I recently had a conversation with one of my clients and she mentioned to me that her husband has now admitted that he really does need an assistant to help him with his business. She believes he needs two assistants for the simple reason that some of the tasks fall in the general administrative role and the other tasks are are more technical and quite specialized to the type of work that he does, I agree with her knowing the situation.
I told her that I know you can find the types of VA’s that your husband needs, and she responded with a very surprised, “Really?”. Questioning the idea that it would even be possible.
This got me to thinking, that if my client and her husband are in this situation, it’s likely there are other enterpreneurs and business owners having the same issue.
So How Do You Hire A Virtual Assistant?
And more importantly how to hire the right virtual assistant? While I’d like to say, it ‘s just a matter of putting out the request and that great virtual assistant will show up on your virtual doorstep it doesn’t happen that way.
Finding the right person to join your team, is like trying to find that last missing puzzle piece. Well okay maybe not quite, but to find the right virtual assistant to join your team does take planning, dedication and focus. If your desired outcome is to have someone join your team that is excited about your projects, wants to see you succeed and is passionate about helping you increase your revenue, keep on track and make your working life easier then you can’t go about it haphazardly!
What’s exciting for me, is this conversation with my client gave me the idea to create a great step by step product that will walk you through the process of finding just the ideal Virtual Assistant for your business because they do exsist you just need to know how to find them. In the meantime, while I’m developing the product (and BTW if you want to know when it’s released be sure to sign up on right to get my updates!) here are a few tips to help you in your process right now…
- Take time to plan. Yes, you know you need to hire a virtual assistant. Stop. Sit Back and spend 30 minutes to an hour thinking and more importantly writing down exactly what you’d like to see your Virtual Assistant do.
- Ask Around. Referrals are often the best way to find a Virtual Assistant. If no one in your immediate networking is using a Virtual Assistant, then ask your extended referral network on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter. It’s possible someone that you follow or have connected with can offer suggestions.
- Don’t rush. Just because you know you need a Virtual Assistant don’t jump at the first one that comes knocking. Take the time to have a conversation with them, get to know them, check out their blog, do a Google search on them, see what they’ve been doing on line and if for any reason it doesn’t seem like the right fit then move on.
- Post an RFP. There are many great sites out there than allow you to post an RFP (Request for Proposals) for exactly what you are looking for, but be prepared for some additional work or even now responses at at all if you are too detailed or not detailed enought the Virtual Assistants may choose not to respond. Some sites to consider: International Association of Virtual Assistants, Virtual Assistantville, Virtual Assistant Forums, VA Networking, and International Association of Online Business Managers
While this is no where near exhaustive of the steps necessary to make your first hire a success it does give you an idea of what to start looking for when you do choose to have some one join your team.
I’d love to hear from you what do you find you struggle with most when it comes to bringing someone new on to your team?
’til next time,
Renee