In a world where outsourcing work is becoming the norm for business owners, there are still some people who have misconceptions about Virtual Assistants and what is involved.
1. Anyone can do it
As much as some people would like to think that it is easy to become a virtual assistant, it actually isn’t. If you are going to get the job done properly, you will need the right equipment, laptop, phone line, internet access, software – not to mention the essential organisational and time management skills needed to do a good job.
2. You will have to keep finding work for them to do
This isn’t the case at all because a VA company such as Miss MPS works on an ad-hoc ‘Pay as You Go’ basis so clients don’t have to keep thinking of work for us to do. They just send us work when it comes up – the perfect solution for small businesses with unpredictable cash flow.
3. You can’t track their work
There are plenty of websites and software programmes to use to track work to make sure that you are getting charged the correct amount. For example, we use Toggl as we can easily track the times of the work we do and get a report that we can then pass onto clients if they request it.
4. A full-time member of staff would do better work
With a VA, you only pay for work that’s done, so you get best value. Moreover, you don’t pay for a VA if they’re off sick or on holiday! We’d also like to think that, versus an administrative assistant, we have far more experience to handle a variety of challenges for multiple businesses in any sector.
5. It’s a waste of money
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Using a VA only when needed saves money compared to hiring a full or part time member of staff. It also saves time in recruitment and training, not to mention taxes and pension contributions. You don’t have to buy new equipment, keep up with health and safety regulations or pay for extra licences for software. You also aren’t paying for coffee breaks, chats with colleagues, quick trips to the shop or gaps in the day where a full-time employee might run out of work.
COMPARE: How much does it really cost to hire staff?
We think using a Virtual Assistant can change your business for the better, but you don’t have to take our word for it! See how we can help, together with some testimonials over on our Services page .