For reasons unbeknownst to us, the world of virtual assistants is one that some people find quite mysterious. Who are we? What do we do? How do we do it? At Virtual Assistant Whiz, we are all about transparency, so we’re going to debunk the top 10 myths that we hear on a regular basis.
- VAs can’t carry out as much work as PAs
A virtual assistant is just that – someone who can carry out all the tasks that a personal assistant does, but virtually. We take on almost any task that you don’t have the time to manage yourself, from booking meetings and travel, responding to emails, organising events and handling your social media accounts.
- VAs only work with big companies
While this may have been true in the past, the VA world has come on leaps and bounds in the past few years and you can now find the right VA for pretty much any task, no matter the size of your company.
- You don’t need any training to be a VA
Despite some in the industry claiming you can set up as a VA with no experience and have hundreds of clients within a few weeks, this is simply not true. Good VAs will need to have a background in admin and office management, with excellent organisational and time keeping skills, as well as the ability to pick up new tasks quickly and seamlessly.
- VAs only provide a temporary solution
While you may initially hire a VA as a short term solution to help out with your additional admin tasks, we find that many of our clients enjoy the process so much that they continue using our services instead of hiring a full-time assistant.
- VAs don’t have specific industry knowledge
This may be true for some, but many VAs have backgrounds in particular areas, such as real estate, finance or ecommerce. If you’re looking for someone with more specialised experience, we can almost guarantee that we’ll find the right person for your needs.
- Remote based assistants can’t communicate effectively
The whole point of a VA is that they work remotely, however many businesses struggle to understand how someone based outside of their office will be able to get to grips with understanding their business and providing the support they need. The reality is that technology has given us a huge range of options when it comes to communication, making it easier than ever to get the job done to a high standard, without the need for being office based.
- VAs only carry out admin tasks
VAs are brilliant at admin work. This is the main task that they will carry out for any business, however it’s often not the only thing they can look after for you. Any good VA will also be able to help you with content creation, social media marketing, lead generation and a number of other growth-related tasks, making them even more vital to any aspirational business.
- It will take a long time to get your VA up to scratch
Not necessarily. All of the VAs that work with Virtual Assistant Whiz are given expert training and the tools they need to get to the root of any new business quickly.
- Using a VA can provide a security risk
The VA world is centred around confidentiality; any work a VA carries out for their client is handled with the utmost sensitivity. You can also put Non Disclosure Agreements in place with any contractor or freelancer if you work with particularly confidential information.
- VAs can fix all your problems
Although we’d love to say this is true, the reality is we’re not miracle workers. When hiring a VA, it’s worth discussing from the start what tasks you need them to complete and other areas they may be able to help with to ensure you’re both on the same page and can keep everything realistic.
Do you have any questions about how using a VA could help your business? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us at info@virtualassistantwhiz.co.uk and we can get the ball rolling.
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