The simple and short answer is- in any way you want! But that's not really all that helpful is it?
Before I get into the how, let me tell you a bit about me. I'm Victoria, a former elementary teacher, turned stay at home mom and virtual assistant. When I was still in the classroom one of the things I did the most outside of my teaching duties was helping my coworkers with various technology things. My ability to help others with tasks involving email issues and various other "techy" things, gave me the idea to see if I could make some side money doing similar tasks for other people. I found a wonderful course and community through Gina Horkey's Horkey Handbook and realized that I could do this! After completing the course, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and things got put on the backburner as teaching became even more difficult. My husband was offered a new job that would have us moving and I was pregnant due just before the start of the school year. I'm a little too type-A for starting the year on maternity leave, but throw in being in a new city and new district and I was not looking forward to it. Luckily for us, the change in job and location would mean I could stay home and really focus on virtual assistant (VA) work. So here I am, working away.
Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant or VA
The list of benefits is too great to put them all here, but I'll give you four of my favorites.
Most people who hire a VA would say one of the top reasons was that the VA was able to take some of the menial tasks off of their plates. Very few people get into a job just to schedule meetings and answer emails, so having those things done for them allows them to focus on the more important tasks. This is especially important for the small business owners I work with most often.
Often VAs have the experience of working with several different companies or individuals so they are typically quite adaptable. In addition, most VAs have areas that they focus on (email management, content creation, SEO, etc.) which makes them more valuable to you in those areas. Keep in mind, the more specialized a VA the more likely you are to see benefits in that area.
You don't have to have a physical space for them as they are remote workers and can work for you from wherever they are.
Because a VA is a contractor, you typically save money because you can hire them by project vs. a full time employee. Also, as a contractor you won't need to deal with taxes or benefits for a VA either.
Not a business owner?
Don't worry, there are plenty of virtual assistants who offer help to individuals as well, like myself. My first two customers were not tied to businesses. One was a teacher and mom who needed help getting organized before the next school year started and the other was a young grandma who let her email inbox get the best of her. Both of these projects were one time jobs for me, but I gave them some pointers moving forward to help them stay on top of the organization. Some VAs provide personal assistant type services for both business people and everyday people.
There are also tons of VAs out there who work specifically with educators. These VAs help create or digitize content for more 21st century learning. Many of these VAs are former (or current side-hustling) teachers, so they are skilled in creating student friendly content. While this is not one of the areas I personally set out to work in, I have seen how much need there is and I love getting to continue to work with people in the education world!
Interested in learning more?
If any of this sounds like something you could use help with, check out my services page and see what I can help you with. Don't forget to reach out and we can set up a time to chat!
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