Virtual assistants can be incredibly helpful to small businesses. Oftentimes little things get
neglected, like thank you cards for incredible suppliers or new clients. Besides those little things though, there are quite a lot of other tasks that virtual assistants can take on to free up your schedule. Here are a few:
Bookkeeping: One of the basic tasks that virtual assistants can take off your hands is bookkeeping. They can keep track of bills, invoices, receipts, and lots of other things so that you never have to fall behind on payments.
Online Research: Though you may not be ready to hire a dedicated marketing or business analyst, you may find great value in having a virtual assistant doing some business research for you. They can look for information on competitors, look at new products in the industry, and even do background checks on applicants or other individuals coming into contact with your business.
Database Entry: Data entry is incredibly dull, but essential. Don’t let the mundane task of updating client information fill up your time. Simply let your virtual assistant know exactly what you need, and hurry off to your more pressing business meeting.
PowerPoint Presentations: Need a PowerPoint presentation for an important meeting? Have a virtual assistant transform your data into a beautiful, professional presentation.
Email Management: At times, email can be an incredible waste of time. A virtual assistant can filter your inbox, marking the ones that need immediate attention, the ones that can be dealt with later, and even deal with basic replies by themselves. Of course, this requires some trust and training, so spend some time with your virtual assistant before you have them take care of your email.
Social Tasks: Those little extra things do make a difference in professional relationships. Send out little thank you notes or gift baskets for major suppliers or clients with the help of a virtual assistant.
Travel Research: Got a business trip coming up? You don’t have to deal with managing your trip yourself. With a virtual assistant, you can simply have someone book your flight, your hotel, and even send you itineraries for your journey.
Meeting Management: Another big time waster is meeting management. A virtual assistant can schedule and manage your calendar for you, ensuring you don’t schedule anything on top of another obligation.
Industry Research: As a business owner, it’s important for you to stay on top of industry news and trends. However, it can be time consuming to look for and curate all the information yourself. You can hire a virtual assistant to keep track of those major industry changes for you, ensuring you never have to smile cluelessly when a client or another person brings it up.