Why you don’t realise you need virtual admin support until you’re drowning at midnight (and how to fix it!)
Most business owners don’t realise they need a Virtual Assistant until they actually have one and start seeing the benefits. Sounds ridiculous, right? How can you not know you need something until it’s already sitting right there in front of you? But it’s true. People quite often recognise they need help or assistance in their business, but they can’t quite put their finger on who or what they actually need.
You sit there at your desk feeling like you’re constantly treading water, knowing something has to change, but you aren’t sure whether to hire a specialist, buy a new software tool, or just pull a few more late nights.
There are many experts out there that could be called upon in a business emergency: marketers, accountants, business coaches, IT specialists. However, more often than not, admin assistance makes all the difference to stop a business owner from becoming completely overwhelmed. It’s rarely the grand strategy that breaks a business owner; it’s the daily drip-feed of small, tedious, necessary tasks that steal your time, energy and mental focus away from what you actually set out to do.
So, what does a VA do?
Good question… admin, obviously. (Don’t get me started on how many networking events I’ve been to where someone asks me what I do, and all I can think to say is, ‘Umm… admin’.)
The truth is, ‘admin’ is a massive umbrella term for an endless list of tasks. Virtual Assistants can do anything from Executive Assistance (think calendar management, travel booking, email triage and drafting high-level correspondence) to ‘basic’ admin assistance (data entry, invoicing, updating spreadsheets and digital filing) to personal and life admin assistance (booking your MOT, ordering birthday gifts for your family or arranging that dentist appointment you’ve put off for six months!)
Basically, it’s worth asking a VA if they can do it first, because…
- They can save you £££! Offloading tasks to someone who specialises in efficiency means you get your time back to work on income-generating activities. Your hourly rate as a business owner is almost certainly higher than a VA’s hourly rate, so doing your own basic admin is literally costing your business money.
- If they’re not the right person, then they’ll probably know the right contact for you. Good VAs are incredible networkers. I myself come armed with a trusted list of contacts (from graphic designers and web developers to bookkeepers and copywriters) so that my clients need never worry about sourcing reliable help.
In either case, that’s a win-win for you! You either get the task taken off your plate directly, or you get a warm recommendation to someone who can handle it for you.
When should you hire a VA?
The honest answer is that there is never a ‘perfect’ time to hire a VA. Waiting for the stars to align or for your inbox to magically empty itself before asking for help is a trap. Realistically, you have three main options…
1. Hire a Virtual Assistant right from the start: The VA can start small with only a few hours or jobs a week, and then take on more responsibility as your business evolves. This allows you to stay focused entirely on business growth, sales and client delivery from day one. It’s a cost-effective way of working, meaning it’s only a small investment at the start, but it establishes good operational systems right from the beginning.
2. Hire a VA when you’re starting to drown: For many business owners, this is the exact moment they seek help. The admin starts piling up because you’re simply too busy doing other things. But then you get in a real pickle when you’re frantically trying to find that one missing supplier bill, or worse, you miss a crucial deadline to submit official paperwork or client quotes! Taking on a Virtual Assistant at this point means they can swoop in, get everything straightened out, organise the clutter and keep your business running smoothly in the background. It allows you to carry on doing what you do best without the constant shadow of stress or worry.
3. Hire a VA instead of taking on employees: Some businesses suddenly hit a growth spurt and need an extra pair of hands, but they cannot justify the commitment or financial cost of a full-time employee. A VA is a perfect fit for this middle ground: they work just the hours you need, making it a brilliant cost-saving alternative to a permanent staff member (not to mention saving you from all those extra employer obligations, but I’ll get to this bit in a minute!).
So, be honest with yourself, which one are you fitting into right now? Are you building from scratch, drowning in paper, or scaling up without wanting the commitment of staff?
What should you give to a VA first?
There can be a real mix of emotions when hiring a Virtual Assistant: an initial wave of total relief followed swiftly by a sudden pop of panic. “Wait, what do I actually give them to do?”
Some clients come prepared with a list of tasks they’ve been desperate to hand over. Others sit there with a blank stare because they’re so used to doing everything themselves that delegating feels alien. And that’s totally OK! It’s my job to triage your workload and make suggestions. Whenever a new client feels stuck on where to begin, I always start by asking them two simple questions:
- What do you HATE doing? (The tasks that drain your energy, that you drag your feet on, or that sit at the bottom of your to-do list for weeks.)
- What do you NEVER get time to do? (The important tasks that keep getting pushed aside because urgent client work or fire-fighting takes priority.)
These two questions are a great place to start, and having a VA take over these specific areas can relieve immediate pressure. Once those quick wins are handled, you’ll naturally start noticing five other things you can hand off next.
And I bet you can instantly think of tasks that fit into those two categories!
It’s rarely the grand strategy that breaks a business owner; it’s the daily drip-feed of small, tedious, necessary tasks.
How much does a VA cost?
This is the golden question, isn’t it? Most UK Virtual Assistants charge between £25 and £45 per hour. Any VAs that bring specialised expertise, niche technical skills, or advanced qualifications in specific areas may charge higher rates.
Now, don’t run away. Hear me out!
At first, £30 or £40 an hour might sound like a lot when you compare it to a basic hourly wage. But remember, you’re hiring an independent business owner and specialist consultant to do a job for you, not an employee. When you work with a VA, you pay only for the productive minutes worked. You have no hidden employee costs, such as:
- Recruitment and hiring fees
- Training time and onboarding costs
- Employer National Insurance contributions
- Paid holiday entitlement
- Sick pay and maternity/paternity leave
- Pension contributions, office equipment and software licences
When you hire a full-time employee on a £20,000 per annum salary, the actual cost to your business after adding the above overheads can easily top £2,000 to £2,400 per month, whether they have enough work to keep them busy all day or not!
A flexible VA at £30 per hour, where you only pay for a set block of hours when you actually need the help, is starting to look like a pretty fantastic option, isn’t it?
Ready for a VA to save your life?
Delegating isn’t about giving up control of your business; it’s about taking control of your time. When you let go of the low-value, repetitive tasks that consume your day, you gain the headspace needed to actually enjoy running your business again.
So, are you ready to stop drowning in admin, make the investment in your business, and hire a VA?
Get in touch with Lara at hello@larapeckhamva.co.uk or visit www.larapeckhamva.co.uk.
