Virtual assistants can help save you money and increase productivity. By handling daily tasks on your behalf, virtual assistants free up more of your time for family, friends, and of course “me” time!
As virtual personal assistant (VA) doesn’t require office space or pay for health insurance, vacation days or taxes, their popularity has skyrocketed. Here are just a few reasons for VA’s rising stardom:
1. They’re Increasingly Available
As virtual assistant demand continues to soar, new services are emerging to meet it. Many can be reached using text-based chat apps or in-car voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa; others may appear as applications on e-commerce Web sites and messaging apps or even as bots on social media platforms.
Business owners frequently enlist the assistance of virtual assistants to organize their calendars, schedule meetings and travel needs, track customer feedback, collect data for reporting purposes and collect customer data. Sales leaders may use virtual assistants as front office help with tasks such as booking travel arrangements, managing email inboxes, meeting preparation and document prep.
Based on the nature of their work, VAs may be hired on either a contract or freelance basis, although contract employment could alter how VAs file taxes and could potentially create periods of unemployment. Some managed service providers employ teams of VAs under their purview to ensure quality.
Belay employs experienced virtual assistants with college degrees who are experienced in their professions, catering to executives, entrepreneurs, small businesses and attorneys. Its clientele includes executives, entrepreneurs, small businesses and attorneys. Belay also offers a special service which pairs clients with available assistants based on availability and expertise for tasks such as bookkeeping, social media strategy and website design – with monthly pricing dependent upon number of requests being fulfilled; integrations exist with Asana and Trello allow for central task management.
2. They’re Increasingly Cost-Effective
Virtual assistants (VAs) can be an economical solution for small businesses. Indeed, hiring one could save up to 80% in operating costs when compared with hiring full-time staff – you only pay for their time spent working on tasks for you!
There are plenty of virtual assistant services that offer competitive rates and flexible price plans, like Magic which provides virtual assistant services starting at $10 an hour and provides weekly support. Fancy Hands is another top pick and offers email management, calendar administration, data entry services, research capabilities and social media services among many other virtual assistance offerings.
Alternatively, freelance marketplaces such as Upwork offer VAs that specialize in various areas – design and animation to video/audio services, software development and marketing.
Time Doctor’s remote work tracking tool makes it easy for virtual assistants (VAs) to log their hours, providing reports with details on how much time was spent on each assignment and preventing timers or logs being run when no activity is taking place. In addition, its inactivity tracker prevents VAs from setting their own clock or recording hours when they’re not really present – perfect if your VAs work remotely!
3. They’re Increasingly Flexible
Online personal assistants industry growth was notable during the COVID-19 pandemic due to an upsurge of people leaving full-time employment and looking for more flexible, fulfilling work in fields they were passionate about, as well as an unprecedented surge in new businesses launching small brands – both trends resulting in an explosion of gig and freelance work including virtual assistant services.
VAs often work freelance or contract jobs and are therefore not entitled to benefits like health insurance and paid vacation days that come with traditional administrative support positions. Many find steady work through online talent marketplaces which connect them with clients that need their services.
Virtual Assistants often utilize online platforms such as these to promote their services and showcase what they’re capable of, such as scheduling appointments, sending invoices and conducting research online. Some VAs even accept payment through secure payment solutions like PayPal.
Fancy Hands and WoodBows are two popular online personal assistant services that offer flexible pricing based on the number of hours their services are requested by each client, enabling users to create customized packages tailored specifically to their needs. Prialto offers more comprehensive support with its dedicated team consisting of an engagement manager, primary assistant and backup assistant – something neither Fancy Hands or WoodBows do.
4. They’re Increasingly Specialized
Virtual assistants can handle many different tasks for their clients, such as filling out online forms and managing files; taking detailed notes during webinars; scheduling meetings and travel plans; making phone calls on behalf of their clientele; as well as making travel arrangements.
VAs can assist with research projects such as conducting competitive analyses or customer segmentation for marketing campaigns. Furthermore, they can aid with CRM (customer relationship management) activities like updating data, tracking pipelines and sending emails out to sales leads.
Some virtual assistants specialize in particular industries, such as bookkeeping or social media strategy, while others possess more general skills to provide administrative support, data entry and research.
Traditional personal assistants are salaried employees; VAs differ by being self-employed contractors that can receive income and pay taxes according to their arrangement with their employers. Contractor professionals may charge by the hour while those hired full time as full-time employees might expect monthly pay plus benefits and taxes; in either case, however, hire a virtual personal assistant cost could be substantially less than traditional salaried staffing models such as Belay’s virtual assistant service that offers world-class assistants who are college educated, U.S. based and carefully vetted before becoming part of their company team.
