Solving the Time Crunch for Entrepreneurs

May 5, 2009

All businesses, no matter the size, require various departments to function; Sales and Marketing,Reception, Human Resources, Accounting, Administration, Technology, Facilities, and Customer Service; these are vital aspects to any business and require someone to do this type of work.

Entrepreneurs often find themselves wearing the title “department head’ for many, if not all of these

areas of support. Entrepreneurs and small business owners are in business doing work they have a

passion and the skills for – the support work they require, is rarely something they can do quickly and

expertly. Otherwise, they would be in a different line of business.

The reality is that these vital support functions can take up so much time which could be better used

working on the core functions of the business – especially those areas=2 0that directly generate revenue.

More and more entrepreneurs are turning to a virtual assistant (VA) to get the support work completed

and in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Look at the weekly to-do list of a busy entrepreneur. In many cases these items get carried over week to

week because they are not a priority, yet they have an effect ion the bottom line. Imagine a solution

where all these tasks could be finished each week on a regular basis. That is what a Virtual Assistant will

bring to a business; the ability to get those tasks done, and in much less time than it would take someone

not as experienced to do.

Virtual Assistance is a new and growing industry and a main line of support to many entrepreneurs and

business owners. VAs are small business owners who work from their own office, doing specialized work

for various clients. Whether needed for 2, 5 or 10 hours of work each week; that can be arranged with a

VA. It’s hard to find a part-time employee to work for only a few hours a week, but that is exactly how a

Virtual Assistant carries on in business.

Many Virtual Assistants specialize in specific are as; real estate, legal, bookkeeping and social media are

but a few. Some VAs are generalists and do a variety of administrative tasks as required by the client.

Depending upon the scope of their needs, entrepreneurs may even have more than one VA on contract;

each one responsible for a different area. This is how small businesses are filling the ‘department head’

roles and getting the necessary work finished. The stress of the support tasks is gone, the work is done

and the entrepreneur has found more time in the day to concentrate on his/her speciality.

Virtual Assistants partner with clients to help them reach their business goals. A good VA will always be

on the lookout for solutions to improve efficiencies and help clients grow and prosper. Anyone

considering hiring a VA should do their homework as they would with a prospective employee. There are

several organizations that offer information on hiring virtual assistants, as well as a place to post your VA

requirements – www.VAnetworking.com and www.CVAC.ca are two.

It may take some time and effort to find a Virtual Assistant who will be a good fit for your business and to

get the work-process set in place. Once in place, many entrepreneurs ask – Why didn’t I do this sooner?

Kathy at TimeOnTaskVa.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathy Colaiacovo is a Social Marketing Virtual Assistant who works for several clients from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island and from New England to Texas; all from her office in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. She uses her social marketing skills to help clients make connections all over the globe and bring more traffic to their websites. Visit

Time on Task VA Services and contact Kathy to receive a complimentary consultation.

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