How you can benefit from working with a VA

If you are a small business owner, you may not have a Secretary or Assistant in your office to support you with admin or marketing.

Tasks like designing flyers, composing letters, formatting reports, updating websites, creating PowerPoint presentations or scheduling social media can add hours to your already busy schedule, and might mean you work late or go into the office on the weekend.

If you have a lot on your plate, you may feel overwhelmed, stressed or worried that you won't get all your important tasks completed.

That's where delegating tasks to someone like a VA can be of a benefit to you!

What is a VA?

Gone are the days when VAs were only hired to manage tasks such as maintaining a diary, organising travel, answering incoming telephone calls and drafting correspondence from the comfort of their home office.

Nowadays, VAs can be anyone who provides an online service.

For example, there are:-

• Bookkeepers,

• Office Managers,

• Administration Assistants,

• Paraplanners,

• Secretary/PAs,

• Social Media Managers,

• Bloggers,

• SEO experts,

• Graphic Designers,

• Transcriptionists,

• Copywriters,

• Website Managers, to name but a few!

Most virtual assistants are sole traders who run their own business. They are not an employee of the client, meaning they are responsible for paying their own salary, superannuation, sick & annual leave, insurance, supplies, etc.

VAs work remotely either from a home office or co-working space, so don't take up room in your office or need you to supply equipment, so in the long run they save you money!

“Julie was able to to help me get over my overwhelm, to get to the point of what I needed to revamp my website, and then got it done. She was patient, efficient, a creative problem solver, and communicated clearly on time frames and completed tasks. I’ll be using her again. - Mendy Neralic, Clinical Psychologist & Yoga Teacher”

When I work with a client, not only do I deliver an outcome but I also take away any pressure and feelings of overwhelm off the business owners shoulders by carrying out the frustrating or time-consuming tasks.

If you have tasks that frustrates you or you’re unsure how to get something created, that’s where I can step in and help.

How I communicate with my clients

By having regular communication, and a clear understanding of the client's needs and timeframes, I ensure that tasks are completed in an efficient manner.

I provide regular updates so the client understands where I’m up to on a project or if I am waiting on something from them. Whether it’s by phone, email or a Zoom meeting.

I believe it’s important to have a good relationship with your virtual assistant and provide them with all the information they need so they can get the job done for you correctly and efficiently.

“Julie was wonderful to work with. Understood and delivered the job according to the brief, quickly and efficiently. Her design skills are fantastic, would not hesitate to use her again in the future! - Susan Popovski, Director, The Tale Agency”

Hours vs Outcomes

Most people have this idea that Australian VAs are expensive. VAs may charge by the hour, fixed fee or a set package, depending on the task you need completed. Like any tradesperson you hire around the home, a VA works for a client for a fee.

For example, if your task is estimated to take 5 hours you will be charged for that amount of time, but they may also charge you for other things like: regular phone calls (longer than 5 minutes), reading & responding to emails requests, research, sourcing photographs, or travelling to your office to work on-site etc. It’s best to check how a VA works before signing any service level agreement.

Here at JAM, I charge an hourly rate for one-off jobs (with a minimum of 1 hour), I also provide packages, and can quote a fixed fee for a project or design work (e.g. website creation).

Australian vs Overseas VAs

Over the years the VA industry has become a competitive field with an increasing number of offshore virtual assistants becoming a popular option to companies.

While the offshore VAs may appear cheaper, you need to consider potential issues such as delays with responding to urgent tasks due to different time zones, language barriers, or production costs if a task is outsourced to a company in another country. You also need to ensure that an offshore VA has the necessary qualifications (e.g. bookkeeping) and is abiding by Australia's business rules, privacy laws & regulations.

By hiring an Australian VA such as JAM, you can be assured that tasks will be completed to your timeframe & budget, that you receive regular updates, and we follow the Australian business rules, privacy laws & regulations.

If you are interested in finding out more about the services we offer or our rates please contact us.