Time is one of the most important and precious resources small business owners must learn to manage. And with just so many hours in the day, using virtual assistants is one way to help you regain some of those lost hours.
A new infographic by Ova Virtual, a virtual assistant service provider based in the Philippines, looks at the growth of this industry. Titled, “The Rise of Virtual Assistants,” the infographic provides insights into how this segment has grown, along with the benefits it offers small business owners and the remote workers providing the service.
First, most small business owners even contemplate an assistant — of any kind. It is a luxury they think they can’t afford, so they don’t factor in many of the benefits it provides. But today’s digital technology can make hiring a virtual assistant a reality, and an affordable reality at that.
On the Ova Virtual site, the company explains the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant and the services they can provide.
“However, there is a common misconception that virtual assistants are some kind of luxury only affordable by the big companies to outsource projects that require less management but are considered an overhead. The truth is, it is quite the contrary,” the Ova Virtual team goes on to say.
As to effectively managing time, the company adds, “Small companies and startup businesses resort to hiring virtual assistants as a solution to the limited time they have available.”
Takeaways from the Infographic
The growth of virtual assistants is being driven by the connectivity digital technology offers. This makes it possible for remote workers to perform tasks on behalf of their clients anytime and anywhere.
This has allowed virtual assistants to provide services such as administrative work, social media management, bookkeeping, human resources, data entry, transcription, scheduling, copywriting, email management, travel arrangements and much more.
And as more businesses use freelancers, they are also considering virtual assistants as part of their workforce.
Benefits of a Virtual Assistant
The biggest benefit of hiring a virtual assistant is the low operational cost. With a remote worker, a business owner will not have to provide the space, training, equipment and related costs of hiring someone on premises. Insurance, high salaries, taxes and regulations are just some of the challenges to be avoided.
Beyond the cost, business owners will see increased productivity because they won’t be tied down with menial tasks. Although these tasks are essential for the day to day operation of a company, an owner shouldn’t have to spend hours on them every week.
The time can best be used to work on the growth of the company, find new clients, improve customer service and more.
For the virtual assistant, the arrangement has benefits as well — including coonsiderable flexibility. They can work from anywhere at anytime by providing a range of services to a single or multiple clients.
The Cost
The benefits of hiring a virtual assistant are considerable, but how much is it going to cost?
In the case of Ova Virtual, the company has plans starting at only $200 per month. According to the company’s price and plan page, this is the Starter plan, which will give you 40 hours per month.
If you need more time, the Professional plan is next at $400 for 80 hours, followed by the Executive plan at $800 for 160 hours.
Would you pay $200 every month to get 40 hours back? For small business owners, the answer is probably a unanimous yes.
You can take a look at the infographic below to see why you might need a virtual assistant.
Image: Ova Virtual