high-value tasks to fund the outsourcing of tasks that are low value.

How to choose what jobs and procedures to outsource

Every business has a long list of tasks and processes associated with operating the company. In order to help you determine which ones to outsource and which ones you should keep doing, start by categorizing the activities and procedures.

  Every task and process within your company falls into one of four areas:  

1. The tasks you need to complete: high-value tasks that you enjoy doing and you're actually good at.

2. The tasks you should never complete: jobs that aren't worth your time and don't make the most efficient way to use your time, even if you're good at them or you enjoy performing them. (These are among the most difficult tasks to outsource!)

3. Things you do not would like to complete: jobs that you aren't a fan of and that you think others will.

4. You are unable to complete Tasks that require the required knowledge and abilities in order to complete.

If you're not already, make sure you downloaded our Outsourcing Worksheet. We included a table for you to record and categorize the tasks and processes that you use in your organization.

"The things you don't like performing or cannot do ought to be on the top of your list of delegated tasks. The most difficult tasks to delegate with are the ones you could do and even enjoy doing However, in reality, you aren't worth it."
- Nick Loper

What is the best way to find a virtual Assistant

Hiring virtual staff for specific positions on your team can be different from for specific projects.

When you employ a freelancer for a specific assignment, that job has a start date and an end date. As most freelancers are working with multiple clients, you won't necessarily be their primary client.

When you employ a Virtual Assistant is hiring a team person. Although the duties that you assign to them could change over time, they will still occupy a specific role on your team. This doesn't mean that they won't be found on a freelancing site such as Fiverr or Upwork. There are many virtual assistants searching for jobs on these websites that will meet your requirements.

Six steps to hire an online Assistant

  Step 1: Document the tasks you want to outsource  

Make a checklist of all the tasks and procedures you're planning to assign to your virtual Assistant. If these are things that you're already doing your own, you should create training materials (aka Standard Operating Procedures) for the tasks you're delegating. To learn how to write powerful Standard Operating Procedures, go through this tutorial.

If you're hiring the services of a Specialized Virtual Assistant, document the results you'd like for them to achieve in lieu of specific assignments or procedures.

  Second step: Make the job description  

Once you have your list of tasks to delegate, you'll need prepare a description of the job for the role that will be responsible for those assignments.

Tasks that require specialized skills should not be included in the description of a job for General Virtual Assistant. The tasks you delegate to the General Virtual Assistant need to be of the same level of skill and rate per hour.

Your job description should contain:

  • The background information you have about your business (your sector, the products you offer, and the people who are your customers or clients)
  • Level of education, experience or other skills are required
  • The list of the duties and responsibilities
  • A list of all apps or tools they'll be employing

Here's an example of an effectively composed Virtual Assistant job description that was adapted from Shopify's manual for the hiring of Virtual Assistants:

  Step 3. Post your job description online  

Once you have your job description ready the next step is to make it available online and then begin to accept applicants. One option is to post your job description directly to Craigslist (post in the location you'd like to employ in). Another option is to use an Virtual Assistant hiring service or directory.

These are other well-known directories and websites you could utilize to search for Virtual Assistants:

"It's crucial to develop a thorough job descriptions to ensure expectations are satisfied on both sides. I always ask people whom I have met for recommendations. Virtual assistants should be able to give some references as well as examples of their tasks. Talking to them on the telephone is a great way to get to know the person and determine if they are a great fit."
" Sue Canfield

  4. Review applications and plan interviews  

Examine the application that comes through, and set up interviews with your top 5-10 applicants. It is recommended to conduct video interviews with the top applicants. A video interview is the next best thing to interviewing someone in person. You can figure out pretty quickly if you like the person and can communicate with them on a video chat. If someone isn't willing to take part in a video chat with you, this is an indication that they aren't interested and you should not hire the person.

As you interview each candidate, don't just inquire about their job experience and skills. You should ask them about their ambitions such as their interests, hobbies, where they work, and also how they prefer to be handled. Perhaps you can ask your candidate to complete a online personality test for free. It will allow you to gain a better understanding of their character as well as their strengths and the way they operate.

"We conduct a strict series of questions about character that examine how a person would behave towards an individual. We also have "automatic disqualifiers" that remove individuals from our system instantly based on the answers they provide. It prevents us from speaking to anyone who isn't a part of our core values not letting us get glitzy regarding their credentials. It's saved us from so many poor hires, and helps the screening process much more quickly."
- Trivinia Barber

  5th Step: Test your top candidates an exam  

Prior to committing to hiring one particular candidate, offer the top three candidates an assignment to complete as a test. Select a specific assignment that's element of their job in the first place, and then observe the way they do in this task. The task you ask your candidates to complete a real task will assist you in determining most qualified candidate is.

  6. Give the most suitable candidate a trial time  

Pick the ideal candidate to fill the position, and start them off on an initial trial (30 days, 60 or 90 days for instance). The trial period provides your Virtual Assistant additional incentive to succeed for you, as it will lead to being a permanent member of your team. You should ask them to complete a formal Service Agreement to avoid any problems in the future.

Tips for managing your Virtual Assistant

Finding a virtual assistant to work for you is only the start. Once you've added someone to your staff, a part of your job as the leader is to maintain a productive, professional and mutually beneficial relationship with your employees.

  Evaluate performance  

Above all else, you should be judging the performance that you have achieved with your Virtual Assistant based on their performance. In order to do that, make sure you have specific expectations or key performance indicators (KPIs) established. If they're performing to your standards, do you really care the number of coffee breaks they take during the course of their workday?

  Don't micromanage  

If you have specific expectations for your virtual Assistant and then assess them on how well they meet those standards, there's no need to micromanage the virtual assistants. Sure, there are applications that allow you to "spy" onto your virtual assistant's screen on your computer or monitor the amount of time they are doing their work. These things are unnecessary when you have trust and clear expectations of your virtual Assistant. If you don't enjoy being handled the way that you manage you Virtual Assistant, you're probably doing something wrong.

  Schedule check-ins  

Use a communication tool such as the Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and Slack for quick checks-ins using your virtual Assistant. It could be between the start and at the end of their day, or every second day or perhaps weekly. You can do whatever is best for the two of you. Use this time to make sure they know what they're doing and that there isn't anything or someone (including you!) hindering them from accomplishing their work during the entire day.

  Requires weekly reporting  

At the end of each week, let your Virtual Assistant send you a summary of their activities during the week. Provide them with a template to use to send you their reports. Below are some of the questions we recommend requiring the Virtual Assistant to address in their weekly reports and any other specific metrics or KPIs that they're accountable for.

  • What were the tasks or projects they accomplish?
  • How much time did the team members devote to each task or project?
  • What are they still working on?
  • Did they run into issues or difficulties?
  • Are they able to provide ideas, feedback or suggestions for you?
  • Do they require any further education?

  Set up a system of feedback  

Develop a culture Virtual Assistant (and any other person you collaborate with) of trust and clear dialogue. Encourage them to share thoughts, inquire about issues, and provide regularly with feedback. This will allow you to improve as a leader and manager, which helps to build friendships that are mutually beneficial with your team members. We at a.m. are huge fans from Kim Scott's work Radical Candor as an approach to giving and receiving feedback to get to a point.

Top software for outsourcing and managing virtual staff

While the concept of hiring someone that will never meet in person may seem strange, with the right equipment, it is possible to establish and keep productive and fun relations with the virtual team.

The primary categories of equipment that are required for effective collaboration in conjunction with virtual Assistants and remote team members include communication projects, management of projects, sharing files and security (password protection). I've listed some of our most used tools for each one below.

If you're looking to find out about more software and instruments to assist you manage your business, you can check out our list of the .

  Communications Tools  

  Project Management Tools:  

  File Sharing and Security  

Engage a Virtual Assistant to help you to help you focus on what is most important to you

If you're feeling tired and overwhelmed with the development of your business, you're not alone. The majority of entrepreneurs work for longer hours because they haven't learned how to make the most of their time or assign tasks effectively to other people. They're suffering from what our friend Chris Ducker, best-selling author of Virtual Freedom, calls "Superhero syndrome".

Most entrepreneurs believe that they can do everything themselves, and because of that belief, that's precisely what they do. While they aren't as efficient, they compensate for with their work ethic, and often with the risk of burning out.

As an entrepreneur, your job isn't just about creating an income for yourself. That's what freelancing and self-employment are for. Entrepreneurs are those who develops systems and employs staff to run their businesses to run their business.

A virtual assistant may not be the only person you include in your team as you expand your business but they should definitely be one of the first. Hiring a Virtual Assistant helps free up more time for you to focus on activities which have greater influence on your life and business.

"One one of the ways we can do to avoid burning out is to become more effective delegators. It can be difficult at first to let go of the wheel, but believe me when I say that once you let go of the steering wheel for a while then you'll be looking to employ an all-time driver sooner or later!"
- Chris Ducker

  The original blog was published in May 2018. It has been updated in April 2022.