Why You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant for Small Business
By
Jeff Mosler
April 29, 2022
Businesses are now looking to hire virtual assistants for everyday office tasks. But why hire a virtual assistant for small business? Read on to find out
Among the many jobs that have gone remote in the past few years is the administrative assistant. Once a common fixture and vital presence of offices everywhere, more and more of them have traded the commute for the comforts of working from home.
Say hello to the virtual assistant.
Virtual assistants are increasingly in-demand. From call center services representatives, virtual real estate receptionist, virtual medical receptionist, and marketing assistants, they’re working out of the office to streamline the in-office duties of businesses of all kinds.
But why should you hire a virtual assistant for small business? And how do they really benefit small businesses? Keep reading to find out.
What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
Virtual assistants are administrative assistants who work remotely to help businesses manage their administrative tasks and responsibilities. They perform all of the duties and functions associated with traditional administrative positions like secretaries and receptionists, but with a key, contemporary twist: they might not ever set foot inside your office.
Instead, virtual assistants work from anywhere for businesses everywhere, managing administrative work, daily tasks, and other important responsibilities. They’re typically independent contractors with years of experience as administrative assistants, office managers, and other roles that make them uniquely qualified to oversee a range of business functions.
Virtual assistants perform an array of vital office duties, such:
Appointment scheduling
Bookkeeping
Customer service
Database maintenance
Digital and social media outreach
Invoicing
Payroll processing
Travel planning
They may even help with building and maintaining your company website, authoring and posting company blog posts, recruiting and onboarding new talent, and monitoring and maintaining inventory. Essentially, they take care of all the daily minutiae that might keep you from focusing on what you love about owning a small business.
The Benefits of a Virtual Assistant for Small Business
As a unique position, virtual assistants or live receptionist services offer an array of benefits to small businesses. They combine the valuable administrative support of the best traditional, in-office personnel with modern-day perks that could only be possible in the digital age.
From optimizing your office to boosting your bottom line, here are the top benefits of hiring a virtual assistant for small business administrative help.
#1 They Can Increase Business Productivity
Think of all the time you spend doing things like sending and answering emails, communicating with vendors, and sending invoices. Yes, those are necessary aspects of running a small business and someone has to do them—but that someone doesn’t have to be you.
Imagine all you could get done if you had a virtual assistant managing all of the paperwork that goes into running a small business. When you entrust a virtual assistant with those tasks, you unlock a level of productivity that can:
Generate more revenue – When you aren’t distracted by the administrative tasks that may not directly increase your profits, you have more time to focus on the ones that do. Whether that means freeing up your schedule so you can spend more time on the sales floor or interfacing with clients, a virtual assistant makes it possible.
Optimize workflow – Depending on your small business, there may be tasks that your employees are currently responsible for that a virtual assistant can manage. This allows you to better delegate duties among your employees and increase the productivity of your business.
#2 They Can Save You Money
For small businesses, one of the best things about a virtual assistant is the virtual aspect. Because they work remotely, you’ll cut back on overhead costs associated with staffing an in-person employee—without missing out on any of the premium benefits of a dedicated personal assistant.
As contracted workers, virtual assistants can scale back or eliminate the amount of money you spend on:
Office supplies
Office workspace
Employee benefits
#3 They Provide Specialized Skills and Experience
As a small business owner, there’s a good chance your real talents aren’t exactly on the administrative end. You might be a pro when it comes to things like leadership, communication, and project management—but some of the back-end details might be a challenge.
That’s where a virtual assistant comes in handy. Virtual assistants are highly skilled professionals with real-world experience and expertise that translate seamlessly to the virtual realm. They’re qualified to manage tricky computer programs, navigate complicated accounting and tax frameworks, and tackle other administrative duties that require specialized knowledge.
#4 They Can Bolster Your Reputation
From lost invoices and unreturned calls to late or even missed meetings, there’s a lot that can go wrong when small business owners overextend themselves. Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents have the potential to tarnish your image and weaken your reputation among the people you rely on most to keep your business running.
But managing the agendas of busy business owners has been a primary function of administrative assistants for as long as the position has existed. That’s why hiring virtual assistants can brush your business the professional patina that impresses clients, customers, and vendors alike by improving your:
Organization
Punctuality
Correspondence
#5 They Can Promote Creativity and Innovation
Even the best small business owners need time to refresh, recenter, and refocus their thinking around their business goals. Unfortunately, being responsible for every aspect of running your business doesn’t leave much time for self-reflection. When you’re in a constant scramble to meet important deadlines, it can be difficult to focus on anything beyond the closest one.
Hiring a virtual assistant for small business means you’ll have more time to take care of yourself, making you better able to care for your business. A dedicated virtual assistant gives you time to:
Focus on long-term goals – When you aren’t consumed with the demands of the present moment, you can focus on where you want to take your business and strategize ways of getting there.
Focus on innovation and improvement – You need time to identify the areas of your business that can be improved, and time to innovate solutions. By hiring virtual assistants, you can redirect energy and resources to improving and sustaining your business.
#6 They Offer Flexibility for Growth
Working with virtual assistant companies offer staffing flexibility that small businesses can’t expect of employees who work in person. This can be especially beneficial to businesses that are in the beginning stages of scaling but lack the resources for on-site, full-time assistance.
You can start small by hiring a dedicated virtual assistant to work only a few days a week, or finding one to work on a per assignment basis. As your company grows, you can outsource more and more responsibilities to your virtual assistant.
A Guide to Finding a Virtual Assistant for Small Business
Now that you’re privy to the biggest benefits of hiring a virtual assistant, you’re probably itching to go out and find one of your own. However, not all virtual assistant services are created equal. So before you sign any contracts, there are a few things you should know about what to look for in the best virtual assistant for your company.
To an extent, finding the virtual assistant that’s the best fit for you will depend on your business needs and your long-term goals. In general, the best virtual assistant possesses important skills and qualities like:
Reliability – A virtual assistant service won’t do you any good if they can’t be counted on to meet the expectations of their position. When interviewing potential assistants, ask for references and check into their work history to make sure you're getting what you pay for.
Communication – In addition to counting on them to do their job, you need a virtual assistant who you can count on to be in touch. That means replying to emails, making themselves available for phone calls or video meetings, and being able to work the hours you need them most.
Trustworthiness – From tracking your business’s financial data to handling the personal information of your clients and customers, virtual assistants have access to very sensitive data that can be exploited if it falls into the wrong hands. Checking references, performing background checks, or hiring through a virtual assistant database can help limit the risk of making a bad hire.
Professionalism – In their dealings with customers, vendors, and others, your virtual assistant acts as the face of your business. The best virtual assistants present themselves professionally, no matter the method of communication.
Experience – With the proper credentials, virtual assistants require very little training. They’ll need to learn the ropes of your specific business, but many crucial administrative skills are easily transferable.
Get Virtual Assistance with Nexa
If your small business is growing and you’re struggling to keep up with the pace and the demands of the job, you could probably use a little virtual assistance to lighten the load. Sometimes, outsourcing all the tasks you don’t have time for is the best way to get ahead.
Meet Nexa, an industry leader in people-powered business for more than 35 years.
Nexa provides a range of virtual services that empower small businesses and help them grow. From a virtual receptionist to help you run your office and manage customer service to call answering service for small business, live chat, and text messaging services that keep you connected, Nexa is the virtual assistant you’ve been waiting for.
Nexa Receptionists Holdings, LLC (“Nexa”) welcomes Pravin Chandrasoma as its first-ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for its two brands: Nexa and Alert Communications.
