Are you a Small Business Owner asking yourself the question “What should I delegate to my Virtual Assistant?”

Firstly, congratulations on recognising that you need help.  You are obviously committed to growing your business!

However, once you have taken the first step and made the decision to hire a VA, deciding what to delegate at first can be a challenge.

Perhaps you have been running your business on your own for so long that you just do everything automatically without stopping to actually consider the many tasks that you juggle.

You might be uncertain about how to go about delegating.  Or, even if you are confident in this domain, perhaps you are reluctant to give up control, especially if you a prone to perfectionism. I can relate to that one!

I’d first like to reassure you that this is normal. Your business is your baby, your passion, which you have invested a great deal of time and effort into. It can be a big step to bring in someone else and to trust that person.

However, at this stage, I would suggest you stop and consider your vision and your goals for your business. Are you on track with these? Or, are you struggling to meet your targets due to the time spent on non-value adding administration?

There are only so many hours in a day and if you are working around the clock, this will start to wear you down and stifle your creativity, no matter how passionate you are about your business.

You have made the right decision to delegate and I am convinced you will not regret it.

Here are my tips on how to start delegating work to your VA

Step 1

Start by keeping a diary for a few days and writing down everything you do throughout the day and how long you spend on each task.  Now be honest, including how long you spend on Social Media!

This should help you identify which tasks are taking up so much of your time.  You might even be surprised by the results.

Step 2

Next split all these tasks into 3 categories:

• Those you don’t know how to do well and as a result take up a lot of your time
• Any task that you don’t enjoy doing
• All the tasks you have to do yourself (these should also be the task you really enjoy doing)

You can then add a 4th group. Make a list of all the tasks on your to-do list which you never seem to be able to get around to doing (even if they are tasks you enjoy).

Step 3

Begin by delegating one or more of the noncore items on these lists. Focus on those tasks which have been taking up the most of your time.

You can start slowly and outsource work to your new VA on an ad hoc/hourly basis at first ie without further commitment. This will allow you to experiment with delegating.

You will get a feel for how it is to have someone to help. It also gives you the opportunity to try out a particular VA to see if they are a good fit to work with you and your business.

Once you have identified a number of tasks that you would like help with on a regular basis, for example managing your inbox or diary, arranging your business trips, it might be time to consider a retainer package of 10 or 20 hours per month so that you have ongoing regular support.

If however, you are still unsure what to delegate in the beginning then don’t let this stop you.

Trust your VA – they have your best interests at heart

Find a VA who you connect well with, who has the skills that you need. Arrange an initial discussion and a good calibre VA will work with you to get to know your business, will be proactive and identify where they can help.

In fact, they will probably identify tasks that they can assist with before you have even thought of them!

It can feel like a lot of effort to explain a variety of small tasks to someone new. You might feel that it would be quicker to continue doing them yourself. However, do not underestimate how much of your time and energy is taken up each week on these routine tasks, not to mention the time lost switching between tasks.

Check out my blog post on multitasking for more on that topic.

Lastly, if you are still unsure about bringing in someone else to help you in your business, do bear in mind that we are also small business owners. The success of our business depends on our clients being Happy Clients! We are also passionate about our businesses and have a mutual interest in seeing you and your business succeed.

Was this blog helpful? I’d love to read your comments in the box below. 

Would you like to know more about working with a Virtual Assistant?

Don’t hesitate to arrange a Discovery Call with me if you would like to find out more about the services Paperweight PA has to offer or just to chat about working with a Virtual Assistant in general.