Working with a virtual assistant can help you and your business in a number of different ways, but how do you know if you’re ready to hire one?
Are you struggling to keep on top of everything? Do you find yourself missing out on important events in your personal life? Virtual assistants can help you to restore balance and regain precious time in both your working and personal life.
But how do you tell if you’re overworked?
I’ve listed a few key indicators below that will help you to determine if you’re ready to take on some extra support in the form of a virtual assistant…
1. Missing Out on Important Business Prospects
Being overworked as a business owner often means you’re stretched too thin with your time. As a result of this you may miss vital opportunities whilst performing mundane, but necessary, tasks such as admin or data entry.
With small tasks occupying your time and attention, it’s easy for opportunities to pass you by. Hiring a VA can help you reclaim time, restore focus on your business and bring your attention back to future prospects for both you as a business owner and the business itself.
2. Your Business is Expanding
Your business growing is a huge accomplishment, so firstly, celebrate that fact! Well done you! However, it’s easy to let feelings of overwhelm take over. Your business expanding means more clients, more paperwork and more duties to occupy your time in the office. Here is where a virtual assistant can help you to get a grip on things again.
Although it can be hard to delegate, VA’s understand that your business is your baby and it’s important to hand things over when they’re getting too much for you to cope with. Lots of people find trusting someone else and letting them into their business difficult, but it can be done in baby steps. If you’re not sure if you’re ready then it’s best to work on an adhoc basis while you build trust and understanding before signing up to a retainer.
3. Too Much Time Spent at Work
Nobody likes spending too much time in the office, however it is sometimes a necessity to ensure that all of your work is completed in time. Hiring a virtual assistant can help you to reclaim those late nights or early mornings that you’d rather spend somewhere else.
Having someone else on hand also means you can recover your work/life balance and don’t have to be glued to your phone or computer all day every day. By working with VA, you’ll ultimately benefit from less stress and more time spent doing the things that matter.
4. Your Skills Feel Overextended
If you’re consistently tackling tasks you’re not qualified for, it may be time to bring in an extra pair of hands. All this time and effort attempting to master new skills can be frustrating and ultimately takes time away from both your business and personal life.
As well as this, trying to do something that you’re unqualified for can lead to uncomfortable blunders that may negatively impact your business’s reputation. Bringing in a knowledgeable VA who is qualified in the skills you lack can help to maintain professionalism and save you from embarrassing slip-ups.
5. Your To-Do List Is Ever-growing
We’ve all been in unpleasant situations where we feel we’ve got more tasks to do and not enough time to do them in. If you’re constantly working through your lunch break just to make sure everything’s done, it may be a sign that you’re ready for a virtual assistant. This extra help will help to take the pressure off, allow you to regain a sense of control and order, and hopefully, make working lunches a thing of the past. (Apart from the fun kind!)
It can be difficult to know when you’re ready to work with a VA.
Everyone has different limits when it comes to working and workloads. However, some easy tells include:
- an ever-growing to-do list
- feeling overwhelmed
- realising your time is stretched too thinly
- spending too much time at work
- missing out on vital business opportunities
- feeling out of your depth or that you don’t know how to do certain tasks
- missing out on family events
- a list of jobs that you keep putting off because you don’t like, OR don’t know how to do them.
So, how are you feeling? Have you identified yourself or someone you know? I’m happy to chat if you’d like to get an idea of how I could help you.
