Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Hire a Virtual Assistant

Does any of this sound familiar? 

• I want to get certain things organized before bringing on someone to help. 

• I just don’t have time to train a virtual assistant.  

• I don’t know if I can trust someone to help me. 

• I think I can handle all of this on my own. 

• I don’t know where to find a good virtual assistant. 

For many entrepreneurs and small teams, bringing on a virtual assistant seems like a daunting, even scary, task. There can be a lot of uncertainty when vetting someone over the internet who is eventually going to have access to a lot of your business information. 

Let’s break down these hesitancies and explain why they aren’t serving you or your business. 

I want to get certain things organized before bringing on someone to help. 

One of a VA’s primary roles is to help provide (or maintain) structure in your business. A VA can actually help you find great ways to organize. And if you’re operating in a lot of disorganization now, then it’s probably not one of your strong suits anyway. Let someone who actually enjoys organizing, do the organizing. And a virtual assistant is there to take more off your plate than just organizing. Check out our blog, 20 Tasks to Outsource to A Virtual Assistant, for some ideas on how a VA can help you today! 

I just don’t have time to train a virtual assistant.  

This is a tricky one. The golden rule is to hire when you’re at about 80-90% of your workload capacity so that you do have time to train. When you bring someone on to your team, whether they are a contractor or employee, you simply have to prioritize training and feedback if you want to see a successful outcome. Though, if you’re experiencing growth and feel like you already don’t have time to train (100% capacity) then what would your time look like at 120 or 150% capacity? Bring someone on now so you can grow without severe stress on your schedule. 

I don’t know if I can trust someone to help me. 

You absolutely should not hire any VA or agency if there isn’t a high level of trust. A virtual assistant should eventually become your go-to person for a specific set of tasks whether it’s operational, administrative, marketing, etc. Which means they are going to have quite a bit of access to some sensitive information for your business. There are, however, ways to vet a virtual assistant to make sure you can trust them. Making sure there is a contract in place is also vital to this. Check out our blog on What to Look for When Hiring a Virtual Assistant if this is one of your fears. 

I think I can handle all of this on my own. 

Similar to the training fear, believing you can handle it all on your own will only last you so long. It’s nice when we can do things ourselves because we can expand our knowledge, limit operational costs, and feel more in control of what’s happening in our business. But at the end of the day, you’re still spending time on things that aren’t in your zone of genius. Letting your to-do list stay passion-oriented and outsourcing lower-level tasks to a virtual assistant is a great first step for systematic growth. 

I don’t know where to find a good virtual assistant. 

There are a lot of different places to search for a virtual assistant and you’ll get a variety of responses, often an overwhelming amount. If you have a very clear understanding of what you need, then you could post a job on Indeed, Upwork, or directly on your company’s social media pages. If you are flexible on time, you can also join various Facebook Groups for virtual assistants and post about what you’re looking for. Be wary that these can sometimes result in high DM’s and friend requests even if you request for people to not message or add you. Check out the blog post previously linked for things to look for when hiring a VA to help narrow down your search. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help, you can get started with a Possibilities Chat here.