What Exactly Does A Virtual Assistant Do?

Ever wondered what a Virtual Assistant (VA) is, or thought of becoming one but aren’t exactly sure what it is they do? Well, I’m here to tell you what exactly a virtual assistant is, what they do and where they do it.

Who Are They?

A virtual assistant is someone who provides various different services to entrepreneurs or businesses from a remote location – in other words they work from their own space, be it home or an office. Sometimes your virtual assistant may perhaps be in the same town as you which is handy for meetings and minute taking and at other times, they may not even be on the same continent as you! It all depends on your needs and their skills.

Using a virtual assistant can save you hours of time doing mundane tasks that you don’t need to be doing, so that you can invest that time into growing your business and pushing it forwards. However, knowing which tasks to delegate can be tricky, whether you're starting or growing a business. Simply having an initial discussion with a prospective virtual assistant can highlight areas where you can delegate tasks. But what is it they can actually do for your business?

What Can They Do?

What can virtual assistants do? Well, technically the answer is anything and everything that you require. Generally, businesses and entrepreneurs seek out a virtual assistant for tasks such as (but not limited to) the following;

Social media management
Event management
Managing calendars, appointments and emails
Preparing reports
Personal tasks like booking hotels and restaurants
Simple digital marketing tasks

…to name but a few. The list is endless, and they can do virtually everything! Not every virtual assistant will be able to do every single thing, but the trick is to find someone with the skill set you require.

Most virtual assistants will have a particular niche, an area in which they specialise and have a high level of skill in. Often, if there is a skill, they are unable to offer, they will also be able to recommend a colleague within their network who can provide that service for you e.g. finance and accounts or legal document creation.

A great assistant is like a magician - able to stay one step ahead of your needs at all times. A virtual assistant becomes like your right-hand man and is there to support you and becomes just as invested in your business as you are.

Not only are they there to support your business and perform the tasks you delegate but they are there to help support you in whatever way they can. What does a virtual assistant actually do? They work. They help. They support.