I was asked by somebody recently what exactly it is that makes a virtual assistant beneficial to a small business.  Putting aside the fact of saving a business money, I think it’s more the time element that makes it worthwhile.

A lot of my clients are sole traders.. consultants… “one-man bands” – they run a business and are very good at what they do.  Regardless of what industry they’re in, the fact is that the majority of them were coming home at whatever time in the evening, trawling through their voice mails/emails, preparing paperwork, whether it be quotations, proposals, presentations or invoicing, and before they knew it, it was gone midnight and they hadn’t eaten!

That’s where outsourcing comes in.  Imagine off loading all that admin and actually relaxing in the evening 🙂

Below is a typical list of tasks that a virtual assistant could do for your business in one hour or less!

Mail merge 50-100 letters including stuffing envelopes

Data entry of a minimum of 75 contacts in an Excel spreadsheet

Edit and proof a minimum of a five page report

Create a PowerPoint presentation

Research travel, hotel and meeting facilities

Update and manage your calendar

Research for a specific project

Type handwritten notes

Create a basic sales page layout (content provided by client)

Convert document files to PDF format

Create a custom spreadsheet

Proofread a narrative of up to seven pages

Process monthly invoicing

Transcribe 15 minutes of audio

Make calls to confirm your appointments / reservations

Copy, edit and proofread several brochures

Stuff, seal, label and stamp bulk mailing

Update an old word processed file to reflect your Company’s new colour, font, logo etc

Create and maintain pivot tables showing sales data

Update your contacts list with details from business cards etc

Update your social media sites (Twitter, Facebook) to keep customers up to date with what’s happening in your Company

These are just some of the tasks that could be completed under an hour (obviously not all at the same time :))!

Just by outsourcing something as simple as your invoicing could mean that you get back your time to focus on what you do best!