Starting and running your own business is one of the most rewarding things you can do with your life. But let's face it—it can be pretty tough, too. A huge part of overcoming these difficulties is being able to manage your time well.

Once you solve this problem, you can unleash your productivity and provide maximum value to your clients and customers to keep them coming back again and again.

But what if you don't have the time or support resources you need to make this happen?

As a small business owner, it's crucial to find ways to delegate or outsource tasks that hinder your progress. A virtual assistant (VA) is a fantastic solution that can save you both time and money. By surrounding yourself with the right people, you can shift your focus towards revenue, without the usual stress.

The difference between growth and scale

Many people use 'growth' and 'scale' interchangeably. While they both describe adding revenue to your business, there are subtle differences that set them apart.

• Growth: Growth refers to adding additional revenue to your business alongside new resources and expenses, such as staff.
• Scale: Scale refers to adding revenue to your business without adding too many resources. In effect, it's about doing more with less.

Businesses can scale in several ways. For example, they might optimize their workflows or adopt new technological tools. Alternatively, they can add new resources in the form of freelance virtual assistants who can provide a mix of specialism and cost-effectiveness.

By becoming more efficient, you can take on new business while increasing your profit margins. That's why scaling is so attractive.

Why hiring virtual assistants is perfect in 2024

In 2023, a lot of sectors faced layoffs and hiring freezes, making the job market pretty tough to navigate. Finding top-notch talent is still a bit of a challenge.

That's where a freelance virtual assistant comes in handy during these uncertain economic times. They let businesses bring in quality talent without dealing with the lengthy (and pricey) hiring processes.

Plus, given the economic uncertainties, bringing on permanent in-house employees might feel like a risky move. Instead, you can bring in assistants when you need them. It's a smart and practical way to boost your team without breaking the bank.

See: Virtual Assistant Vs. Employee: Which Is Best For Your Small Business?

A virtual PA fits the fractional working trend

Fractional employment has increased considerably over the last decade, from "gig" workers all the way to C-suite execs.

While a virtual PA can be contracted for full working weeks, fractional roles are typically part-time or temporary.

These arrangements work particularly well for startups and small businesses because it lets them tap into expert skills without the usual high costs. This is a game-changer, giving companies a level of agility and responsiveness within the market, which might be tough otherwise.

The advantages of virtual assistants for small business owners who want to scale operations

If you want to scale your operations, you need to delegate tasks.

Delegation lets you focus on your core duties

Being an entrepreneur or a small business owner means juggling a lot of different responsibilities. While it's great to stay in control, there are limits to how much one person can handle. Doing too much and spreading yourself too thin can end up taking you further away from success, rather than closer to it.

That's where virtual assistants come in.

By outsourcing repetitive tasks, you free up your time to focus on what really matters for your business. Nobody has endless energy, and the most successful entrepreneurs know where to concentrate their efforts. If your strengths lie in strategy, people management, or creativity, that's where you should be adding value. Leave the rest to a virtual assistant.

Close the skills gap

Teaming up with virtual assistant services opens the door to a bunch of expertise. A good agency brings in freelancers from different backgrounds, so you've got a pool of top talent to choose from for various tasks.

This is a big deal because every business faces skill gaps now and then. Modern businesses are pretty complex, and it can be hard for a small team—and impossible for you—to cover every angle.

valuable insights, experience, and knowledge from their previous roles (a minimum of five years of prior experience in a relevant professional setting for all assistants at Time etc). Their training and exposure to various challenges mean they can fit right into your business without missing a beat.

Cost-savings

One of the most attractive things about a virtual assistant for small business owners is also a core concept of scale—reducing overheads while still ramping up productivity.

Here are a few of the ways that a virtual assistant can save you money:

Hiring

As any founder knows, hiring the right people costs time and money. You need to post ads, filter through replies, shortlist candidates, do interviews, and perform background checks. And even after all that, you are not guaranteed that you'll get the right person. The whole process can put the handbrake on your plans to scale.

Outsourcing to an employment agency can save you time, but it's a considerable expense. Again, there's no guarantee that you get the right person.

Staff overheads

With full-time employees comes salaries, tax, vacation time, and other benefits. The total package can be quite considerable, especially for top-notch talent.

Hiring VAs means that you can employ someone for when you need them. You pay only for the tasks and hours they work, keeping things efficient and perfect for scaling your business.

Operating costs

If you hire someone in-house, costs can mount up before they've even stepped through the front door on their first day.

You need to make sure you set them up with everything they need, which usually includes equipment, supplies, and, of course, suitable space for them to work. But when office space is the second-largest overall expense and the single-largest fixed cost your business will accrue over time, this can have a big impact on your ability to scale.

Hiring virtual assistants allows you to bypass these hefty upfront and recurring costs, as they have their own workspace and equipment.

When you tally everything up, hiring a virtual assistant can save businesses up to 90% compared to hiring a full-time, in-house employee. You can redirect those freed-up financial resources toward strategic initiatives that drive growth and innovation.

What tasks can you outsource to a virtual assistant?

The key thing about outsourcing tasks to a VA is that you get tasks done quickly, which allows you to work on delivering value for your clients while driving revenue.

Here are a few day-to-day tasks you can get your VA to perform while you scale.

• General admin: Data entry, managing emails, scheduling appointments, checking voicemails, making travel arrangements, and all the little tasks that keep you away from your core business activities.
• Marketing: Social media and content marketing jobs like scheduling posts, replying to direct messages, writing content, email marketing, and outbound copy.
• Sales admin: Updating your CRM, researching prospects, creating invoices, chasing payments, and more.
• Research: Finding quality information for topics, services, articles, market trends, and anything else you need to drive revenue.

In short, there are a lot of routine tasks you can outsource to a virtual assistant that will help free up your time so you can drive value within your business.

See: 50 Tasks You Can Outsource To A Virtual Assistant To Save Time In Your Business

What's the bottom line?

As we enter the business world of 2024, the combination of human expertise and technological efficiency becomes the driving force behind a scalable future.

Virtual assistants offer valuable insights and practical solutions that help businesses navigate challenges and seize opportunities. With their support, you can turn overwhelming tasks into manageable milestones and build momentum towards remarkable business growth.

These highly flexible arrangements can scale up and down with your business, meaning you only pay for what you need. In short, boosting your revenues doesn’t need to be stressful when you hire the right virtual assistant to lighten the load.

Time etc is dedicated to helping hardworking and ambitious entrepreneurs take their businesses further by matching them with the best virtual assistants for their needs.

Speak to our expert team to get started or try a skilled virtual assistant for free today!