What is a Virtual Assistant?
FAQs
Everything you ever wanted to know about Virtual Assistants - what we do, how we help, how to work with us, and how much we charge.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
If you’re running a small business, juggling multiple projects, or simply looking for ways to free up your time, a Virtual Assistant (VA) could be just what you need. But what exactly is a Virtual Assistant, and how could a VA help you grow your business in the UK?
A Virtual Assistant is a skilled professional who is expert at administration and organisation, and provides business support services remotely. Instead of being on your payroll and based in your office (with all the business overheads that entails), a VA works independently - typically from their own home. VAs deliver flexible pay-as-you-go admin support, customer service, social media management, diary organisation, and more.
The beauty of hiring a Virtual Assistant is that you benefit from the skills of a reliable team member without the costs that come with hiring an employee - such as pensions, holiday pay or office space. And you simply pay for as much or as little time as you need.
What are common Virtual Assistant tasks?
Every Virtual Assistant offers slightly different services, but common VA tasks usually include:
● Administrative support – managing emails, scheduling meetings, organising files.
● Customer service – handling enquiries, responding to messages, following up leads.
● Social media management – creating content, scheduling posts, engaging with followers.
● Bookkeeping support – invoicing, expenses, and financial admin.
I provide all these services, as well as graphic design, Inbox Detox, accountability and planning, and Etsy shop builds.
What are the benefits of hiring a Virtual Assistant?
The advantages of hiring a Virtual Assistant usually far outweigh the cost. The key benefits of having a business VA include:
Cost savings – you only pay for the hours you need, and you get all the efficiency savings (without the overheads) of a payroll employee.
Cash flow - invoices go out faster (on time!) and are chased consistently. You’ll finally be on top of your bookkeeping!
Flexibility - scale the hours up or down depending on workload - highly efficient with zero waste.
Productivity - you can get so much more core work done, and focus on business growth, when someone else is taking care of the admin. Switch your attention to long-term goals, innovation, learning new skills, or developing new offerings.
Expertise - the best Virtual Assistants bring a wealth of skilled expertise, as well as improving your business processes. Tap into a broad knowledge base - covering everything from admin and finance to communications and digital marketing.
Prioritisation - this is something many business-owners struggle with, as we’re all spinning so many plates and wearing so many different hats on any given day. A talented Virtual Assistant can help you get to grips with prioritisation - helping ensure you’re always spending your time focused on the most important and valuable tasks.
Professionalism - when a Virtual Assistant manages your emails, social media and customer communication, it adds a layer of polish to all your interactions. This enhances perception of your business and boosts your know-like-trust factor.
Accountability - one of the toughest things about running your own business and being your own boss is that you’re not really accountable to anyone. You might have obligations to customers and suppliers, but who’s helping you to stay motivated and keep your eye on the prize? I’m a rare Virtual Assistant who offers an Accountability service in the form of my Business Buddy package - to keep you on your toes and make sure you’re getting sh1t done!
What can a Virtual Assistant do for me?
Been wondering ‘do I need a virtual assistant’? Well, here’s how a Virtual Assistant can help you and your business:
● Give you back time - by taking painful admin and routine financial tasks off your plate, you finally have time for the strategic work. A brilliant Virtual Assistant is really invaluable if you’re ready to grow your business.
● Manage your inbox - emails can be the biggest distraction of your day, so let me help.
● Manage your diary - hand your calendar over to an organised and efficient superstar, and not only do you reduce mental clutter, you make sure you never miss anything important.
● Improve processes - a talented Virtual Assistant will be able to spot opportunities to improve efficiency, and recommend ways to streamline and integrate workflows. They’re also up to speed with the latest apps and tech tools. All this will help your business to run more smoothly even when s/he isn’t around.
● Liaise with customers - clients are your bread and butter. A good Virtual Assistant will help you keep on top of quotes, leads, and bookings, so you can rest easy that nothing’s getting missed and there’s a healthy pipeline of work coming in.
Digital marketing - from designing graphics to posting and engaging across social media on your behalf, Virtual Assistants offering digital marketing services help to actively grow your business while taking another stressful task off your to-do list.
Should I get a Virtual Assistant?
Could it be time to hire a VA? If you’ve been wondering if you need a Virtual Assistant, you’re probably feeling constantly stretched and frazzled, spinning all the plates but never quite getting on top of things. You might be missing opportunities because of admin overload, at risk of missing HMRC deadlines, or you just feel you need more balance in your life. If any of this rings true for you, hiring a Virtual Assistant could be the perfect solution.
Likewise, if you have a specific project but lack the skills and expertise in-house, hiring the right Virtual Assistant can be a really valuable way to level up when you need to.
Whether you need a few hours a week or ongoing daily support, I can transform the way you run your business - helping you achieve more and stress less. Get in touch.
How do I know what to give to a virtual assistant? Which tasks should I delegate to a VA?
People ask me this all the time, so I have a top tip! Monitor the tasks you complete over the course of a week. Then put them into 3 columns with the following headings: Can’t, Shouldn’t and Won’t - or Do, Dump and Delegate.
This will quickly and easily help you to clearly identify tasks that you can pass onto a Virtual Assistant, and jobs that you don’t actually need to be doing at all!
You can then send this list to your VA - freeing you up to focus on what you’re best at!
If you’d like more help with working out which tasks to hand over, I’d be happy to help so do get in touch.
Do I need an ongoing VA or just a one-off to get on top of things?
Ongoing Virtual Assistant support means greater efficiency, smoother operations, consistent service and improved client communication. Although there’s a monthly cost, your long-term return-on-investment is far greater, and you benefit from cumulative, compound improvements. The better I get to know your business, the more opportunities I’ll spot and the more improvements I can make for you. This all saves you more money through efficiencies, in the long run.
A one-off Virtual Assistant can be valuable if you need to get on top of a backlog of paperwork, launch a product or service, or set up a new system. The risk is always that you might fall behind again without ongoing support. But that’s the beauty of a Virtual Assistant - you just book as much or as little time as you need. And if you need to scale it up, you can do! Zero risk or overheads for you to worry about. Get in touch and we can discuss what you need.
How much does a VA charge per hour in the UK?
Like anything, Virtual Assistant prices vary. And some charge by the hour and others work on a daily rate.
My standard rate is £35 per hour, whether you need 1 hour a month…or 100! I also offer a range of packages to make life easier if you only need specific things - from an Inbox Detox to Canva help, Social Media management, bookkeeping, or even graphic design. Get in touch if you’d like a tailored quote.