Why startups swear by using a Virtual Assistant

Jul 15 – Written By Stephanie Sheargold

Not using a virtual assistant yet? Here’s why your start-up is calling out for you to make the switch.

You’ve got the ideas, you’ve got the energy, you’ve even got a small but perfectly formed team of talented individuals to get your start-up off the ground.

But do you have the time to make everything happen?

If your answer’s along the lines of ‘not really’, you’re not alone. Being crushed for time is standard fare for start-ups.

Time, more than anything, is the currency that fuels success for start-ups. Money’s important too, but we’ll get to that later.

Every hour gives you an opportunity to create new ideas, make new contacts and formalise agreements. And yet, if you treat time as an unlimited resource, pushing yourself and your team to work 14-hour days and sacrificing weekends and holidays to progress your dream, you’ll burnout. And if anything slows progress, it’s burnout.

You need to choose what to focus on. But with so many ideas and – as time moves on – so many obligations, how do you decide what to prioritise and what to avoid?

Here’s the number one reason your start-up NEEDS a virtual assistant

Apart from making the leap and creating your business, bringing a Virtual Assistant into your start-up could be one of your smartest moves. That’s because a virtual assistant will focus on the increasing number of tasks that you and your passionate, creative team cannot otherwise complete.

It’s not as if these things can be ignored. Posting on social media. Paying bills. Negotiating a new lease on your office space. These are all things it’s easy to ignore or forget. They’re also tasks you can outsource to a virtual assistant.

Not only will completing these tasks free up headspace and time, but you’ll find your business runs more smoothly and cost-effectively too. Your enquiries get dealt with, you get a better deal on your utilities and even your flights are booked at a better price (and without a blind panic at 11.27pm).

You’ll probably recognise the Eisenhower matrix. Use a virtual assistant and you can pretty much delegate all those ‘not important but urgent’ tasks such as posting social media posts, setting up consumer research or booking in meetings. How’s that for a feeling of relief?

The second reason to hire a virtual assistant – affordability

Along with a chronic lack of time, your start-up probably has one other shortage – cash. It’s probably one of the reasons you haven’t hired a dedicated admin specialist in your business.

But work with a virtual assistant and you can forget about affordability concerns. Instead of paying a salary, you pay an hourly rate and pay only for the time your virtual assistant uses. Because they’re freelance, they don’t mind that one day you’re hectic and the other day everything’s gone quiet – and crucially you won’t be paying for anyone to sit around waiting for the phone to ring.

The third reason to hire a virtual assistant – they’re professional, qualified & connected

It’s true, there are a range of programmes such as the Kickstart Scheme where you can hire someone to do your admin for peanuts. But these schemes don’t always deliver. That’s often because a keen-as-mustard youngster won’t have the experience and resilience they need to survive in the fast-paced world of a start-up. Even the most resourceful grad won’t be able to arrange your next big sales pitch without a significant degree of hand-holding. As incredible as these schemes are, it’s important to consider how an employee with zero experience can deliver the support you need as an ambitious and insanely busy start-up.

In contrast, work with a virtual assistant and you get years of hands-on experience. For instance, all Timpi VAs must have at least 5 years’ of experience before we even consider interviewing them. Many of them have City backgrounds so they’re able to deal with unbelievable levels of pressure calmly and competently.

It’s also worth remembering that a virtual assistant will be unbelievably well-connected to other professionals you may need to call on. Need a specialist legal professional? Hunting down a graphic designer? Your virtual assistant will have the network you need to support your start-up’s progress.

Timpi – the perfect partner for your start-up

With a team of experienced and professional virtual assistants who have a range of backgrounds, Timpi provide many start-ups a range of business support services to free up time cost-effectively and professionally. Want to find out more? Download our brochure from the pricing page to see how you can give your start-up the support it really needs.