So many small business owners – especially those who work from home – are very pressed for time.

After all, as an independent professional, you must wear the hats of: accountant, salesperson, customer service representative, marketing manager, distribution manager, tax professional, and countless others. While you may need help desperately, you probably think you can’t afford to hire someone. The truth be known, you can actually SAVE money by using an assistant.

Think of it this way. How do you make your money? Providing a product? Offering a service? Soliciting memberships? Regardless, you have to DO something (promote the product, perform the service, solicit the membership) to get that money. When you must be all things to all people, it takes valuable time away from the one thing that brings in cash for you. Hiring an assistant can free you up to make more money.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you spend 10 hours a week on actual moneymaking ventures. Your average income in one week is $1,000. You spend the other 30 hours per week answering emails, doing bookkeeping, providing customer service support, and so on. If you could delegate many of the duties that don’t absolutely require your attention to an assistant, you could devote possibly 20 more hours to making money. That would give you 30 hours a week to make money and only 10 hours per week to do other things.

Don’t think you can afford an assistant? Oh, sure you can! Virtual Assistants perform a wide range of duties at very reasonable rates. They work via phone, email, fax, and postal mail rather than being a full-time employee of your business. This way, you only pay for the services you need.

Let’s say you DO hire a Virtual Assistant. He/she works 20 hours week for a rate of $35 per hour. That equals $700. On the other hand, YOU spend those 20 hours a week making more money. That would give you an additional $2,000 per week (using the same example above). You would actually make MORE money ($1,300 more) hiring a Virtual Assistant than you would doing it all yourself.

Where do you find good Virtual Assistants? You can search the Web, ask your business associates for recommendations, or check out some of the Virtual Assistant (VA) directories online such as http://www.assistu.com. I highly recommend http://www.kesslerva.com.

Whoever you choose, make sure they have experience performing the duties you want to delegate. Also, be sure they allow hourly work without contracts (at least in the beginning) so that you can get a feel for how he/she does business.

Virtual Assistants can free you up to do what you do best, make money. This is a very affordable alternative to running yourself ragged, and trying to do everything yourself. After all, isn’t one of the perks of being a business owner supposed to be more freedom?!

Diane Hughes

http://ProBizTips.com

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