Whether you run an established business or are just getting started, you want to ensure that everything runs smoothly. At the beginning, this may mean that you take on a lot of work yourself, from meeting with patients or clients to filling out and filing paperwork. But as your business grows, you may come to realize that it is no longer efficient or effective for you to handle these mundane tasks instead of outsourcing them.

Hiring a full-time employee to answer phones, maintain the calendar, schedule appointments, and perform other jobs isn’t feasible for all businesses. In addition to having to pay wages, you will also be on the hook for office space, a computer and related equipment, payroll taxes, insurance, and other benefits. A virtual assistant is a lower cost alternative, with hourly rates starting at just $4.99. Your assistant will work remotely across time zones so that you can have cost-effective support exactly when you need it.

Tasks Assistant is dedicated to providing high quality virtual assistant services to clients around the world. All of our assistants are fully vetted and subject to spot checks for quality and security purposes. To get started, reach out to schedule a consultation with a member of our team.

Why Should I Hire a Virtual Assistant?

In the modern era, there is more that goes into running a business than ever before. In the past, businesses typically maintained standard 9 to 5 working hours and did little advertising beyond newspapers, radio, and/or television ads. Today, customers expect 24-7 responsiveness, an online presence, and incredibly quick service. 

When you are first getting your company off the ground, it may be possible to handle both your work and various administrative tasks yourself. For example, if you open a real estate agency, you may be able to take care of things like scheduling open houses on your own if you just have a few clients. As your business grows and expands, however, you will typically need a dedicated staffer who can handle these and other tasks.

Unfortunately, many companies need this kind of help before they have the funding to support a full-time employee.  Hiring someone to work for you as an employee – even on an hourly basis – can be incredibly expensive. 

For example, a secretary or administrative assistant makes a median salary of $39,680 per year or $19.08 per hour. On top of wages, you will also be required to pay for things like payroll taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, paid time off, health insurance, and other benefits. For many businesses, bringing on employees is cost-prohibitive.

However, trying to do everything yourself as a business owner can be counterproductive. Consider the real estate agent example above – does it make sense for a realtor to spend time answering the office phone and updating virtual listings when they could be seeking out new clients? At a certain point, doing administrative tasks can hold your business back and make it less profitable.

A virtual assistant can be the solution to this dilemma. Instead of paying wages plus taxes and benefits, you will just be responsible for their hourly rate. They can do many of the same tasks as an in-person assistant would do – for a fraction of the cost. In this way, you can get the help that you need without breaking your budget.

Benefits of Working with a Virtual Assistant

There are many benefits to working with a virtual assistant. Below, we outline some of the top reasons why your business may benefit from hiring a virtual assistant.

Increased Productivity

As anyone who has ever employed staff will tell you, workers typically do not work every hour that they are in the office. They may spend time chatting with co-workers or ducking out for a coffee break. With a virtual assistant, you don’t have to worry about these issues – because they will be fully remote. This means that you only hire them for the tasks that you want them to perform – and only pay for the hours that they actually work.

Lower Costs

As described above, hiring an employee can be expensive. You aren’t just paying their wages – you are paying for a desk and chair, phone, computer, taxes, benefits, and more. A virtual assistant can perform almost all of the same tasks as an employee who is based out of your office for a fraction of the cost. 

Grow Your Business

When you hire a virtual assistant, you are saving a lot of money compared to bringing on an employee. This money can be put back into your business to help it grow. You will also be freeing up your own time so that you can build your company and make it more successful.

Flexibility 

A virtual assistant can work as many or as few hours as you want. They can also work at different hours, such as handling phone calls and emails that come in overnight. This gives you a lot more flexibility as an entrepreneur to use your virtual assistant when and how you need them – instead of hiring a full or part-time employee. You can also end the contract whenever you want.

Better Work Quality

You might think that you can do it all yourself – but how well do you do it? A virtual assistant can improve the quality of your work by making sure that administrative tasks aren’t just done, but they are done well. When you have someone dedicated to things like data entry or answering customer queries, you don’t have to worry that you missed something or made a mistake because you were simply too busy to double check.

Take More Time for Yourself

One of the hardest aspects of running a business is that you often don’t have a lot of time for yourself. A virtual assistant can help ease some of the burden on your shoulders, which will give you more time to put into your primary role (such as networking or coming up with new ideas). It can also allow you to take more time for yourself so that you’re relaxed, refreshed, and ready to take on new challenges when you are at work.

What Can a Virtual Assistant Do for My Company?

A virtual assistant can perform almost any task that involves a computer or phone. While they may not be able to do things that require physical presence, you may be surprised at just how much a virtual assistant can do for you. Our virtual assistants provide a range of bespoke services, including:

  1. Administrative work: a virtual assistant can take over all of the administrative work for your company. This may include everything from answering phone calls to scheduling meetings and appointments to answering emails to booking travel.
  2. Personal tasks: when you run your own business, it can be hard to find time in the day to handle your own responsibilities. Your virtual assistant can take care of a number of personal tasks for you, from purchasing gifts to scheduling doctor’s appointments to planning and booking travel.
  3. Data entry: data entry is a thankless but necessary task. A virtual assistant can enter information into databases remotely – freeing up your time to focus on more important work.
  4. Virtual bookkeeping and accounting: every business needs a bookkeeper and/or account to manage cash flow, pay bills, send out invoices, and balance the books. With access to your preferred accounting software, a virtual bookkeeper can take on this work for you.
  5. SEO & internet marketing: while there is still some value to traditional media, the reality is that the internet is probably the most important marketing channel for most businesses. A virtual assistant with experience in search engine optimization (SEO) can take this on for you.
  6. Social media management: today, most consumers expect companies to have some kind of social media presence – which can be a real burden to maintain. A virtual assistant can research, create, and manage your social media.
  7. Contact research: to run a successful business, it is important to conduct research on competitors, the market, products, and various contacts. A virtual assistant can take on a variety of research tasks.
  8. Real estate work: running a real estate agency requires a lot of administrative work, from uploading listings to the MLS to scheduling appointments with clients. A virtual assistant can handle these tasks and more on your behalf.
  9. Photoshop and graphics tasks: businesses rely heavily on graphics for marketing and other purposes. Many entrepreneurs understand the importance of top notch graphics, but don’t necessarily have the skills. A virtual photoshop and graphics assistant can handle this work for you.
  10. Web development and maintenance: having an up-to-date website is a key indicator of the reliability of a company. However, most business owners aren’t skilled at this work. A virtual assistant can build and maintain a site for you.
  11. PPC and adwords management: pay per click or adwords services are often an effective way to generate leads, but it requires a fair amount of management.  A virtual PPC and adwords assistant has expertise in these systems, which they can put to work for you by using optimized keywords and targeted ads.
  12. Email and chat support: many customers now expect prompt, courteous customer service that is available 24/7 – even though that isn’t realistic for most businesses. A virtual email and chat support assistant can answer queries on your behalf when you are otherwise busy or simply not working.
  13. Medical transcription: a medical scribe charts patient encounters in real time. With advances in technology, it is now possible to hire a virtual assistant to handle medical transcription for you for a fraction of the cost.
  14. Virtual blog management: one of the main ways to make sure that your website ranks high on search engines is by producing fresh content – something that many business owners simply don’t have the time to do. Your virtual blog assistant can research, create, and schedule posts for you.

How Does the Process Work?

If you’re considering hiring a virtual assistant, you may be curious about how it actually works. How can you find a top quality assistant? How are they paid?

When you contact Tasks Assistant, we start by evaluating your company’s needs to find the best assistant for you. At this point, we will assign a virtual assistant to you so that you will have a chance to talk to them about the work that you want done. 

All of our virtual assistants are based in Mumbai, India, and work across time zones. They are subject to a thorough vetting, including background checks, references, and an interview. We also use spot checks to ensure compliance with our stringent standards.

You will not have to sign a contract or pay a start-up fee to hire a virtual assistant. Our hourly rates start at just $4.99. If you aren’t happy with the work that your assistant performed, you will not have to pay their rate.

Once you have an assistant, you can communicate with them using whatever technology works best for you – such as email, WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom, or Slack. Typically, our clients give their assistant access to the technology that they need to perform their jobs, such as Outlook to respond to emails or calendar meetings or QuickBook for bookkeeping tasks. Because everything is stored virtually, you will have 24/7 access to the work that they are doing.

Contact Tasks Assistant Today to Learn More

A virtual assistant can take on many administrative and other tasks to keep your business running smoothly. They cost a fraction of what hiring an employee would cost your company – and perform incredibly high quality work. A virtual assistant can perform almost any task that an employee could take on, as long as it can be done using a computer and/or phone.

At Tasks Assistant, we understand the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. We offer a range of high quality virtual assistant services so that you can take advantage of the benefits of working with a trained professional without the expense of hiring a full-time employee.  

To learn more, give us a call at 1-888-557-8678. You can also send us an email or Skype us at Support-TA at any time.