As we’ve noted frequently, St. Augustine business owners and managers are some of the busiest people we know.
Unfortunately, busy sometimes doesn’t translate to efficient. While juggling various tasks might seem the typical life of an entrepreneur, it can be tiring, frustrating and downright alarming when one or more tasks slip through your hands.
That’s why delegating tasks to a virtual assistant can be one of the smartest things a business owner or manager can do.
Recently, we shared the advantages of outsourcing.
As a follow-up, we’d like to share 10 tasks you can use a virtual assistant for to simplify your business life.
Keeping Up with the Bookkeeping
As one of the most important tasks for any business, bookkeeping is also one of the most avoided. It can be complicated, frustrating and interruptive. It’s also one of the best tasks to outsource. Let someone else take on your invoicing or unpaid bills while you run your business (or take a much-needed break on a Sunday afternoon).
Conduct Online Research
While the internet offers a wealth of information at your fingertips, it can also become a huge time waste. It’s amazing how the hours can slip by when you’re just wanting to look up some information. Virtual assistants can do the online legwork for you.
Research Prospects: Task them for looking up prospect contact information.
Research Business Opportunities: Have them conduct market research for a business idea or product.
Vet Potential Employees: Let them do an online search on employee candidates.
Keep Abreast of Industry Trends: Ask an assistant to keep up with industry news, trends and other topics that will benefit your business.
Update Databases
Your database of client information can be one of your most valuable assets. Entering data into it can be one of the most time-consuming parts of any business. What a great candidate for a virtual assistant. Take that stack of business cards from your latest tradeshow and hand them over to an assistant and have them enter the contact information.
Create Presentations
If PowerPoint presentations are a part of your business, outsource it. A virtual assistant can update current presentations or help you create new ones. Let them do the work of creating slides, charts and find the right graphics that will impress your clients.
Manage Your Emails
If you’re like us, your email inbox gets filled pretty quickly. Sometimes it’s a chore combing through your emails, prioritizing responses, even removing unwanted promotions. A virtual assistant can manage your emails with your guidance. Plus, they could respond on your behalf.
Adding the Personal Touch
Social chores are another important component to your business. Sending out thank you notes and holiday cards can add a personal touch worth its weight in gold. Let a virtual assistant take on these keeping-in-touch tasks.
Research Travel Options
Looking up hotels, flights, rentals and mapping out an itinerary can be time-consuming. Save time and let a virtual assistant be your personal travel agent.
Schedule Your Appointments
Large companies have administrative assistants to help manage executive calendars. A virtual assistant can handle this task easily. They can set up appointments, meetings and send out reminders for you.
These are just a sampling of tasks you can delegate to virtual assistants. We’d be happy to help you brainstorm ideas on what you can outsource. If you ever have any questions about outsourcing, we’re your experts. Give us call at (904) 429-4588.