Hiring a Virtual Assistant

I’m going to let you in on a secret.

Hiring a virtual assistant is the absolute bomb for an entrepreneur. THE BOMB. I had always thought I needed to find a web designer to help me handle my workload.

I was wrong.

On some random internet scrolling into the abyss, I came across a post about hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA). That was it! The solution that made PERFECT sense for me! Hand off those tasks I so disliked, and used up a lot of my design time to someone who actually loves spreadsheets, and numbers, and invoices and all those things. An assistant that was there when I needed her, without the stress of committing to having staff on the payroll when I wasn’t sure how much help I needed yet.

Here’s how I hired my Virtual Assistant and found the person that was exactly who I needed. And the best part? She’s not a web designer!

First step was to get organized. Create a job description. What do you want them to be responsible for? Are there particular tools you want them to use to perform that job?

Then write out the process of the tasks you want them to do. You are going to have to do this once you hire, so doing it beforehand makes it much more clear on what your expectations are so they know if they are a fit.

Lastly, prepare your interview questions. In my case I narrowed it down to 3 prospects who were career Virtual Assistants, not doing as a side gig. These are the questions I asked.

• • What is your availability? How soon can you start?
  • How much lead time do you require on projects and/or tasks?
  • How do you track your time?
  • How do you report your time – daily, monthly, per task, per client?
  • What is your hourly rate and how often do you bill? Per task? Weekly? Monthly?
  • Is there any minimum or maximum hours of work I have to provide you with?
  • What forms of payment do you accept? Credit card, etransfer, cheque (<—I put cheque in there for us old peeps, haha!)
  • How will you provide updates on progress?
  • How will we communicate? Email, text, phone, app (slack, whatsapp, etc.)
  • What apps, software, tools do you use? Ask for samples of graphics they’ve created if that is something you need.
  • Are you willing to learn new software I need you to use? How would that work and be charged for?

Key for me wasn’t necessarily to find a jack of all trades, but to find someone that communicated well, and was willing to learn my processes. Heather, my VA, was so honest in what her skills were, and what she’d need me to teach her to do. But was all over learning and taking over some tasks I desperately needed off my plate. So grateful to have found her.

So, when the thought of coming up with consistent hours for a part time or full time staff member, consider sourcing out a Virtual Assistant. 100% the best decision I’ve made for my business in this past year.

Have you ever considered getting a Virtual Assistant?