People tend to fear change because they(often subconsciously) see it as a loss of control. The larger the change from the norms they’re accustomed to, the more they feel like it’s a change happening to them, rather than for them.
It’s safe to say that a lot of professionals would love to have a personal assistant. Having someone you personally employ, there to make sure your day-to-day runs as smoothly as possible sounds like a dream. But not everyone knows just how attainable, and truly helpful, having your own personal assistant really is. They often get caught up in a couple of reasons why they think they shouldn’t, or can’t hire an assistant. Well, this here is a short and to the point breakdown of why you should, and how you can, hire your very own virtual personal assistant. The keyword there being “virtual”.
[Grab a FREE Strategy Call Here]
There are two big reasons why hiring a virtual assistant to be your personal assistant is an absolute no-brainer…
Of course, there are many reasons why a VA(virtual assistant) makes the perfect PA(personal assistant). In fact, we’ve covered that in previous articles that went more in-depth. But to boil it all down to the most important and undeniable facts, you’d end up with the cost and the reliability. Over the years, our customers have reported up to 70% in savings by hiring a VA compared to if they had hired a traditional, local employee. This is because a majority of the financial responsibilities associated with hiring an employee fall on us, being as our VA’s are still technically our employees. You just pay a flat rate monthly, per assistant. We handle PTO, insurance, benefits, etc.
Then there is the reliability factor. We only hire true professionals, who bring their own experience and skills. We test their knowledge and then categorize them based on industry/skillset. Meaning we always have the right person for the right job. Someone who will join your team with the necessary tools to understand what you need and hit the ground running. That’s not to say you don’t have to train them though, of course. As with any new hire, you’ll need to give them a rundown of what you do and what you expect them to do. So you can expect some time at the start spent getting them up to speed and established in your new processes. But the offset here is you didn’t have to waste time posting, searching, interviewing, and evaluating candidates. You just came to us, and we gave you what you needed.
“When you onboard a virtual assistant to be your personal assistant, obviously you’re going to train them on their duties right away. But I suggest you run them through the same training again, 6 months later. By then they’ll have a better understanding of not just how to do it all, but why they’re doing it. What they’re doing effects, what it means and to who. This will serve to strengthen their performance, increase productivity, and you’ll notice the improvement. Do it again after a year and see the difference.”
So you may be wondering how a personal assistant can be so valuable, then they’re remote. It’s quite simple, being as the professional world is becoming increasingly remote these days. More and more offices are embracing remote or at least hybrid work models, as systems and technologies evolve to support that culture. On top of that, most of the things you really need a truly professional personal assistant for can be done online anyways. Digital applications like Google Suite, and OneNote are the most popular around our offices. Not only are they free, but they can be catered to fit just about any organizational need. Here are just a couple tips from Daniel on how to get super organized and efficient with both Gmail and OneNote…
[Grab a FREE Strategy Call Here]
“My personal process is I have my virtual assistant keeping track of all activity in my inbox. They record where every email comes from; is it a client with a concern, a potential business relation, or something high level that I need to personally respond to. They will start writing the reply for me, after categorizing and assessing what’s most appropriate. Then they keep it saved under my Drafts. When I log in the first thing I do is go to the Drafts, and go down the list. Review everything my assistant prepared for me, make edits as needed, and send off. This saves me so much time.”
“Context has to be given when you have a personal assistant. The better understanding they have of what’s going on, and where it falls in your ongoing hierarchy, the better they can work for you. I love OneNote because of how organized it makes all of this for us. I have five categories that fit all of my needs. “
I hope this little advice piece is enough to help you consider utilizing a virtual assistant as your personal assistant. Because it’s not about what you have to do, it’s about what you won’t have to do anymore. Hiring a remote working personal assistant is fast becoming the norm, and we’d hate to see any serious professional get left behind. Save money and save time, when you hire a virtual assistant like ours. If you have more questions, or just want to hear even more details about how this can work for you… follow the link below. We’ll do a FREE one-on-one consultation with you, and see how we can get you started.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
If you could sit down with someone you really admire and interview them about whatever you wanted, how do you think it’d go? Would it flow like a casual conversation between two friends? Or would it be fast-moving and direct, with a series of specific questions? What would you hope to walk away having learned, after this interview? These are things you should be considering before you try to pick the brain of someone you look up to, or they may end up looking down on you. Talking to someone whom you hope to learn from isn’t as simple as just reading off a list of questions; there is actually a professional way to go about it that will benefit not only you but that expert you’re trying to learn from. Andrew Warner is an accomplished entrepreneur who wants to give other entrepreneurs something he wished he had years ago; an easy way of talking to each other. Because when you’re building something yourself, few things are more valuable than talking to someone else who already built something successful. And why stop here? Talk to several people who did what you’re trying to do, because different success stories have different beginnings.
In this podcast our CEO Daniel Ramsey sat down with the highly successful Andrew Warner, to talk about the art of, well, talking! And to plug his amazing new book, Stop Asking Questions, which drops on October 18. Watch above, or read the breakdown below…
[Grab a FREE Strategy Call Here]
Andrew Warner got his big break when he founded a successful electronic greeting card company which he later sold for millions. After doing so, he learned a valuable lesson that is worth passing on here: don’t be afraid to take a break. The entire experience of managing an exit from a successful business completely wore Andrew out. He had been operating at 100% around the clock, constantly in that mindset of “the hustle never sleeps”. They say if a shark stops swimming it dies; he was in the mindset of some kind of entrepreneur great white! But that isn’t the way. Taking time to yourself, to reflect and grow outside of the daily grind is incredibly important. So after closing that sale he finally had the opportunity to step away. Andrew took the time to ride his bike all over, read more, and travel. He came back from this time-off refreshed, energized, and with a whole new idea. An idea for something he wished he had back when he was getting his start.
“Life is full of moments that have more value than we can imagine.”
Enter his new venture, Mixergy. A platform he started in 2004, specifically for entrepreneurs to get together with other entrepreneurs and help each other. The business had its ups and downs, it wasn’t an overnight success. But it found its footing eventually, ironically with a bit of helpful advice from a fellow entrepreneur. Today it’s a place for successful entrepreneurs to teach other ambitious upstarts. They do remote interviews, podcasts, and even teach courses. It’s a stark contrast from those entrepreneur coaches that often leave a lot to be desired. Andrew recalls paying one of those business coaches for lessons in how to grow a million-dollar business. He didn’t find it as helpful as he’d hoped, largely in part because this coach had never made a million-dollar business themself! How can you teach how to do something that you’ve never done yourself? If you wanted to learn how to rock climb, would you pay someone to teach you if all they’d ever done was learn about it on YouTube? Heck no. The future of your business is no different from climbing that mountain, so don’t trust it to someone who’s never even gone hiking.
Another interview tip Andrew mentioned, was actually something he noticed Daniel was already doing himself! And that is being prepared, with a clear direction and goal for your interview. This doesn’t simply mean having your questions written out in a list. While that helps, if you rely on that too much then the interview starts to feel mechanical. This leads to people feeling bored, and might be less forthcoming and natural with their discussions. It’s good to know what you’re going to ask, but you should also know how you’re going to ask it. You sound needy and come across as whiney if you keep pestering your mentor with questions. For example, instead of “How can I grow my sales team?”, reword that to something like “How did you grow such a successful sales team?”. You’ll get virtually the same answer, except it’ll probably be even more informative and helpful. A simple rephrasing can go a long way towards getting the answer you need, not the answer you think you want. It should be clear from the start what you hope to accomplish from this talk. Where is this conversation going? What are we teaching each other and possibly others with this discussion? Who benefits from this and why? If the conversation feels aimless, or robotic, you’re not gonna have a good time. Motivate this person to want to engage with you and give you the answers and content you want. An entrepreneur who’s hustled their way to the top of their respective business doesn’t want to sit and answer 21 questions to give some other entrepreneur a shortcut. Give them that “motivated moment”. They have to have a reason to want to be there, answering your questions and talking it out with you.
There you have it! Pro tips from actual pros. We hope this advice anyone out there, entrepreneur to otherwise. Sitting down and talking to someone in a professional capacity is something almost everyone has to do at some point. Be it an interview for a job, a podcast, business research, etc. No matter the case, these tips should prove beneficial to all. We at MyOutDesk love opportunities like this, to talk to other experienced professionals and learn from them. And in some cases just simply validate what we already know! We pass this knowledge onto our followers, our customers, and even our own employees. Because offering a wide variety of virtual assistants means having a wide variety of skill sets and knowledge. If a company wanted to hire a virtual assistant to help them conduct interviews of any kind, these very lessons would be common knowledge to any VA we provided them. If you’d like to talk more with us about how virtual assistants fit into this, and how they could benefit your own business, follow the link below. We’ll schedule a FREE one-on-one consultation whenever is convenient for you. Thanks for reading!
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
An experienced virtual assistant can improve productivity and reduce complications through process documentation. Learn how it’s done in this guide!
[Grab a FREE Strategy Call Here]
Hiring a virtual assistant may seem daunting if you’re considering the “training” period. It’s true that your assistant can’t work effectively if they’re not familiar with your expectations, the software you use, and the everyday workflow.
However, there’s a method to increase productivity and ease the training period by paying attention to your work processes.
With this in mind, read on to learn all about process documentation for a seamless work environment!
One of the hardest aspects of beginning documenting processes is compiling all the tasks that you expect your virtual assistant to handle. This is because you want to choose the tasks that you expect your assistant to handle on a daily basis and eliminate the unnecessary tasks.
Your next step is to document, step-by-step, the procedure to execute each task. It’s important to be as clear and thorough as possible. This will enable your virtual assistant to confidently refer to you for assistance when they’re just getting started, boosting business productivity as a result.
You can document these procedures in a simple Word doc or use one of many process documentation tools in order to speed up your workflow. Here are a few commonly used tools:
We recommend opting for a tool that you’re already familiar with–this can greatly speed up your business documentation. Remember that you can use screenshots and video capture to make your processes even easier to understand.
[Grab a FREE Strategy Call Here]
Your work isn’t complete after writing down all your procedures. Next, it’s important to test all the procedures you’ve documented to ensure that each step is covered. For instance, if you want your virtual assistant to document all the calls created in your CRM software, you’ll want to include how to use that software after the call has taken place.
You’ll also want to include when you expect a task to be done. Updating your CRM platform every time a phone call or email is placed may be important if your assistant will be interacting with multiple clients a day.
Documenting these work processes is helpful even before you even hire a virtual assistant. This is because you’ll be aware of exactly the kinds of skills needed in order to confidently complete your processes each day. You’ll also be in a better position to communicate your expectations and find the right virtual assistant for you.
As you delegate tasks, remember that it’s important to still stay open to feedback. Update your documents over time so that your assistants are being trained with the best practices.
It’s possible to increase productivity and reduce friction when it comes to onboarding a new virtual assistant with detailed process documentation. Take your time to consider the tasks you’d like your assistant to handle each day, with special attention placed on repetitive tasks.
Once you write them all out, your assistant will know exactly what you expect of them. They can also refer back to the document as they get accustomed to their new role with your business.
Ready to save time and money with the aid of a virtual assistant? Schedule a free one-on-one consultation today.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
If you’ve used one lead generation service, then you’ve used them all. Except that’s not true in the case of Likeable Agent. They’re a lead generation company that goes the extra mile for their clients, and they couldn’t do it without virtual assistants. In this testimonial our CEO, Daniel Ramsey had a very insightful chat with John Reh, the founder of Likeable Agent. John has been utilizing virtual assistants since 2016, to help him and his team with a wide variety of tasks. Ranging from simple inbox management to conducting research, his VA’s(virtual assistants) have become happy, productive members of his team. Read on, and watch above, to learn exactly how he was able to find so much success employing professionals halfway around the world.
[Grab a FREE Strategy Call Here]
John had years of experience as a recruiter before he founded his own business. That experience came in handy when turning to MyOutDesk for some virtual assistants. We talent match our people to fit specific business needs, but finding the right person goes way beyond just skills on paper. John actually finds more value in finding the right personality first, then building up the necessary skills. Because anyone can learn how to do just about anything, but not everyone is reliable, friendly, passionate or motivated. And John wanted someone he could count on as well as get along with before he trusted them with valuable business duties. Luckily we value personality as well when we hire. Every VA we’ve assigned has not only got the job done well but got along great doing it.
“Consider where you can use help. What can I do and what should I do? Those are often different things; could I be doing something that’s more productive?”
What brought John to MyOutDesk was the realization that he was spending too much time doing work that should be delegated out. He needed reliable help with the busy work so that he could focus his experienced time on more dollar-productive tasks. Like focusing more on client relations, personally. Onboarding his new VA’s was easy because his company already had created templates for most of the tasks they’d be handing over. One such task was able to exist because of the VA’s; customer support. They created an inbox and a text message line specifically for existing customers to reach out to for help. The VA managed incoming questions and resolved issues accordingly.
[Grab a FREE Strategy Call Here]
One of the ways Likeable Agent sets itself apart from other lead generation companies is the quality of leads they provide. They don’t just hand over a list of cold calls, they take time to curate those leads and organize them based on viability. This is another area that our VA’s came in handy; doing the research needed to better understand those leads. They do the homework to learn about every lead and determine who is warm and who is cold. This frees up people like John to focus their time on those warm leads, so they can be sure the leads they provide are truly valuable. And on the flip side, they have VA’s handling new customer intake. Building up the accounts of new clients, welcome them to LikeableAgent while local employees focus on getting more clients. It’s a beautiful cycle.
“They show up early and stay late. Very, very dedicated and I appreciate that a lot.”
It’s now been several years since John and his team at Likeable Agent started using our VA’s, and the success continues. All of the busy work is handled in an organized, efficient manner. Meanwhile, John is free to focus on building relationships and save money while he’s at it. He claims his income quintupled in the first year after onboarding a couple of VA’s. That’s wild! If you’re at all interested in a similarly wild story of success for your growing business, don’t hesitate to reach out. The link is below, it takes seconds to schedule a free one-on-one consultation. We’ll discuss the problems you’re facing and determine if a VA might help solve them.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
“I have a day off now!”, is just one of the proclamations made by a very satisfied customer of ours. His name is Aaron Shishilla, and having a real day off is exciting for him because he has two jobs! He’s the Marketing Lead and Owner of WolfPack Advising; a marketing company that Aaron started as a side hustle. His primary gig is that of Marketing Manager at Waypoint Property Inspection, based out of Tampa, Florida. Clearly, he has a lot on his plate, juggling two major roles at two successful and still growing companies. The vision Aaron and his team share are that of empowering businesses with the tools necessary to grow. All while being a thought leader themselves, who uses their experiences to elevate everyone. Basically, both companies he works at are in the business of helping other businesses see calculated, positive results. But what about their own growth? Who’s helping them see successful results? Virtual assistants are.
[Grab a FREE Strategy Call Here]
Aaron had heard about MyOutDesk via word of mouth, from other connections who spoke highly of their experience using our VA’s(virtual assistants). He found himself spending too much time juggling non-dollar-generating tasks while trying to fit in his higher-level responsibilities as a leader in two different marketing roles. This was proving a major speedbump while they were trying to grow the company beyond their local region. It was time to seek assistance from the outside, which led him to follow his colleague’s advice and seek remote help. A little over six months ago Aaron came to MyOutDesk and we matched him with a couple of VA’s hand-picked to help him and his team with those side-tasks that were bogging them down. The experience was immediately satisfying.
“I’m so incredibly impressed because I can say something to her and she knows to take notes, and add it to her guidebook. And the next week she’s on it. And I’m like this is amazing!”
Aaron is a very organized, and forward-thinking person. So he knew before our VA even started that they would need the proper guidance and toolset to ensure they were set up for success. He took the time to prepare a guide using Google Docs, with a list of tasks, timelines, etc for the VA to use as a reference once they started. This ensured the person we assigned had everything they needed from the get-go, and the support from Aaron to hit the ground running. From there it was just a matter of checking in with them over Slack when necessary. Because our VA’s are educated in the English language, coupled with opposite work hours than ours, it makes for perfect professional synergy.
“They speak better English than I do! They are just perfect, their grammar is better than ours because they have studied it for so long.”
Now Aaron and his colleagues have more time to focus on important duties that run the business, like focusing on the service they provide their clients. Meanwhile, our VA has been handling administrative tasks and social media duties. This has been a great help while they expand their brand outside their region, and focus on customer relationships. All while saving money! The average all-inclusive cost of a VA from MyOutDesk is roughly $21,000 a year. Aaron says had they gone with a local specialist to assist them, they’d easily be paying double that.
“There is stuff that you do every day that is repetitive. That you can easily scale, having a VA handling it for you, so that you can focus on something else.”
Aaron Shishilla came to MyOutDesk seeking virtual assistants to help his two growing companies. It ended up being the kind of success for him that just drives us to keep at it. Our mission is to help grow other businesses, be they small and getting started or huge and well established. Your success is our success. So if you’re at all curious about utilizing a VA for your own business scaling, don’t hesitate to reach out. Follow the link below to request a free one-on-one consultation where we’ll evaluate your needs and determine how we might be able to help.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
“You get out what you put in,” says Dan Smith, of his experience onboarding a few virtual assistants(VA’s) from MyOutDesk. Dan is the Operations Manager at ‘Modern Lending’, a young but fast-growing mortgage company. He’s a firm believer in investing your time and effort into something, or someone, to improve the results you expect in return. Basically, if your input is the bare minimum then your output will match it. That’s one of the reasons Dan had no issue turning to us for a few virtual assistants to help his company with administrative work. Besides of course the positive word of mouth, proven track record, and competitive prices.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
Dan and his team needed more helping hands with various company duties, but finding people with the knowledge he required was tough. Not to mention expensive, when you’re hiring freelance or from a temp agency. Dan knew that no matter where he decided to hire from, some degree of training was going to be required. So why not hire some people who’ve already been screened and evaluated, thus eliminating some of his headaches. While still being a blank-slate enough that he can build them from the ground up to fit his company needs! After all, their mission at Modern Lending was to make the entire home buying experience as positive and stress-free as possible. Buying a house is the most expensive purchase the average American will ever make, so you should come out of it happy, not just relieved it’s over.
“Anyone can fool you for 30 mins in an interview. Then you get them in here and it’s like what happened to that other person? We haven’t had to deal with anything like that at MyOutDesk.”
Modern Lending currently has 6 VA’s supporting their in-house loan processors. They started with just a few, whom Dan personally trained for several hours a day during the onboarding process. This might sound like a lot of effort, compared to hiring someone who already knows what they’re doing, but do they really? Every office works a little differently and has specific strengths, goals, and processes. Dan wanted whoever was going to be handling these sensitive tasks to not just know how to do them but to understand why they were doing them. What the importance of every step was, and how it affected someone else down the line. Over time the results were so satisfying, that they hired a few more VA’s from MyOutDesk. Eventually expanding their duties to involve increasingly high-level responsibilities, as they became more adept and trusted.
“I’ve had zero issues, ever, with MyOutDesk itself. Everything we needed, we got it, often in less than 24 hours.”
In the end, Dan and his team have been beyond satisfied with their experience hiring VA’s to support their processors. Not only were they able to secure six hard-working professionals as soon as they needed them, but they saved money doing so. Dan says he expects they save at least 60% of the costs they would have incurred had they hired elsewhere. In other words, the blended model of virtual assistants supporting his local staff has only helped their company continue to grow and be successful. If you’re at all curious how you can have a similar experience of success and savings, follow the link below. We’re happy to schedule a free consultation where we can assess any business problems you might have. Then we’ll determine how one of our VA’s might solve them.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
What if you could reach your target audience before they even got out of bed? Start their day with your product or service already on their mind, without even lifting a finger! You can, and it’s as easy as a text message. According to a survey conducted by ReportLinker, about half of Americans(46%) say they check their phone as soon as they wake up. That statistic comes from 2017, so you can imagine it’s only gone up since then. More than half of Americans check their phone an average of 160 times a day. America is attached to their phone, so use that to get them attached to your product.
Now you’re probably wondering, “But how? Who has the time to text all day!? Luckily we have the answer to that; virtual assistants. Text messaging(SMS) marketing is an often underrated and underutilized practice with a ton of proven potential. On top of that, the utilization of virtual assistants is growing in its acceptance by the professional world due to the increasing demand for remote work. I guess you could say SMS marketing is the recipe for massive gains, and virtual assistants are the secret ingredient that makes it a 5-star dish. But enough analogies; let’s go over exactly how and why SMS marketing with a virtual assistant will change the way you do business.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
You’re probably already familiar with email marketing; drip campaigns, follow-ups, promotions, etc. You may not be familiar with this statistic though; the open rate for email is about 20%, whereas the open rate for text messages is 98%. That’s a huge difference! Why send a prospective customer an email that gets lost in spam, or buried at the bottom of their inbox? A text message goes right to the top of their communications, and it likely gets a push notification on their screen. They can’t miss it! Furthermore, 75% of surveyed Americans said they’d be happy to receive an offer via SMS. That’s practically an invitation to market to them! That actually leads me to one important point; you can’t cold message them. An SMS marketing campaign needs to be directed at people who’ve already expressed interest in some way, or straight up opted in to receive your messages. So keep it legit, or you risk not just pissing off the customer, but the law too.
Here’s an example of persistent and informative SMS marketing…
The big gap in open rates doesn’t mean you should abandon email marketing altogether. In fact, SMS and emails can work together sometimes. For example, sending a follow-up text asking someone if they got your previous email can increase the open rate by as much as 30%. The inverse can work as well; sending an email that lets people opt into more direct and beneficial SMS service. This is a great way to generate leads, with a growing list of potential customers or existing customers who are hungry for information, updates, offers, etc. Another benefit to the SMS is the immediate delivery, compared to the “who knows when” delivery of an email. Send that update text, “Hey, did you get my email?”, and watch them feel more personally connected to you and thus more likely to go check for that email. As you can see it’s not a one or the other situation, it’s more of a cohesive family of marketing tools.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
Notice how I mentioned it feeling more “personally connected”. Because an SMS is always more personal and direct feeling than a long email they know was sent to a faceless list. With an SMS, you’re restricted to the 160 character limit typically, so your messaging needs to be more direct and inclusive. No fluff, no overpowering graphics, and banners, etc. Your message to them should feel like a friend reaching out to ask them a quick question, or give them a quick update about something important. You should use more words like “you” and “I” when writing your little message, so it feels like you thought of them randomly and cared enough to message them, specifically. Even if you didn’t…
To get the most out of this marketing tactic, you shouldn’t be the one sending those messages. This doesn’t mean they are any less personal or sincere, it just means you’re a busy person with a business to run, so you delegate this to someone else. This is where the virtual assistant comes in! While you’re handling more high-level, valuable business needs, your VA(virtual assistant) is going down a list. Sending customized text messages to different groups of people, following up on leads, responding to their replies, answering questions, sharing links, and setting up appointments. They’re keeping people updated, educated, and connected… to you. And yes there are applications you can sync with your SMS campaigns to track how effective your texts are, just like with emails. Utilizing a virtual assistant to be the conduit for all of your SMS marketing needs is such a perfect fit, it almost feels too good to be true(don’t worry, it’s not!).
As you can see, SMS marketing is a simple marketing tactic that anyone can do. And if they have an assistant who can manage that tactic on their own, then they’re really primed for success. Because there are two hard facts here; 1. SMS marketing is powerful and worth the effort, and 2. Someone else should be doing it for you while you do what you do best. MyOutDesk is proud to offer virtual assistants with marketing talents and technology skills perfect for this role. So if you’re at all interested in upping your marketing game, securing more leads, and closing more deals, you’re in the right place. Reach out via the link and schedule a one-on-one consultation, where we’ll assess how one of our virtual assistants can do exactly that for you.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
They say you can never get too much of a good thing. When it comes to hiring virtual assistants, David Perry might be inclined to agree with that statement. For over three years David has been the Director of Finance at ‘A Better Contractor, LLC’, the premier hospitality industry contractor in the nation. Over the past year, however, they’ve been making efforts to diversify their clientele so as to continue growing in the contractor business. Despite the global pandemic they’ve continued to experience growth, supporting the likes of the hotel industry as they too grow and evolve to support the changing times. But that’s not to say the journey of success is without its obstacles. Luckily virtual assistants are really good at breaking down obstacles…
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
David and his team had existed processes in place that utilized local admin assistants. However, they were beginning to notice a lot of QA(quality assurance) discrepancies. Eventually, they were faced with the tough decision to take over administrative duties themselves. To ensure the administrative tasks were done correctly they had to divide the work among their own management team. This stretched the management team thin, as they had to juggle a wide variety of duties. Someone on their team suggested looking into employing a virtual assistant, from a company like MyOutDesk. Because this would be a big change from what they were used to, David admitted to some initial hesitation. After some deliberation, the decision was made to try out one VA(virtual assistant) and see how it fit their administrative needs.
“We gave it a shot, and not long after doing so we were like ‘well crap, that was easy!’
The initial uncertainty about hiring someone entirely remote to take over their admin assistant role was due to how valuable they hold that position. David and his team believe in equal reciprocation with anyone they hire; be they in-person or virtual. They like to bring a positive change not just to their business, but to the life of whoever they hire. David believes that any member of the team should be happy to be there because they genuinely feel like they fit in. After all, a happy worker is a hard worker. Luckily, that first VA we provided fit right in and hit the ground running. They were able to take over those administrative duties themself and alleviate some of the pressure from management.
“Our VA’s have migrated to bill payments, a lot. Time value of money is important in all aspects, and our VA’s have contributed to that level of accuracy. It’s just a beautiful thing.”
David and his company were so pleased with their first foray into the virtual assistant game that they eventually hired the 2nd one only months later. They now have two VA’s juggling administrative duties without any issues. Allowing management to have peace of mind while they focus on their customers. And they plan on hiring more, as needed! That’s the magic of hiring assistants from a company like MyOutDesk; because we evaluate their experience and skillset so you don’t have to. That way when a company like David’s comes to us for help, we can match them up accordingly. If you’re curious how you can have a similar experience of success, reach out via the link below. We’ll set up a one on one consultation and evaluate your problems, to see if a virtual assistant can solve them.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
“What’s the difference between a virtual assistant and an executive assistant? And which one do I need?” These might seem like simple black/white questions, but answering them for your business is a bit more complex than you think. That’s why we decided to put together an FAQ list with our experienced answers, to help you understand what’s best for your company. With these top 5 frequently asked questions and our expert answers, we hope to clarify the main differences between an executive and a virtual assistant. So as to help you decide which, if not both, is best for your business. “Do they require training? What’s their schedule typically like?” We hope this sheds some light on the matter for anyone who was considering hiring an assistant but had a hard time figuring out which to look for. Sometimes confusing terminology and misunderstood expectations can get in the way of understanding something that is actually quite simple.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
There you have it, folks. The top 5 questions and answers about the difference between executive assistants and virtual assistants. We hope this little FAQ helped you understand not just the differences between the two, but the benefits of each for different needs. Although by now it’s probably pretty clear how beneficial a VA from MyOutDesk can be for any growing business. From professional assurances to massive savings, maybe it’s time to see if a VA is right for your business! Follow the link below to schedule a FREE consultation, where we’ll assess your business needs and help determine if and how one of our VA’s can help you scale up.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Often times those who help others, need some help themselves. Such was the case at Refresh Psychotherapy; a mental health service in the New York area. CEO and founder Keeley Teemsma talked to us in this video about their experience with scaling up, mental health in the time of covid, and what brought them to MyOutDesk for a virtual assistant. Because no matter the industry, the more growth your business sees, the more work you need to put in to sustain that success. For Keeley that meant alleviating the pressure for their therapists, because after all, they are the stars of the show, right? Without them, the business isn’t a business. They need to be able to freely focus on the therapy service they provide, which is what makes the business successful. Meanwhile, people whose skill set is more on the business side focus on managing those tasks so successfully that the therapist never even notice.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
“As we grew we had to reinvent the system. I think it’s very important to have a very clear system, written out so someone can follow it step by step.”
Hence the introduction of a MyOutDesk virtual assistant to the Refresh Psychotherapy team. They grew from roughly 6 employees to over 60 in the past year! As the company scaled up they realized the systems they had in place simply couldn’t accommodate all of that growth. Being the professionals they are, they built systems to manage their workflow and maintained their quality of service successfully. However, they had to reinvent these systems themselves over time to accommodate the steady growth they were experiencing. The time came to seek outside help, and so Keeley decided to seek some remote assistance. They had to be sure it was reliable assistance though because no one wants to sabotage their own business by relying on something fickle. We at MyOutDesk hand select all of our virtual professionals based on the existing, specific skillsets and experience. They become part of our arsenal, so to speak. So that when a company like Refresh Psychotherapy comes to us seeking help with administrative duties, we have plenty of experts to choose from.
Their virtual assistant ended up getting direct training and guidance from the COO, Patricia Valencia. It’s important to properly onboard any new help to your environment and your professional needs. You don’t want to set them up for failure. They recognized this and it paid off for them, over time. Their VA(virtual assistant) was able to fit right into their company culture and hit the ground running in no time. Their VA has been answering phones, managing emails, and processing application paperwork. Not to mention the various one-off tasks they tackle as they come up. Keeley calls a lot of this work the VA does, “intake coordination”, and it’s become an incredibly valuable part of their continued success.
“You don’t want to build something up and discover the process doesn’t work. You have get things done as you go, to learn what works and what doesn’t.”
The problem that Keeley and her team at Refresh Psychotherapy faced is exactly the kind we at MyOutDesk love to solve. Years ago we set out to help businesses experiencing growing pains by providing professional virtual assistants. With over 6,000 clients and over 500 verified 5-star reviews, we like to think we’re on the right track. If you’re curious how a virtual assistant could possibly solve your problems, reach out! Just click the link below to request a free consultation. We’ll assess your needs and determine if and how we can help you.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Have you ever been reluctant to try something, and then after you eventually did you wished you had tried it sooner? That’s often how it goes for a MyOutDesk client! Take Shawana Hudson for example; she’s a partner at Thomas & Gibbs CPAs based out of North Carolina. A full-service CPA firm, they do accounting, tax, and audit services for a lot of entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the nonprofit sector. The business has been going great for Shawana and her team because of their dedication to their customers. Putting so much value in their client relations has proven a successful strategy for Thomas & Gibbs for years, but it’s not been without its speed bumps.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
Sometimes a business is so focused on their clients’ success that their success becomes secondary. Ironically, a company so good at providing financial services to their clients found themselves struggling with something like administrative duties. With Shawana and her partners focusing so heavily on building client relationships and maintaining the value their business was known for, their office administrative staff was working hard due to increased volume and client needs. . Once they recognized this was a problem as they scaled up, they began looking for a solution. Enter MyOutDesk and our virtual assistants spanning numerous expertise, including administrative and billing duties. At first, Shawana was hesitant to take the leap. She was unsure how successful a VA (virtual assistant) could be for them, as they hadn’t used one before. To employ an entirely remote assistant without any guarantee of their capabilities was a big step for Thomas % Gibbs CPAs.
“Our VA is someone that can be focused on those aspects of the business, while our administrator in the office is being pulled in so many directions.”
Fortunately, MyOutDesk comes with guarantees on all of our virtual assistants, we call it MOD Satisfied. Because we select our VA’s based on their existing skills, we are able to match them to appropriate roles. Shawana trusted MyOutDesk with assigning them a VA in January of this year, 2021. Over 6 months later and it’s been so successful that Shawana’s only regret is that they didn’t try us sooner! Their office admin is no longer being pulled in too many directions, and can instead focus on high-value internal needs. While the VA from MyOutDesk has not just been handling their billing duties but improving them too. By introducing them to new technologies that better their workflow and improve productivity, they have actually saved money! Those savings are turned around to invest back into their clients, increasing the value of their business.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
“Looking at the tasks and what the VA was able to accomplish in the past 6 months, that same skillset would have cost us about 60% more.”
Some professionals have done their due diligence, heard the referrals, and recognize the added value of hiring a virtual assistant. Others just need to see for themselves firsthand, because they value the quality of service they provide so greatly that every action needs to be tactful and assured. Luckily, taking the VA plunge worked wonders for Shawana and her partners at Thomas and Gibbs CPAs. If you’re curious about how a virtual assistant could fit into your workflow, request a free consultation below. We’ll evaluate your problem, and assess how we might be able to solve it and help you grow and scale your business.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Did you know that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there were over 3.9 million secretaries and administrative assistants in 2016?
Only online virtual assistant platforms such as Upwork can truly account for that number. And it is surely rising. Now that remote work is becoming increasingly common, more and more companies are finding that virtual assistants can complete their duties just as well as in-person assistants.
However, the struggle to find one is just as prescient. It’s hard to find experienced, trustworthy assistants among the influx of applicants Upwork receives.
Read on to learn some of the best Upwork alternatives to make your virtual assistant search an easier one!
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
MyOutDesk is the gold standard for hiring virtual assistants. As an American-owned business based in Sacramento, California, we believe in representing high-quality candidates with experience and professionalism. Unlike job board sites and even LinkedIn, we have an extensive screening and background check process. This ensures that all of our candidates are who they say they are.
With over 14 years of experience, we service industries spanning from real estate to property management. Our virtual assistants are ready to be a partner on your team. From email and calendar management to bookkeeping and database management.
Our virtual assistants cost less than a full-time employee, and you won’t be overwhelmed by wading through hundreds of applicants that aren’t a good fit. We do that for you by finding talent that matches your industry, business goals, and needs.
According to the site, Freelancer gives you access to over 32 million freelancers. If your business is on a tight budget, you’ll find that you’re able to find freelancers with lower rates on this job board. However, there’s no guarantee that many of the applicants you’re looking at are experienced.
However, the platform offers more ways for you to communicate with the person you hire so that everything is transparent. They give you the option of using text, video calls, or voice calls. It also offers a variety of payment systems.
When it comes to virtual assistant work, you’ll be able to find this category, as it’s one of approximately 1800 other job categories offered.
If you’re on a budget but want to be able to find more skilled virtual assistants easier, Guru may be worth a try. This platform has millions of users daily and offers a wide gamut of categories, including virtual assistants. While you’ll be paying a bit more than you would with Upwork, the trade-off is gaining access to more skilled assistants.
This platform does come with the risk of getting scammed. It can be hard to determine whether the reviews on freelancer’s profiles are genuine and authentic. You also shouldn’t expect timely customer service because the company is so large.
This site is best used by businesses willing to do some extra legwork, to ensure that the freelancers they’re working with have legitimate backgrounds.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
If you’ve ever needed a job done quickly, then you’ve probably heard of Fiverr. With some services starting as cheap as $5, this job network is most budget-friendly. Fiverr provides more talented freelancers who have been hand-verified in the system for their experience, professionalism, and quality of work.
This can be the best alternative to Upwork if you’re looking for one of the most affordable job boards out there. However, what you pay for is what you get, and you’ll have a harder time finding skilled workers with which you can build a long-term relationship. If you have a short project that needs to be done fast and with little oversight, Fiverr is the best choice.
We don’t recommend Fiverr if you need a virtual assistant for more complicated tasks that require ample communication. Because of the nature of the site, avoid tasks that take multiple steps and time.
Don’t forget about the most popular professional networking platform, LinkedIn. You can use your network to find people who are seeking virtual assistant positions. There is also a level of authenticity on this site that you can’t get from other job board sites, as it’s often used for networking.
You may be able to find candidates on LinkedIn groups. You can even post your job listing directly on LinkedIn to attract qualified candidates.
LinkedIn also has the ability to send people messages directly. You can connect with potential virtual assistants without needing to exchange personal contact information.
However, this does require you to do more work than other job board sites.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
When it comes for hiring, you need to take the time and decide on what you need from a virtual assistant. Upwork alternatives like Fiverr or Freelancer are your best bet if you’re looking for someone to handle a short, simple job.
However, if you’re seeking a VA that can become a long-term partner on your team, then you’ll need to take extra time to find the right fit. Contact MyOutDesk today for a job like this.
Work one-on-one with a business growth specialist to see how we can provide cost savings to your business. Claim your strategy session today for free!
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
As you’re growing and scaling a real estate practice, what you realize is the number one leading indicator to revenue is more listings and more buyers. Once you discover that as a real state person, and you start measuring how many calls and conversations you’re having you realize you need more people. More people calling and having conversations. The number of conversations you’re having is always the lead indicator to success. Enter… a real estate ISA(Inside Sales Agent). The problem the ISA is solving comes after you already have enough leads, and your team is scaling up. Meaning the ISA should come after all of your other roadblocks have already been overcome, and your last problem is how to keep that sales success going. Now the number one tool your ISA is going to need, is a solid script. Because the script can make or break your ISA during all of these calls.
Once you have these things set up, you can start working in the lead space and start calling leads together. Keep in mind, this works in any industry, not just real estate. That is how invaluable this knowledge and level of preparation can be to you. Hiring an ISA can be tough as the ideal fit would have flexible communication skills who can adapt to different personalities that they may encounter. All these talents plus a winning script are a formula to great success. Of course, following up or nurturing your leads with a high potential of becoming your clients is also important. Many real estate teams prefer to hire MyOutDesk Real Estate ISA virtual assistants for this role because MyOutDesk has mastered the talent matching process over the past 13 years through intense personality & experience pre-screening required to find suitable candidates and training.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
As real estate coach Brian Icenhower writes in Inside Sales Agents (ISA) on Real Estate Teams:
“All inside sales agents are not created equal, and it’s important to know the differences if you are looking for guidance from the ISA models that other teams are actively implementing. There are 3 types of ISAs: 1) Outbound; 2) Inbound or 3) Both Outbound/Inbound.”
“Outbound ISAs generate new leads by prospecting for FSBOs, expired listings, just listed/sold, COI, past clients, geographic farms and etc. Inbound ISAs respond to incoming leads from internet sources and sign calls while repeatedly maintaining contact with leads over time to ultimately foster them into qualified appointments.”
“Performing both roles at once can be challenging since they are very distinct roles that require two different types of behavior. An Outbound ISA should be more aggressive and driven to make cold calls, where an Inbound ISA should be more of a customer service orientated individual that loves people and building relationships.”
If you’re not already utilizing an ISA Virtual Assistant, You may want to consider one. They can be leveraged to take care of this part of your business. Many real estate professionals just like you have employed our Real Estate Virtual Assistants to call out to their leads, whether to nurture their warm leads or cold calling.
MyOutDesk knows how important it is to have a good script in place for your ISA Virtual Assistant. This is why MyOutDesk has a complete library of Real Estate ISA call scripts developed by the best minds in the real estate industry, which we’ll share with you should you choose to hire one of our outstanding Real Estate virtual assistants.
We highly recommend that you have a direct hand at improving your ISA’s skills by scheduling regular role play and objection handling sessions with them. If you do not have the time, we can help you out with those as well.
Interested in hiring a Real Estate ISA? Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session today and find out how a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant can your business grow as a Real Estate ISA!
A virtual assistant isn’t just for admin tasks, answering phones, data entry, etc. The VA’s from MyOutDesk Cliff are hand-picked with a variety of skills and experiences, fit for just about any more complex duty. If you’re scaling up and finding any particular tasks are slipping through the cracks and holding you back, chances are a true virtual professional can jump in and help with it. Including Marketing duties.
Stoltzfood is the founder and CEO of LifeX Marketing. Inspired by the lessons learned from Donald Miller’s “Storybrand” teachings, Cliff applied that same framework to his own marketing agency. He’s found it to be so successful, that he will he even turn down a client if they aren’t on board with his Storybrand approach to solving their marketing needs. He’s that confident in how successful that framework can be, and in his own ability to apply it accurately; “This framework puts the customer first, and us second”. Cliff started LifeX Marketing back in 2016 and has maintained his initial promise, of caring about their client’s money just as much as they do. By carefully reviewing a client’s needs and implementing proven strategies, Cliff aims for a 1:15 ROI(return on investment) for their clients. It’s a lofty goal, but one he and his team are very confident about reaching. As LifeX Marketing continued to reach and exceed goals, growing in their success, the need for some outside assistance grew as well.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
“We care about your money as much as you do. Your money is safeguarded as if it were our own”
The year 2020 affected everyone, and LifeX Marketing was no exception. Surprisingly, the effect turned into a positive result for them as they grew almost 180% as a business. Clients were lining up, with the need for effective and successful marketing more so than ever. With all of this business coming in, they needed to scale their processes to match their unexpected growth. Because when a team is successful at something, and that something keeps growing, the team needs to grow too. This is where MyOutDesk usually enters the equation. Cliff had actually heard about us from a professional friend who had utilized our virtual assistant services. This friend has nothing but good things to say and highly recommended he reach out to see if we could do something to help with his growing pains. After a free consultation, Cliff saw the potential and agreed to start with one of our virtual assistants to aid his team where they needed it.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
Cliff was initially concerned about how employing a virtual assistant would really work out for his team. Things like distance and clashing cultures were on his mind, as potential speedbumps for accomplishing what they needed. Those concerns were soon dispelled when our VA got acclimated to LifeX Marketing so quickly and successfully. LifeX already adopted a “work from home” culture so our VA was able to acclimate to their processes easily. Our VA was up and running in no time and helping the LifeX team accomplish more as they continued to scale up. Things went so well that Cliff requested a 2nd VA from MyOutDesk to provide additional support. They ended up helping both LifeX Marketing and even their own clients with different processes. They eventually saw an increase in profits and decreased expenses since they didn’t hire a freelance virtual assistant. For everyone involved it was a win/win scenario.
“Publishing, web development and site maintenance; there’s a lot of those those tasks they do very good, and have done for us.”
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
This has been just one example of how a company experiencing success turned to MyOutDesk for help managing that success. We select our VA’s to fill specific roles as needed by our clients, be that marketing, administrative assistance, sales, and more. By injecting a couple of virtual professionals into the LifeX Marketing culture, they were able to scale up in a fast but healthy fashion. If you’re wondering how a virtual assistant might do the same for you, don’t hesitate to reach out for a free consultation. Let’s see if our experts would be a good fit for your business.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
As a real estate agent, you know the importance of following up on leads, building your network, and helping your clients. If you’re struggling to manage it all, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll go over everything you need to know about using a real estate virtual assistant to see if it’s the right fit for you and your business.
From the benefits to the different ways to use a virtual assistant service, we’ve rounded up the answers to all your questions. Let’s jump in and see how a real estate virtual assistant can help you.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
It can be time-consuming following up and qualifying every lead on your properties. With record-low interest rates and limited inventory, you’re likely busier than ever. Our qualified assistants can help with prospecting, screening calls, and answering questions.
We’ll help you weed out buyers and follow up with serious leads. Let our real estate virtual assistants help you close more sales by answering emails, online showing requests, and giving prospective buyers answers in a timely fashion.
It’s hard to staff full-time assistants when you’re in and out of the office. To help you with office duties, answering calls, emails, and booking appointments, consider hiring a real estate virtual assistant.
Our team of experienced professionals can help you manage appointments, book meetings, manage your calendar, and more. Let us help you with bookkeeping, tracking down the commission, and even buying client gifts.
We have highly skilled professionals available to help you manage your real estate deals, by assisting with transaction coordination. We can help you manage the buying and selling process from the offer stage to the closing table.
The real estate market is hotter than ever. With so many deals and deadlines, let someone else manage your contracts and due dates. We’re here to take more off your plate so you can focus on getting new listings and closing sales.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
To properly list a home, we know how much time and effort it takes. We can help manage the stress of marketing. From signs to flyers, mailers, and maintaining your email subscribers, marketing is time-consuming.
Let our real estate virtual assistants manage your social media accounts and help with graphic design. We can also help to manage photography schedules and develop collateral.
A real estate virtual assistant can be a lifesaver. You need to focus on growing your business and selling homes. Let our trained virtual assistants help you with the little things so that you can reach your big goals.
From answering emails to screening leads and managing your social media, we can take marketing, administration, and booking off your plate. Let us handle as much as you need. If you’re ready to hire a virtual assistant, fill out the contact form here to get more information.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on your employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
MyOutDesk is a “pain relief” treatment for any growing business. Whether it’s a small start-up trying to find its way, an established enterprise that never stops growing, or anything in between. You’ve got pressure points that need relief, regardless of your revenue trajectory. It’s not hard to imagine your business like the human body; when it’s young and smaller it’s spry, flexible, and resilient. The young body can take a beating and bounce back, pivot, and try new things. But as we get older, the body becomes a lot more “high maintenance”. Keeping things running smooth and pain-free becomes more demanding and requires a lot more thought and consideration.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
Growing Pains
Here are a few examples of common growing pains any business can and does experience, with testimonies from clients who tried our “treatment”…
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
How MyOutDesk helps in the case of any growing business is by providing nutrients in the form of virtual professionals. These aren’t your typical “virtual assistants”, and that’s why we don’t call them that. Our VP’s are handpicked for their existing, natural talents and skillsets. Because training someone to be an expert is often a job in itself, we aim to pick people who are already experts. This drastically decreases the “on-boarding” time required to get them up to speed and ready to add value to your business. We work with you to pick the best VP for your needs, then “inject” them into your workflow and watch the pain relief take effect almost immediately.
Our VP’s target and relieve your business growing pains by handling the things you shouldn’t be worrying about. Your higher-tier staff should be focused on big-ticket action items, and you(the boss) should only be focused on what you want. Let our VP’s handle the overflowing, busy but equally important work that you used to squeeze into your daily hustle. This frees you up to focus on bigger things only you should be handling or frees you up to simply kick back and watch your business work for you.
Our virtual professionals can seamlessly dig in and relieve many different pressure points of your business. Such as administrative duties, inside sales, customer service and technical support, and even an assortment of marketing needs. There is almost nothing they can’t “cure” for your business as it expands, requiring additional care to match its expanding success. And all of this is achieved while simultaneously minimizing costs!
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
No one offers the kind of high-grade talent at the competitive prices we do. We’re able to achieve this by hiring a lot of our VP’s overseas, in places that offer the kind of assurances and flexibility necessary to provide the level of service we want at the price you want. All of our VP’s are fluent English speakers, with tech-savvy backgrounds and access to reliable internet. Not to mention by having our workforce spread across multiple countries we’re able to provide service around the clock, 7 days a week. And rest assured, we treat all of our VP’s, local or foreign, with the same professional respect and care to keep them happy and supported. Because a happy worker is a hard worker.
And that all is just the tip of the iceberg here at MyOutDesk. If the service we provided via these Virtual Professionals truly was a pain relief medication, we’d have it patented and sold in high doses so that no growing business ever had to ache again. We pride ourselves in being the doctor in this analogy and love seeing our patients(customers) go on living stress-free, successful lives with their healthy growing business. So if you or someone you know is experiencing anything like the business growing pains discussed above, follow the link to learn more and request a free consultation. Our professionals are standing by!
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Did you know that 41% of small business owners deal with company issues while taking a break, and 40% spend up to three hours a week talking on the phone for business reasons?
What’s worse is most work 50 hours a week. And 68% of that time is mostly spent dealing with daily issues and tasks.
All this can leave you feeling like you have no time left in your day to enjoy yourself, which can leave you feeling stressed and wound up.
The good news is, a virtual assistant service can help immensely!
This article will lay out all the virtual assistant benefits you can get from using MyOutDesk.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
If you find yourself constantly doing busy work, then a virtual assistant can really help out. They can take those menial tasks from your plate so you can truly focus on growing your business instead.
You can choose which tasks you want to delegate to these experts, and they’ll handle the rest. You won’t have to worry about training them either since they come with their own skillsets and experience.
When you use a virtual assistant service, you won’t have to worry about allocating space in your office for that extra worker.
As the name suggests, the assistant will work remotely on the internet, usually from their home office. As a result, you’ll get to make use of every square inch of your office for your in-person staff.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
Not only will you save space in your business, but you’ll also avoid extra costs, such as the purchase of an extra desk, chair, computer, software, and other items to accommodate the additional worker.
In turn, this can also keep your utility bills as low as possible.
Hiring an in-house assistant also means you’ll be responsible for things like taxes, worker’s compensation, health insurance/benefits, and PTO. Virtual assistants are independent contractors, so none of these responsibilities fall on your shoulders.
All you’ll have to pay for is the time spent working for you!
As we’ve just mentioned, you won’t have to buy computers or software for virtual assistants. Instead, they’ll come with their own devices and business tools, plus they’re responsible for keeping up with tech, not you.
This is yet another way you can cut down on both costs and stress. In most industries, being up-to-date with technology can mean the difference between making and breaking it. When you leave this responsibility in the hands of someone else, you won’t have to stress out about keeping pace with ever-evolving tech. Stop worrying about how the job is done, and instead focus on that it gets done.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
Both you and your employees are probably in the office from 9 to 5. This means there are 16 hours of the day where nothing business-related is covered.
Of course, it’s rare for a company to offer round-the-clock service, but you’ll want to get as close to that as you can. Of course, when you’re working with in-house assistants who are in the same time zone as you, that’s more difficult to do.
With virtual assistants, they can be located anywhere in the world. So even if they “clock in” from 9 to 5, it can actually cover times when you’re not in the office!
You can also hire and fire virtual assistants whenever you wish. You won’t have to deal with the long and tedious hiring process or a disgruntled employee on your property.
While you can fire an employee at will if you want, you’d have to worry about them raising an issue that doing so violated them as a protected class. This isn’t a problem if you use a virtual assistant company.
With more flexibility comes easier scalability. For example, you can start with just one virtual assistant, and when you scale your business, you can add another one.
If that’s still not enough to keep up with demand, you can hire as many virtual assistants as you see fit. And if you accidentally hire one too many at once, it’s no problem to stop services for as many assistants as you want.
This decreases some of the risks of scaling your business and can set you up for better long-term success since you’re not sinking a significant amount of money into these processes.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
When it comes to acquisition vs. retention, the former can be five times more expensive. While the acquisition is still important, your efforts will be for nothing if you don’t actively keep your existing customers happy.
But if you have limited resources, it can be tough to keep up with just your in-house team. This is where virtual assistants come into the picture.
These agents can maintain good client relationships, so they remain loyal. Not only that, but they can also help with the acquisition process if needed. They’ll be able to assist with things like cold calls and client follow-ups.
At this point, it should be clear that getting a virtual assistant service from MyOutDesk can only benefit your company.
Not only does this service save you time and money, but it can also relieve a big part of your business burden. Best of all is, you won’t have to worry about getting the assistant set up, nor will you have to set aside a part of your already limited office space for this person.
So what are you waiting for? If you’re interested in using the best virtual assistant service around, sign up with us today. We even offer a free “double your business” strategy call too!
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on your employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Receptionists make up more than 1.1 million jobs, primarily because no matter what industry you’re looking at, they need a receptionist as a key part of their business. Although the pandemic has forced many businesses to work from home, that doesn’t mean that a receptionist isn’t needed to continue aiding the business in running efficiently.
If you’re reading this, you’re likely wondering what are the benefits of hiring a virtual receptionist, and we’re here to share some of those advantages with you.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
When you’re not able to take any calls, your virtual receptionist service will. This means that your office won’t miss any calls to schedule appointments or cancel them just because it’s the end of the business day, ensuring you have coverage when you need it.
This gives you peace of mind that someone is looking out for your company no matter what.
Without a receptionist, there is no one to help direct calls to the appropriate departments, meaning that one person will spend a lot of their time answering the phone instead of taking care of other tasks that need their focus. When you hire a virtual receptionist, you can increase the efficiency of your office and reduce overall business costs.
Instead of paying for someone to physically sit in the office every day, all your paying for is the cost of the service.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
As mentioned earlier, if you don’t have anyone that can answer the phone, that means you or someone else in the office will need to do this. If you’re a doctor that has to stop providing care continuously, you’re going to have several patients that become frustrated with the level of care that you’re showing them.
A virtual receptionist can save you time and money by answering the phone so that you’re able to do your job and give it your full attention.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
Clients enjoy being able to call your office and reach someone that can answer their questions. Having a receptionist that’s available no matter the time of day increases your companies image.
Potential clients will view you as upstanding and professional when it comes to the way receptionists provide customer service.
Several advantages come with hiring a virtual receptionist. One advantage is that there’s someone available 24/7 for clients to speak with, and another positive aspect is that it saves you time and allows you to do your job.
Are you still searching for the right virtual receptionist? If so, look no further and request a consultation with MyOutDesk for all your receptionist needs.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Avital Ungar is the founder and owner of Avital Tours, a business that has offered artisan food tours since 2011. After spending time surrounded by great food in places like Shanghai and Paris, Avital returned to the states. She arrived with a newly energized passion for not just food, but for sharing the experience of great food with others. That’s why she started her business of organizing tours through popular neighborhoods of San Francisco, to try different foods from different restaurants. The concept is a food lover’s dream; have one dish at one restaurant, then walk nearby to another for something totally different next, and continue until you end somewhere else for a delicious dessert. Along the way, Avital connected with bartenders and expanded on her companies success by incorporating custom cocktails too. And so a very successful business model was born.
In the midst of a global pandemic, Avital was eventually faced with a serious professional challenge. How does a business so reliant on in-person experiences stay relevant in a world where everyone is staying home? By translating those experiences into something anyone can enjoy from anywhere in the world; a virtual experience. Avital Tours was shifting gears to offer a new way of providing their customers with the same service, albeit catered to fit an increasingly remote culture. By tapping into existing relationships with renowned chefs and bartenders, they had the foundation they needed to start a new business… within a business. Customers could now sign up for virtual food tasting experiences and have the ingredients shipped right to their door. Avital had managed to pivot so successfully, that they launched an entirely new business in just one week. It took MyOutDesk a couple of months to find our footing and feel some semblance of stability! It only took Avital 7 days to launch, followed by several months of bringing in our VP’s to help them grapple with all that newfound success.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
“We were building a business in 6 months. We had to build systems so nothing fell through the cracks.”
A new culture of recreation is now a major part of life, for both business and pleasure. While the average person is looking for ways to have fun and be social from the comfort of their homes, so too are businesses looking for new ways to stay connected with their remote workforce. Despite everyone being increasingly disconnected physically, Avital Tours has given companies an entirely new way to maintain a connected company culture. Your company weekly happy hour can now be virtual and hosted from the safety of the employee’s own kitchen. Even a bigger company outing can utilize the virtual events Avital Tours offers, via inclusive experiences anyone can attend from any location. Sending them the ingredients also makes it easier to get involved, thus driving up engagement. More employees can, and want to attend these events due to the ease of access. Just because your team isn’t sharing an office anymore doesn’t mean they can’t find new, engaging ways of staying connected.
It’s good for b2c too! For example, the days of sending your sales team to another city to wine and dine with a prospective customer are fading fast. Through Avital Tours, a sales team member can now book a virtual cooking class with someone and have a just as productive and personal experience. All while staying with their families. And while all of this addresses the concerns over connectivity with customers and internally between employees, we haven’t even talked about how cost-effective it is. Your sales team won’t be expensive flights, hotel rooms, and other travel expenses. And HR won’t have to negotiate a budget for big company outings. With the money saved, you can also host more company events, monthly rather than quarterly or even yearly. Spend less to do more, keeping your employees connected and efficient while driving up profits. It’s literally a win/win for everyone.
“We’re trying to show everyone that you can have blended models and keep your team”
Avital has become a pioneer for the virtual culture that’s growing fast. All the while improving her own internal culture too. New roles were offered to many employees who had been laid off during the pandemic. Positions like the tour guide were able to capitalize on that established knowledge and ability and transition it to hosting virtual events now. Where gaps needed to be filled in between roles, MyOutDesk was happy to provide virtual professionals to assist. Because with a new vertical comes new responsibilities and processes. Our very human virtual assistants came in and helped with the influx of new customers and the workload that followed. Often creating entirely new processes for Avital to ensure nothing slipped through the cracks. Avital wanted good people with high attention to detail, and that’s exactly what we gave them. And they not only became valuable contributors to Avital Tours’ success but welcomed members of the company culture.
[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]
It’s been the perfect pairing of an established virtual profession, with a new and fast-growing virtual experience. We at MyOutDesk consider ourselves in the service business because we live to serve our customers. And Avital Tours is exactly the kind of company we love to do business with. We are honored to help them scale up successfully, as they help us in facilitating a growing acceptance of remote professions. Because their success is our success. We’ve love to see how we can help your business scale up efficiently and effectively, too. Follow the link below to schedule a free demo and see how we can serve your success.
Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on your employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide
Copyright © 2021 MyOutDesk, LLC
