"I just can't afford it." This may be one of the most common objections to hiring a virtual assistant. But some fail to take into account the value of their time. A virtual assistant can provide you more time and freedom to accomplish more at lower costs. You can be more productive, working on business strategy, creating stronger relationships with partners, or simply having the freedom you require for a healthy life.
Before quickly disregarding hiring a VA because it may be costly, instead think of hiring a VA as an investment that can help grow your business. We’ve put together three factors that you should consider when thinking about your ROI.
Return on investment is a simple equation that business planners use to decide whether something is profitable enough to spend company resources on it.
ROI is expressed as a formula: ROI = Return ÷ Cost
Of course, the higher the ROI is, the more worth the investment becomes.
Most business owners spend most of their precious day on non-profitable and time-consuming tasks. Below is a formula that measures the ROI of the time it takes to hire a virtual assistant.
ROI % = (amount of time a skilled VA would save you) ÷ (amount of time to train a VA)
For example, if you found nine hours per week of tasks for your VA and that assistant required only one hour per week of training and instruction, then time ROI would be 9 (9/1), or 900%. That’s a significant return on investment.
You can spend your time more productively if you free up certain hours. For example, if you value your time at $50 per hour and employing a VA will free up 6 hours of your time per week, then hiring a VA is unquestionably worthwhile. You're spending $300 per week on tasks that a virtual assistant might perform for $90 (at $15 per hour) a potential ROI of $210!
Another thing to consider is the time it takes to train and supervise an on-site assistant. Rather than paying an assistant to go through the learning curve and spending time out of your day to train them, organizations like eFlexerviceshave assistants ready to roll straight into your daily schedule.
You’ll pay for benefits, workspace, equipment, employment taxes, and other costs when you hire a regular employee. However, with VAs, they work as independent contractors; you'll only have to worry about their flat or hourly rate.
Here is an example of a financial ROI: Susie, a real estate agent who earns an average of $12,000 a month, employs a virtual assistant to cover eight hours of administrative responsibilities per week at $15 per hour. Susie then uses those extra eight hours to get more partners and work on closing more deals. She invests $120 every week and can close more sales by hiring a VA. That's a terrific bargain and a great reason to consider delegating time-consuming tasks to a VA to drum up more business.
Beyond the ROI of time and finances, hiring a virtual assistant also helps improve work and life balance. If you wear all of the hats, you're limiting your opportunities available as a business owner. There is also a risk of burnout severely affecting your personal and professional life. Hiring a skilled VA is an excellent strategy to expand, grow, and scale your business. Outsourcing these tedious tasks reduces the total cost of doing everything, which includes: time wasted, money squandered, poor quality, and your sanity.
Before hiring a VA, create a list of all your tasks, and see which tasks can be automated and delegated to a VA.
According to the 80/20 rule, you can do more with less by focusing on the 20% of tasks that provide 80% of your results. Concentrate on your revenue-generating craft and then delegate other essential tasks that don’t require your full attention to a VA. This way, you’ll maximize your ROI through efficiency with minimum effort. Remember, the majority of your results are driven by a small percentage of your efforts.
Next, hire someone who can get the job done. At eFlexervices, we match our partners with virtual assistants who have the necessary skill set, education, and experience to help them realize their return.
If you're ready to grow and increase your bottom line, let us help you in hiring a virtual assistant!
We encourage you to contact us with any questions or comments you may have.