What if you could free up hours in your day so you could focus on doing the things you love? And what if you could get rid of the tasks that you’re not good at?
Well, the good news is, you can!
Today we’re sharing nine tasks you can outsource to a virtual assistant right now.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[01:37] Why You’ve Not Outsourced Yet
[02:19] The Cost of a Virtual Assistant
[03:15] Finding a Virtual Assistant
[05:15] Identifying Tasks to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant
[05:54] 9 Tasks To Outsource to a Virtual Assistant Right Now
[12:52] You’re Ready to Outsource Right Now
[14:32] Bloopers
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Belay
TaskBullet
Fancy Hands
Hire My Mom
Virtual Staff Finder
Pepper VA
AskSunday
Rev
Trint
Bench.co
Bookkeeper.com
Zendesk
[Theresa] Recently, I shared my #1 productivity tip for 2021. That tip is to do less. Outsourcing some of your business tasks to a virtual assistant will definitely help you accomplish that goal.
[Meghan] For sure! You might be asking yourself, “am I ready to outsource to a virtual assistant?” [LINK e39] The truth is that you are ready before you ever take action on it.
So, what keeps you from pulling that trigger? Well, there are a few reasons, and Theresa is going to talk about them.
Why You’ve Not Outsourced Yet
[Theresa] Sure thing, Meghan. The three main reasons that you’ve not yet outsourced are you:
- Think it’s expensive to hire a virtual assistant.
- Don’t know how to find the right virtual assistant.
- Aren’t sure what tasks to outsource to a virtual assistant.
Of course, there could be other reasons, but those are the most common ones.
Look, you don’t know what you don’t know. So before you blow off getting some much needed help, you owe it to yourself to learn a bit more so you can make informed decisions.
[Meghan] Yes. You shouldn’t dismiss the option to outsource tasks to a virtual assistant based on assumptions. Let’s talk about facts.
The Cost of a Virtual Assistant
[Theresa] Virtual assistant pricing can vary. The rate you’ll pay a VA will depend on a few things like experience, the type of service they are providing and even their geographic location.
For example, the average monthly VA salary for someone in the Philippines is $400 whereas in Australia it’s $5600. Then there is everything in between.
Of course, these are full-time average monthly rates. The best part of outsourcing tasks to a virtual assistant is that you can start with a few hours a month and add on as you grow.
[Meghan] Chances are that you’ll do great with a part-time VA. And that VA will end up paying for themselves because you will be free to do money-making activities.
Now let’s talk about where you find them.
Finding a Virtual Assistant
[Theresa] One of the biggest roadblocks many business owners face is knowing how to find a virtual assistant to outsource their work to in the first place. You want someone smart, reliable, and experienced, but you don’t know anyone who fits the bill.
By far the best way to do this is to ask friends and colleagues for personal recommendations.
All of the tasks on the list we’re going to share in a bit can be done by a savvy virtual assistant. So I’d start by asking for recommendations for a VA who has experience doing each of the tasks you decide to outsource.
Can’t get a recommendation? No worries!
There are a ton of virtual assistant services you can use to find a qualified VA. A few are:
- Belay
- TaskBullet
- Fancy Hands
- Hire My Mom
- Virtual Staff Finder
- Pepper VA
- AskSunday
[Meghan] These are just a few of the many virtual assistant services out there. So check them out. And keep in mind that the pricing structure varies for each one.
If you don’t find what you’re looking for on your first search, keep looking.
[Theresa] Yes. Make sure you compare several. However, if you just want to get a taste of what it’s like to use a VA, check out TaskBullet first. You can purchase what they call a “Starter Bucket” which is 20 hours at $11 per hour. You have 90 days to use those hours up.
Now, once you’ve found someone to outsource your tasks to, it’s time to start moving stuff off of your plate and onto theirs. That’s the exciting part.
[Meghan] It is exciting to shift tasks to a VA, but let’s back up a minute. Before you hire anyone, it’s most important to know what you’re hiring for in the first place.
Identifying Tasks to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant
[Theresa] That’s true. Identifying what tasks you want to outsource will be a factor in who you hire.
[Meghan] Right! Figuring that part out can be a real challenge. Sometimes it’s hard to let go of tasks that you’ve been doing for so long.
How can you know which tasks to relinquish and which to keep on your to-do list?
[Theresa] That’s a great question. One way is to track all of your activity for one week. Then take that list and identify what tasks you don’t like doing and are not a good use of your time. I actually highly recommend doing that.
However, we’re going to help you fast-track that list. Right, Meghan?
9 Tasks To Outsource to a Virtual Assistant Right Now
[Meghan] We are! The following are nine tasks to outsource to a virtual assistant right away. Hang onto your hat because we’re going to blow right through these.
1. Admin Tasks
[Theresa] Number one on the list is admin tasks. Admin tasks just drain my energy. If that’s you too, then this is a great task to outsource.
Admin includes all those tasks you don’t have time for but you have to do anyway. They are things like responding to emails, data entry, setting up appointments, handling your calendar, digital document organization and more.
Instead of doing those things yourself, hand them off to a competent VA and spend time doing what you love and are good at.
2. Content Creation
[Meghan] Number two on the list is content creation. Creating content takes an epic amount of time. So getting some help can make this part of your business so much easier.
Even if you feel like you need to keep your hand in it, there is plenty you can outsource while remaining in control. This could include any aspect of your content creation process such as writing, researching, formatting, and editing. And even the actual creation of things like ebooks, guides, worksheets, and quizzes, for example.
Basically, all the content you create, publish, and promote is fair game for outsourcing!
Creating content takes an epic amount of time. So hiring a virtual assistant to help can make this part of your business so much easier.
3. Transcription
[Theresa] Number three on the list is transcription. Do you have videos or audios you need to transcribe? Transcribing is a lot of work. Meghan and I know this first hand. This is definitely a task you need to outsource immediately!
While a VA could certainly handle this task, you may want to consider a low-cost service like Rev or Trint. It’s so cost-effective that it just doesn’t make sense to do it yourself!
Plus, your VA can coordinate this process for you.
4. Video Editing
[Meghan] Number four on the list is video editing. According to HubSpot, 87% of businesses are now using video as part of their marketing. And if you think back to episode 34, you’ll remember that I chose video as my number one marketing tactic for 2021.
Unfortunately, if you’re not a skilled video editor, keeping up with this trend can be difficult.
If you’re planning to incorporate a lot more video production into your marketing, you should definitely look for a virtual assistant with this skill set.
Whether you need videos for an online course, YouTube, or social media, outsourcing your video editing will make your life so much easier! And, if you have a podcast or you want to create audio files from your written content, make sure to outsource audio editing too.
If you’re planning to incorporate a lot more video production into your marketing, you should look for a virtual assistant with this skill set.Click To Tweet5. Bookkeeping
[Theresa] Number five on the list is bookkeeping. And my only question is, “Is there anyone who actually LIKES doing their own bookkeeping and invoicing?” I didn’t think so!
Definitely outsource this one. I usually recommend finding someone local for this. It’s smart to have someone who knows your local tax laws and who can sift through all those pesky paper and online receipts.
If you have an accountant, see if they offer bookkeeping services or can recommend someone to you.
But if you can’t find a good local bookkeeper, there are some great virtual bookkeeping services you can use too. Check out Bench.co and Bookkeeper.com.
6. Social Media Management
[Meghan] Moving on to number six out of the nine tasks to outsource to a VA is social media management.
If you’re marketing via social media, then staying on top of it is important. Remember what we always say about consistency in marketing! But staying consistent with social media can be challenging since it is a massive time suck.
Not only is creating social media content time consuming but scheduling it and replying to comments takes hours from your workload every week. And, it’s a big distraction much of the time. You’re likely to fall behind when you’re being pulled in many different directions.
While you’ll definitely want to help set the direction when it comes to your social media strategy, this a business task to outsource.
Let someone else handle the day-to-day tasks like setting up your social media accounts, posting updates, and replying to comments and private messages. Then you can focus on what matters most.
Managing your social media efforts is time-consuming. While you’ll want to help set the direction of your strategy, let someone else handle the day-to-day tasks. Then you can focus on what matters most.
7. Customer Service
[Theresa] Number seven on the list is customer service. More and more, customers expect access to 24/7 support. This is especially true if you’re in the e-learning space. Unfortunately, this is a level of service few small business owners can afford. Or is it?
Using a service like Zendesk, you can actually have your very own customer support agent starting at just $5/month. With the option for live chat, a knowledge base, and even a call center, your customer service never has to be offline again!
8. SEO
[Meghan] Number eight is search engine optimization or SEO. Optimizing your content and your website for search engines is more important than ever if you’re hoping to get found on the Internet.
If you’ve been thinking that your search optimization is good enough, consider these questions:
- Do you love staying up to date on the latest Google updates?
- Are you passionate about keyword research?
- Are you a technical person that understands backend code?
- Do you enjoy analyzing search engine metrics?
If not, then SEO can quickly become all-consuming, leaving you little time to do anything else.
Look for a virtual assistant who is qualified, experienced, and skilled in search engine optimization to free up your time and improve your ranking.
9. Managed Website Hosting
[Theresa] Number nine and the final recommendation we have for tasks to outsource to a virtual assistant is managed website hosting.
Have you ever had your website unexpectedly go offline or get hacked? Or have you ever accidentally deleted a bunch of blog posts or even your entire website? If you’re not that tech-savvy, then finding a good virtual assistant who can handle the technology is a good idea.
Managed web hosting means someone else looks after all the technical aspects of keeping your site up and running. They’ll take care of security, backups, upgrading your software, and making sure your site runs as fast as possible. Once you outsource your managed hosting, you’ll never go back!
You’re Ready to Outsource Right Now
[Meghan] We hope that you’ve found the list of tasks to outsource to a virtual assistant helpful. At the very least, we gave you something to think about.
Of course, there may be other work that you’d like to outsource. Give it some thought.
Personally, I’d stick to giving the more administrative tasks to a VA. That’s just my opinion. I’m not saying that you can’t find an amazing VA to write your content or manage your SEO.
Just be sure to have a direct conversation about skill set and experience. Experienced virtual assistants know their zone of genius and will let you know what they are good at and what they prefer to do.
[Theresa] The bottom line is that outsourcing can be a game-changer for your small business. In most cases, the cost of outsourcing is more than covered by the increased efficiency and productivity brought by a skilled VA or contractor.
[Meghan] And on top of that, it frees you up to work on revenue-generating tasks you’re good at and that you actually enjoy doing!
[Theresa] Well, that’s it for today!
We’d love to know which of the 9 tasks you plan to outsource? Or is there something else you’d like to take off your plate? Let us know in the comments.
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