We often get asked a few questions about what it’s like to work with a Virtual Assistant. It made sense to round these up and share with you all!
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What is a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant is an independent self employed person who assists with administrative, business development, social media, marketing or other tasks. By taking on recurring tasks and administrative work, they free up time for small business owners, entrepreneurs and managers.
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Do we need a contract in place?
100% yes!! Having a contract in place is essential to protect both your business and ours.
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How will I know what to delegate to you?
There are lots of tasks we can help you with. Examples include calendar management, writing minutes, updating your website, bookkeeping, replying to client enquiries via email…and that’s just to start with!We recommend that you have a look at our amazing Delegation Task workbook for more guidance
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What are your turnaround times?
We always say that we will respond to our emails within 24 hours. If something is urgent, you must include this in your email title.
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Will my information be confidential?
We are registered with the Information Commissioner and comply with the Data Protection Act. In addition, our terms and conditions offer you complete protection and we can sign any Non-Disclosure Agreement you have in place if required.
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Once I’m a client, what’s the best way to contact you?
Our office hours are 8.30am – 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am – 4pm on a Friday. We ask that any work requests are sent via email so that we do not miss them. Please do not send anything via social media instant messaging as we’re likely to not see them until it is too late!
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I’m not sure I can afford it…
We ask you – how can you afford NOT to?! Setting up your business was probably a dream for you. Working ALL the hours probably wasn’t part of that dream. If you’re a product based business (let’s say candles for example), how many candles can you make in an afternoon? Once you’ve sold those candles, how much money will you make? Now take that same batch of time and spend it doing your admin. How much money did you make?!We cannot make candles, be a vet, provide HR services, sort you out a mortgage, a pension or an investment, design you a beautiful kitchen or bedroom or give fitness advice BUT we can give you back more time so that you can do the ‘thing’ you love!
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Do I need to have a retainer or can you do one off projects for me?
Some of our clients are on retainer and some use us on a more ‘pay as you go basis’. Our regular clients now know exactly how much support they need and retain our time on a monthly basis. If you only need some adhoc help such as a quarterly newsletter, we can charge you an hourly rate.
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I need a VA – what do I do now?!
We start by having a super informal no obligation 20 minute discovery call to discuss what support you need and how we can help you. If you decide that you’re ready to start outsourcing, we get a contract in place and the rest is history!
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Why do you charge those rates? I can get it cheaper elsewhere!
Many people question a VA’s hourly rate. However you need to take into consideration that when you pay a VA you are only paying for the hours you need them to work. You aren’t paying for holiday, sickness, national insurance, breaks to hang the washing out, nip to the loo or loose track of time on Instagram for 30 minutes!!
You are getting years of experience, a passion for what they do, a consistently high standard of work, and their complete focus on your business during those hours.
Is there anything we’ve missed or is there more information you’d like to run through? Please drop us an email to find out more on emma@boatmanadmin.co.uk
