How Virtual Assistants Benefit Small Businesses

Virtual Assistants can be a great help to small businesses, keeping you on track, generating new contacts, and making sure your business is running smoothly. 
Small Business Advice Week looks at what virtual assistants are, and how they can help you.

What is a Virtual Assistant?
There are quite a few different descriptions and jobs that Virtual Assistants (VAs) do but I’m going to concentrate on the Virtual PA. They generally handles the PA and admin tasks that were traditionally carried out in the office. A VPA works remotely from their home office but is closely connected with the companies they work for. They support a variety of different clients in a diverse range of industries in the UK and overseas. They can be an essential right-hand person for a busy businessman who is often out of the office working on the move between meetings and while travelling. 

​What can a Virtual Assistant do?
A range of tasks can be outsourced to a VA that free up time for the business owner to concentrate on fee-earning tasks and meetings. Typical tasks include leaving the diary management and appointment scheduling to the VA as the sharing of calendars makes this easily workable.  The VA has more time to enter in details of locations and directions and make changes which can happen at short notice.   The time-consuming task of liaising between busy business owners to agree meeting times and places is left to a reliable VA.

• Likewise, with travel arrangements, booking options can be researched by the VA for the business owner and trips can be efficiently organised.  
• Powerpoint presentations can be prepared with liaison between speakers to achieve the desired results.  
• Events can be organised.  Venues can be researched and booked.  
• Email boxes can be shared so that important documents can be archived into the company filing system and people responded to more effectively.
• Phone calls can be made or answered by the VA.

Virtual Assistants are usually linked into the company computer system and can easily stay connected with clients by phone, video calls and apps.   Meeting up on a regular basis is a good way to build a successful working relationship and to discuss current projects and tasks.

​How Virtual Assistants can help your Business
VAs are usually self-employed and therefore as your business expands you can hire a VA without needing to employ an assistant on a permanent basis.  Office space is not required as they work at home and have their own equipment.
Terms of Business can be discussed and agreed with the Virtual Assistant as to how many hours per day or week are required and for which responsibilities.  Either an hourly rate or a project-based fee can be agreed.   VAs are usually flexible on time and deadlines can be set.  
​Having a VA to rely on when you are otherwise engaged or travelling is a great advantage.  It can mean important phone calls and business opportunities are not missed.
​The Virtual Assistant, just like with a traditional Personal Assistant, gets to know the clients of your business and becomes the go-to person for information.   He or she can make a positive contribution to your aim of growing and expanding your business and will be valuable asset to your company.

This post was written by Mary Cumberlege at Vector Support.