We all like to think we can do everything ourselves. It's a point of pride if you're in business for yourself. But have you thought about how much more productive you would be if someone scheduled appointments for you, responded to emails, transcribed your interviews, answered phone calls - or any number of other time-intensive activities.

1. How a Virtual Assistant Can Save You Money
Whether you're earning $300 or $50 an hour for your services,
knowing how to best make use of your time will save you significant
money in the long run.
Sure, we all like to think we can do everything ourselves. It's a point
of pride if you're in business for yourself. But have you thought about
how much more productive you would be if someone scheduled
appointments for you, responded to emails, transcribed your
interviews, answered phone calls - or any number of other
time-intensive activities.
Hire a virtual assistant (VA) is a smart choice, since you only pay
for the time that you use. And when you compare the three hours
you've invested playing phone tag with your most important client at
your customary billable hour (or its equivalent opportunity cost) to
what you would have spent handing the task off to a virtual assistant, you can see how outsourcing office help makes
solid business sense.
Weighing the Pros vs. Cons
As with any business decision, it's important to compare the advantages and disadvantages. Here's how hiring a virtual
assistant stacks up:
Pros
- Increased productivity. As mentioned before, your time is money. And odds are your professional expertise is worth
more in the marketplace than someone who can answer your phones, handle your scheduling and help you manage
your day-to-day business operations. A virtual assistant can free you up to build your business - and make the most of
what you do best.
- No extra costs. With a full or part-time assistant, not only do you pay for his or her hours, you also pay for taxes,
benefits, and possibly vacation and sick time. If this assistant comes to you through an agency, then you're also paying
an agency mark up. When you work with a virtual assistant, all those associated costs are covered.
- No training and no downtime. When you hire a virtual assistant, he or she is ready to go from day one. Virtual
assistants are skilled professionals with several years of high-level administrative experience. Over all, you'll spend
more money hiring a less-skilled, on-site assistant at a lower wage than an efficient virtual assistant who takes less time
to do much higher quality work.
Cons
- Out of sight. Because your assistant is virtual, you're not going to have a smiling face greeting you every morning nor
can you check to see if your assistant is updating her Facebook page rather than making your travel reservations. If
you're the type of person who feels you need to physically see someone to know if they're working, than a virtual
assistant may not be for you.
- You need to delegate. If you're a Type A entrepreneur, learning how to let go and not do everything yourself can be very
difficult. A virtual assistant is only as good as you'll allow him or her to be. If you can't delegate tasks - and be open to
new ways your assistant can help you - you won't make the most of your assistant's skills.
The bottom line: You really can't afford not to hire a virtual assistant. To compete in this difficult economy, you need to
focus your expertise on what you do best. Let a VA take the day-to-day administrative tasks off your plate and see how
your business grows.
Ecomva.com is a small office, home office, and mobile office focused business service provider. Eos services include
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design, hosting services and various ecommerce and marketing services.