Define your needs.

To hire the right virtual assistant, you need to be able to define your needs. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• What are my business goals?
• What are my personal goals?
• What are my time constraints? (e.g., a certain amount of hours per week needed)
• How much flexibility do I have in terms of budget, and how much money am I willing to spend on this project? (Remember that a great VA doesn’t always cost a lot!)
• What skills do I need help with? Do I just want someone who can take care of some small tasks for me or do I need an expert who can handle big projects or get things done quickly/efficiently when faced with roadblocks such as time constraints or other obstacles on site (e.g., an internet outage).

Decide how the virtual assistant will be paid.

You can pay your virtual assistant one of two ways:

• Fixed-rate. You set a specific amount of money for each task and you pay them that amount regardless of how much time is spent on the project. This is best if you have a lot of smaller tasks to complete, or if you don’t know how long the job will take.
• Hourly. The amount due varies by the hour and can vary based on what type of work they do—some assistants may be able to charge more than others depending on their degree of expertise, but at least in theory this method should protect both parties from unforeseen circumstances like delays caused by bad weather or slow internet service (a common cause for delays). However, if you’re not careful this method could cost more than it should, especially if your VA takes longer than expected! Make sure you compensate accordingly!
• Flat fee per project (or any combination therein). This means that once an agreement has been made regarding payment terms we’ll agree upon beforehand then all subsequent invoices will include these same terms going forward until otherwise agreed upon via email correspondence between both parties involved within reason given certain situations arise such as exceeding budget limits etcetera…

Determine what you can do yourself.

You can’t do everything. That’s why you need to determine what you can delegate, outsource and automate.

You have your own limits – what they are is not important here, but it is important that you know them. You also need to know what you can delegate and outsource.

If there are tasks that can be automated with a virtual assistant (VA), this is great! Automating tasks frees up more time on your plate so that you have more time for yourself or other things in life.

Find a VA through word-of-mouth referrals.

It’s not too difficult to find a VA through word-of-mouth referrals. A friend or family member might have a personal assistant who is good at working with small businesses, and they may be willing to recommend this person to you.

Or perhaps you know someone who works in the same industry as your business and has hired a virtual assistant before. This person could potentially refer their former assistant if they are satisfied with their work and would consider hiring them again in the future.

In addition, when you hire people through referrals, your chances of finding someone who is a good fit for your company are much higher than if you were simply searching for VAs on websites like Upwork or Fiverr (which offer generic freelancers).

Post a job opening and ask for candidates’ ideas on how to improve your business.

To get the best candidates, you should ask virtual assistants to submit their own ideas on how to improve your business.

When posting a job opening, including a section that asks “what’s one thing you would do for us if you were hired?” or something similar. In addition, make sure your virtual assistant application form asks for candidates’ ideas on how to improve your business. This way, even if someone isn’t qualified for that particular job opening now (maybe because they don’t have the specific skills or experience), they can still apply and show off their creativity and thoughtfulness by offering suggestions about how they would help out if hired instead of just listing all of their previous work history and experience—a common mistake among many job seekers who haven’t had much success finding jobs in the past without having any idea why no one has hired them yet!

There are several reasons why this strategy works so well:

• It gives potential hires an opportunity to showcase their knowledge of what makes good customer service while also showing off their ability to think outside the box with new ideas and concepts which could potentially lead towards improve both customer satisfaction AND revenue generation within any given field/industry sector where such work might be done remotely through online collaboration platforms like TeamViewer Remote Access Software Platforms (in which case there wouldn’t necessarily need be someone physically present at all times during working hours).

Make sure they’re tech savvy.

The first step is to make sure your VA can use a computer and the internet. If they don’t know how to do that, then they’re probably not going to be very helpful. They should also be familiar with email, calendar management programs like Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, word processors such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs (or even more basic text editing software like Notepad), spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets (or even more basic spreadsheet software like OpenOffice Calc), and customer relationship management systems like Salesforce or Hubspot.

Ask what their other clients are like, but don’t vet them too deeply.

After you’ve got the virtual assistant’s resume, ask for references. However, don’t rely too heavily on them. References are usually just as good at lying as anyone else. Ask for a portfolio of their work and what skills they can bring to your business. Also, it never hurts to ask about their weaknesses and strengths—it may be that they’re excellent at everything but Excel spreadsheets (that’s my case). Finally, ask what their goals are—this will show you how much they want this job!

Hire someone who is self-motivated, creative and proactive.

To hire the right virtual assistant, you need to look for someone who is self-motivated, creative and proactive.

You need to trust the VA to use their own initiative and be able to do the work you have asked them to do. You also need to trust that they know how you would like it done so that there are no misunderstandings on your part or theirs.

Trust your gut.

Trust your gut. You know instinctively whether or not someone is a good fit for your business. Don’t be afraid to ask for references and samples of work, but don’t feel pressured into hiring someone just because they seem qualified on paper. If you have any doubts about an applicant, let them go and move on!

Ask for a trial period first before making any final decisions about whether or not this virtual assistant is worth hiring long-term (or at all). This will help ensure that there aren’t any issues down the line once you’ve made the commitment—and it can also give both parties time to see if they’re compatible with one another professionally as well.

It’s never too early in the process to get yourself covered legally by putting together a contract for future hires who will work remotely with your company. Make sure that everyone understands what their responsibilities are from day one: what tasks will be performed by whom; how often those tasks should be completed; how much time each party has available to dedicate toward these efforts every week; what kind of support exists between clients/employers versus contractors/employees; etcetera etcetera etcetera…

Virtual assistants can take the stress out of running a business, but you have to make sure to hire the right one.

Virtual assistants can take the stress out of running a business, but you have to make sure to hire the right one.

To do this, it’s important to understand what your needs are and how they will be met. You should also be sure that your expectations match up with what you’re paying for. It’s always best to have a plan before starting the hiring process.

The first step is figuring out what kinds of tasks you want your assistant(s) to help with. Are there certain projects that need more attention? Do certain processes take too much time? Figure out which areas are most important for your business and prioritize those tasks first!

Once you’ve got an idea of where things stand, start looking at potential replacements (virtual or otherwise). The more specific information about each person’s experience/skillset/availability etc., the better – it’ll help narrow down those initial search results

If you’re nervous about hiring a virtual assistant and want to make sure you don’t make any mistakes, start by defining your needs. What tasks are most important to you? What tasks could you do yourself instead of delegating them to someone else? Once you know what kind of role this person will be filling, it’ll be easier for them to find a job that matches their skillset.

Here are seven steps you can take to make sure your VA is perfect for the job:

Make a list of tasks you want help with

Before you start looking for a virtual assistant, it’s important to make a list of the tasks that you want help with. Start by making your own list (I know, I know), and then prioritize it based on necessity and difficulty.

For example, if you need help with social media management every day but don’t need any specific projects completed at any one time, then this would be listed as something that takes priority over other tasks like writing or research since it happens daily. However, if there’s an upcoming project due next week and you’re still trying to figure out what exactly needs to be done in order for the project to be successful (e.g., whether or not it has been approved by your boss), then this would be listed lower on the priority scale because there isn’t much else going on right now besides getting prepared for that upcoming deadline.

List relevant skills

When you’re getting started, it’s helpful to list the skills that are relevant to your business. You should also think about what skills are unnecessary or ones that aren’t important but would be nice to have if possible. For example:

• If you have an eCommerce store, then having knowledge of Shopify isn’t necessary but could be helpful if someone knows how much time it takes to set up a store on this platform and what kind of knowledge is required from a virtual assistant. If a potential candidate has experience with Shopify, then they may be able to save you some time and money if hired as your VA.
• If you’re hiring a VA for administrative work (e.g., filing), then knowing how much experience they have with Excel might make them more valuable than someone who doesn’t know any spreadsheets at all!

Set clear expectations

Before you hire anyone, make sure to do some self-reflection on how you want your VA to help. What tasks would you like them to complete? How often? How many hours per week?

If you aren’t sure about the answers to these questions, that’s okay—it’s better than jumping right into hiring someone without knowing what they’re getting themselves into.

You’ll need to write down the tasks and expectations so that when it comes time to interview potential candidates (more on this in a bit), they have a clear idea of what they need to do if hired by you.

Ask and answer questions

As you’re interviewing potential virtual assistants, it’s important to ask questions that will help you both clarify expectations and get a sense of whether or not the person is a good fit for your needs. Here are some examples of questions you might ask:

• What are your qualifications?
• Can I see samples of previous work? (If so, what kind of samples would be helpful?)
• Why do you want this job?

Asking questions during interviews is also an opportunity to give your interviewee an idea of what it’s like working with you. These types of back-and-forth exchanges can reveal more about how well someone would fit into your business than simply reading résumés and cover letters could ever tell you.

Offer feedback

When you offer feedback, it’s important to be specific, timely, and actionable. Feedback is constructive only when it’s specific, timely, and actionable. The following guidelines can help you deliver effective feedback to your virtual assistant:

• Specific
• Timely (i.e., not vague)
• Actionable (i.e., not just a suggestion)

Be respectful of their time off

As much as you might be tempted to think that a virtual assistant will always be available to work whenever you need them, it’s important to remember that they have lives outside of work. They may have family commitments or other responsibilities that prevent them from being able to respond immediately when you reach out.

Be respectful of their time off by scheduling your own tasks for times when your VA is not working. This also prevents interruptions during their personal time and gives them an opportunity to relax without feeling like they’re constantly on call for work-related matters.

If possible, try using tools like Slack or Skype for communicating with each other if the remote employee is not in the same building as you. These platforms are designed specifically for team communication and provide a quick way for both parties involved in the conversation (you and your VA) to remain connected at all times while still maintaining a healthy work/life balance. You can also opt for email over these platforms if needed – just make sure that everything gets done within reasonable limits (for example: do not expect responses within 30 minutes).

You can hire an assistant to free up your time and give them a great work opportunity.

You may be thinking, “This sounds great, but I can’t afford a virtual assistant.” It’s true that hiring a virtual assistant is an investment. But it’s also true that you don’t have to pay them full-time rates or benefits. You can hire an assistant to free up your time and give them a great work opportunity.

You can hire an assistant in any field where there is already expertise and skills needed: accounting, marketing, web development/design, writing and translation services (to name just a few). You will benefit from having someone who understands your business needs so they can help you grow your business or personal life as well as take care of all those little things that take up so much time for busy professionals like yourself.

We hope these tips have helped you get a better idea of how to hire a virtual assistant. The most important thing is to be clear about what type of work you need to be done and how often, so that you can find someone who’s right for the job. And don’t forget—as we mentioned earlier, the best way to make sure your VA is doing their job well is by giving them feedback! If they do something well or could improve on something else, let them know. It’ll help both of you stay on track while also making sure they feel supported along the way.

A virtual assistant, or VA, is a self-employed professional who offers expertise to clients remotely.

A virtual assistant, or VA for short, is a self-employed professional who offers expertise to clients remotely. They can work on a project basis or on a retainer basis. Since they work remotely and are not employed by your company there aren’t any payroll taxes to pay.

VA’s can be hired to help with a variety of tasks including:

• Bookkeeping
• Organizing your email inbox and calendar
• Researching companies or products that you’re researching and reporting back with information
• Creating social media posts and scheduling them ahead of time

VAs can help with research, content creation, scheduling, email management and more.

VAs can help with a variety of tasks, including research and content creation, scheduling appointments and meetings, email management, and other tasks. They’re also great at keeping track of your company’s details like contact information or even filing documents for you.

When you have a VA, you’re free to focus on your business and the tasks that you enjoy.

When you have a VA, you’re free to focus on your business and the tasks that you enjoy. Your job is to make sure that your VA is getting the work done, but not spending too much time managing them or doing their work for them.

If you want to grow your business and take it to the next level, then having a virtual assistant is key. As long as they are doing what they are supposed to do, you can focus on growing your business while still making money in other areas like sales or marketing (or whatever else).

You can work with a VA on a monthly retainer or project basis.

When you hire a VA on retainer, you have access to all of their services for a flat monthly fee. Some VAs charge per hour, but at least you know exactly what your costs will be every month.

• You can set aside some money each month to pay for the services of your VA without having to think about it too much.
• If you need help with something that’s outside of the scope of what your virtual assistant does for you (e.g., graphic design), they may be able to refer another company/person who could help out with that task.

Virtual assistants are a great way to save time and increase your productivity – without the overhead of hiring an employee.

Virtual assistants are a great way to save time and increase your productivity – without the overhead of hiring an employee. You don’t have to train your virtual assistant, so you can focus on doing what you do best, while they handle all other tasks. You can work with your VA on a retainer or project basis (wherein they will take care of all of your administrative needs) or on a part-time or full-time basis depending on what is best for your business.

Virtual assistants can be a huge asset to your business and your life. They help you focus on what’s important and get more done with less stress. If you’re ready to take the next step in building your dream career, contact us today!