I have the same conversation a lot..
Someone fills in my contact form, we book in a discovery call, and they tell me they need a bit of help with their admin. Fifteen minutes later they're saying "oh, you can do that too? I didn't know that."
That's usually the point where the myths about hiring a virtual assistant start to come apart. People aren't stupid, they just arrive with preconceived ideas about what a VA is for. They see "virtual assistant" as a job title, when really it's a description of how the work gets done.
The truth is a VA can do a lot more than just your admin. You also don't need to be a big business, and you certainly don't need a pile of spare cash sitting about to justify hiring a virtual assistant.
So with that in mind, here are the eight myths I've heard the most in six years of running BizzyBee, and what actually is the truth.
"A virtual assistant only does admin"
It's easy to underestimate how much a virtual assistant can take off your plate, and how much lighter everything feels once they have.
You reach the point where the inbox is bursting and the to-do list is spiralling, and you finally decide it's time to get a bit of extra help. But if you think delegating just means handing over a few boring jobs, you're missing out on the bigger picture.
"I thought I'd palm off a few admin type tasks." - Nikki Pilkington
That's what SEO consultant Nikki Pilkington expected when we started working together, but what happened instead is that she saw I had skills she could use and a friendly manner to be let loose on her customers. So I started interviewing people who'd bought and finished her SEO course, using Riverside, and the aim was to get them talking naturally rather than reciting a testimonial at a camera. Then I edited those interviews into something she could actually use for her marketing.
She's since launched a podcast, and my job now is producing the marketing clips for every weekly episode. Alongside that there's been design clean-up, an ebook, and a long list of bitty jobs that needed doing and weren't going to do themselves.
Now none of that is admin.
Admin is the obvious bit, because it's what most VAs have traditionally offered, so naturally it's what gets asked about on a discovery call. But if I can do a job that you can't, I'll do it, and you'll find plenty of other VAs work the same way. My own skillset covers tech support, content creation and management, email management, digital marketing, accountability, and yes, admin too.
Accountability, by the way, is a polite way of saying someone checks whether the thing you promised to do has actually got finished.
I agree with each client what they need help with, and then I work in whatever area, or areas, they need it.
If you want the full picture of what I can work on, it's all on my services page.
"Only big companies need a virtual assistant"
Large businesses do use VAs, often several of them. That doesn't mean sole traders and small businesses aren't allowed to have one.
Most of my clients are one person, two at a push. Some of them already outsource different tasks to different people, which is a clever way to do it. They're creative freelancers, marketing businesses, service businesses and coaches, and they've all reached the point where the work is eating into their evenings.
They don't want to hire a team or employ someone. So they work with a virtual assistant instead, and scale the hours up or down as things change.
If you're not sure whether you're at that point yet, you can read eight fairly clear signs you're ready to outsource here.
"It'll be too expensive for a business my size"
This is the one people worry about most, and it's a fair worry when you're keeping a close eye on every penny.
Working with a VA does cost money, but usually a lot less than people picture, because you're only paying for the hours you use. There's no monthly salary, no employer's National Insurance, no pension contributions, no holiday or sick pay, and none of the time and money that goes into recruiting. You're not buying a desk, a laptop or software subscriptions either, because those come with the VA you hire.
So yes, it's a cost, but a much lighter one than taking somebody on.
As an example, My prices are published here."Hiring a VA means handing over the work I love"
You choose what goes. That's the entire point.
Nobody is going to make you delegate the part of the business you started it for.
Most people hand over the jobs that sit on the list for three weeks getting moved from Monday to Monday.
The photography stays yours. The coaching stays yours. The scheduling, the invoice chasing and the blog you wrote in March and never got round to publishing can be somebody else's task.
"A VA has to be full-time to be worth it"
A few hours a month is a perfectly normal place to start, and it'll usually clear most of the backlog you're carrying.
I advise all new clients to start with five hours for the first month. That's my minimum, and it's enough for them to see what I can do and where my skills are before they commit to anything bigger. Most of them do add hours after that, once they start spotting other things they'd like to hand over.
It's worth knowing that five is low for this industry. A lot of UK VAs start their retainers at ten hours a month, and agencies often want more than that again. There's nothing wrong with either, it's just a different way of working. I'd rather you started small and grew into it than signed up for ten hours and spent the first month hunting for things to give me.
Small businesses rarely need someone sitting there all day. They need specific things done properly and on time. And if you're busier at the end of the month and quiet at the start, the hours move around within that month to fit your schedule.
An employee can't work like that. You wouldn't be able to ask someone on a contract to do eleven hours one week and two the next.
"A VA is a security risk"
You should be careful about who gets access to your business. That's not me being paranoid, it's sensible. You're in control of how much anyone sees, and you don't have to sign the whole business over to get help with it.
As an example, I work in Squarespace and WordPress. Both let you invite someone in rather than hand over your password, and then choose exactly how much of the site that person can reach.
A small caveat at this point. Not every bit of software works that way. Some only allow extra users on a paid or higher plan, so adding your VA means paying for another seat, and it's up to you whether that's worth it. If you do end up sharing a login instead, make sure your VA keeps it in proper password management software or in another safe place, it stays secure and private rather than sitting in an email thread.
So as I was saying, in Squarespace you can add someone as a website editor, so they can get on with your content and design while your billing, your domains and ownership of the account stay firmly with you. Administrator is the level that allows access to everything, billing included, so that one's worth keeping just for you or someone you feel genuinely need it. WordPress works in much the same way: someone in the editor role can write, edit and publish anything on the site without going near your plugins, your users or your payment details.
You can also remove access in a couple of clicks whenever you want to. I advise my clients to start me on something small, then widen my access when I need it.
It is good to ask whether your VA is registered with the ICO too, and whether they've got a privacy policy and a complaints process. Since June this year the Data (Use and Access) Act has required businesses to handle data protection complaints properly, so anyone without one is behind on the basics.
Finally, you or your VA don’t legally need to have an NDA in place but if you want one then any VA worth working with will simply sign one if you ask, and won't be upset at being asked where your information is stored and who else can see it.
In case you were wondering, my policies and complaint procedure are in the footer of my website.
"I'd have to fit around the way they work"
Nope, that's the wrong way round too. Or at least it should be.
You're hiring a VA to make your life easier, not to learn yet another piece of software. A VA is an extension of you, and you need to be able to see what they're doing, so asking someone to work in the systems you already use isn't unreasonable in the slightest. The only exception is when they can show you something that would genuinely make it simpler, and even then it's your call.
I've got my own opinions and I'll share them with my clients if I think they’ll benefit. But I'm working inside their business, in their systems, with the software they’ve chosen.
"It's only a stopgap until I can hire someone properly"
You're right, it can be but it usually isn't.
The longer someone works with your business, the more they get to know about it and how you work, so you don’t have to explain how it works as much.
A virtual assistant who's been with you eighteen months knows which client needs chasing twice and which invoice always gets queried. That isn't something you want to rebuild from scratch every few months.
But what about some things a virtual assistant can't do
I do hope that's cleared up a few of the myths about working with a virtual assistant. But I thought I better mention a few things a VA definitely can’t do.
They can't make decisions you haven't made. If you don't know who you're selling to or what you're charging, then how is your virtual assistant supposed to? They can take a great deal off your plate, they can be a friendly ear, and they’ll give you an opinion if you want one. But the decisions should stay with you.
They can't rescue something the afternoon it's due. I don't have a time machine, and I'm fairly confident other VAs haven't got one either. Allow time for your VA to get familiar with what you want, and then time to actually do the job.
Setting up takes time. There's a period at the start of any new task where handing it over genuinely takes longer than doing it yourself, and there's no way round that bit. It usually only lasts a couple of weeks. Then it's gone, someone else is doing it, and you can stop thinking about it altogether.
Still not sure?
The quickest way to find out is to talk to the virtual assistant themselves.
For me, my clients found out by filling in my contact form and telling me what they were struggling with. Then we have a free 15-minute call, where we discuss it all in a little more detail, we can decide whether we are a good fit and whether we can work together.
So if you’re looking for a VA, first step is go fill in my contact form and we'll work it out from there.
FAQ
Can a virtual assistant deal with my clients directly?
Yes, with your permission. I'll only ever contact your clients if you've agreed to it.. It's often the single biggest time saver, because client queries are what break up your day. We'd usually agree what I can answer myself, what gets passed back to you, and what tone to use. Some clients want me visible and introduced by name. Others prefer me to stay in the background and that’s fine too
How many hours do I need to start with?
Fewer than you think, usually. A handful of hours a month is enough to take a recurring job off your plate properly, and it's much easier to add hours later than to commit to a big block and not use it. I'd rather start you small on one or two jobs and get those running smoothly than take on six things at once and do them all at half speed.
What's the difference between a VA and hiring an employee?
A VA is self-employed and runs their own business, so there's no salary, no employer's National Insurance, I won’t repeat myself as I mention this above.
The flip side is that a VA isn't your staff member. I work with other clients, I set my own hours, and I'm not sitting waiting for work to come in. For most small businesses that's the right trade. If you need someone available all day every day, an employee is probably the better fit.
What if my systems are a complete mess?
That's frequently why people call. You don't need to tidy up before you hand anything over, and nobody's judging the 4,000 unread emails, well maybe a little.
The mess is information. It tells me what's been neglected and what needs a system rather than a one-off tidy. If anything, waiting until everything's organised is the thing that stops people getting help at all.
What if I need something my VA doesn't do?
Say so.
Personally, I'd much rather tell you I am unable to the job than take it on badly. Most of the time I'll know someone who does the work you ask for, whether that's a bookkeeper, a designer or a developer, and I'll point you at them.
Building up that list of people is part of running this kind of business, and it costs you nothing to use it.
Does it matter where my VA is based?
Practically, less than you'd expect. The same time zone helps, and a UK-based VA will know how HMRC, GDPR and UK business admin actually work, which saves a surprising amount of explaining.
Beyond that, being in the next town over makes very little difference to the work. I'm in Cheshire and I work with people all over the country.
