How to work with a Virtual Assistant (VA) as a Christian Health Coach
/Working our businesses is our dream come true, and we gladly wear many hats as coaches building lasting businesses! However, there are times when the tasks get to be too much, or we get stuck in an area of business building (cough…tech!) and we just need to outsource some of the to-do’s for our own sanity.
But how do you know when it’s time to hire help?
Or what area and tasks to outsource?
How much is reasonable to pay for that help?
I’m answering all of these questions and everything you need to know about this in this article. Over my years in business, I’ve hired lots of help to offload some of the to-do’s - and I’ve learned important lessons along the way. I want to share those with you, and help you know why, when, and how it’s beneficial to hire a Virtual Assistant (or any assistance!) in your business.
What is a VA?
You may hear the acronym “VA” talked about all over in your online-business-building circles, and it just stands for “Virtual Assistant.” An assistant who helps you virtually (he or she can live anywhere, really, and this works) and who also helps you with virtual activities in your business.
Now, one problem I’ve found recently is that in this age of “highly specialized” skill sets, it’s more common now to find that VA’s are specialized in only one or two areas. One may only do social media marketing, for instance - the tasks involved in curating, creating and posting your social media content sharing. Another may be a website and blog specialist, where they focus on only providing services in website set up, design, maintenance and blog creation and posting.
This can be a good thing, but also a negative thing.
Good: they’re specialized so you can expect their skills and speed to be amazing in their area.
Negative: they’re only going to do those few tasks for you in that one area, which means you may have to hire multiple assistants/help to do others (or do them yourself.) It could end up being frustratingly limiting. On the other hand, I’ve worked beside business owners who make it work, and work well.
My best experience has been when I found a VA who is open to learning and utilizing multiple systems, and does multiple tasks to fully complete a project. When I’m seeking help, I’m clear about wanting to work with someone who is open to adapting to new systems and learning how to use new tools.
Many systems and software programs can be learned and adapted to quickly, but the VA may need some guidance in finding the proper training/tutorials to learn them. I always offer to provide tutorials, and this is another reason I choose to use Squarespace for my websites, and Aweber as my email provider. They offer amazing, robust libraries full of tutorials in their own knowledge bases. It’s as easy as directing your VA there. Youtube also has plenty of free training on any program you need! I’ll also offer instructions from me via phone or Zoom when necessary. Not only do I get help on my tasks from the VA, but this helps the VA learn new tools for their own business and other clients.
What a VA helps you do (whether you find one that is a jack-of-all-trades or you work with more specialized assistants)
Here are the tasks that are commonly handed off to a VA:
Data entry & tracking #'s into spreadsheets
Setting up speaking engagements, Zooms and your calendar
Downloading recordings for you and uploading to your course host or Youtube channel
Loading content to your website including blog posts, pages, pay buttons, email list forms, etc
Social media posts curation, creation and scheduling
Email newsletters to your list
Setting up freebie + nurture series on your email list
Blog or Social Media Graphic creation (using templates in Canva to make changes for your brand)
Creating your ebooks or handouts - using attractive content layout in Canva (using templates if this is not an area of expertise!)
Other administrative & regular weekly tasks
When is it the “right time” to hire a VA?
#1 The ideal time to hire help is after you’ve already dug into your business systems and become familiar with how to use them, at least at a basic level. After you’ve done the tasks yourself a few times, you’ll know the time frame a task should take, and the steps to how it is completed. (You’ll have your process down.) This helps you gauge VA cost and return on investment in a more fiscally responsible way.
Once you’re familiar with it, you can then film a screen share video of yourself doing it, so that you walk another person through your process (using Zoom or Screencast O'Matic to do so) without spending your valuable time getting on a live meeting or talking them through it each time. (One and done!)
#2 Another indicator that it’s time to hire is when you’ve started bringing in business income and can pay your help from your business expense fund. Try not to finance help, unless it’s part of a temporary push for a launch that directly generates ROI (return on your investment) somewhat quickly (within 90 days, ideally.) This way, you’ll justify the investment with a profit and even move your business into profit sooner.
#3 When your business foundation is in place, your funnel (Mission Map) is working well and bringing you consistent results (growth #’s, followers, clients, income) and you are in a “scaling mode” - NOW you can and should hire more consistent help to move into a new level in your business. When you’re ready to “scale your business,” hiring a VA might be more need than luxury!
How to find a great VA …
There are many places online where you can find and hire a VA, like Fiverr and Upwork, and that may work for getting help on a specific project or task.
Be careful not to enter any contracts that YOU don’t set up for you and your VA (I’m giving you mine as a free PDF download in this post - you can alter and change the details to use in your business.)
I’ve made a dire mistake in the past by getting into someone else's long term contract with no room for accountability on their part to ensure the work was quality, or even completed! It burned me by $1000's and I'd like to save you that sorrow!
Personally, I will now only hire someone on a month by month basis (or project by project) which is motivation for them to provide quality work in order to be assigned more. And leaves room for you to either continue to offer then work, OR, freely leave the working relationship without any legal grief or emotional impact.
I've seen some VA's even offer a free hour or two for you to "preview" their work. This is wonderful… it means they're secure enough in their performance to gain you as a client from it, and are confident you'll want more and hire them once those are completed.
I've had the best experience over the years when I hire VA's who come highly recommended by someone I know or respect. So, once you're ready to outsource some of your tasks, start letting your professional circles know that you are looking for help. Ask for direct recommendations, and who they would suggest.
Network in any online business groups you're in on Facebook, and let your LinkedIn followers know that you're looking. Be clear about the top few areas you're looking for help in, so that your colleagues are aware of the exact help you need.
You could even streamline this process further, and set up a page on your website listing the position, hours needed, pay rate, tasks, and skill sets you're specifically looking for. Attach a form (this is free to do on most sites or just use survey monkey or something similar) where interested people (VA's) can "apply." This way, you can follow up on the applications and hold short, effective Zoom interviews with the interested parties.
What to look for in a VA
After years of working with VA's, I'm convinced that finding a person with incredible character is far more important than a highly skilled person!
They should possess certain skills to perform their duties, but it's secondary to this:
Promptness - shows up on agreed time, everytime
Clear, consistent communication with you
Thoroughness - has a spirit of excellence and takes pride in their work
Operates intuitively to you and your business (this is priceless!)
Dependability - doesn't "disappear" without explanation
Respectful - not just to you, but to your customers and community
Believes in your business
They also need to be:
Familiar with at least SOME of your operating systems - and open to learning the ones not already mastered
Quick learner - especially to tech
Adaptable - can flow and move easily between programs
Creative - can find solutions easily
Resourceful - they look on their own for tutorials and how-to’s
I personally look for people who are familiar with, or even more expert level in, the tech set up that an online entrepreneur usually works with.
Familiar with or willing to learn about these basic programs:
Website platform - I use Squarespace
Email Provider - Aweber, Mailchimp or similar
Buffer - or another tool for scheduling social media posts ahead of time
Gmail + Drive - since we use Drive as a storage place for our docs and data
Dropbox - For storing our videos, PDF’s and Graphics (It’s a quick learn if they don’t already use it)
Trello - works as a great “Office Hub” and communication place between you and the VA to know what to do, what’s coming up, and what’s completed
So now that you know what a VA’s role is in your business, what to expect and ask, and how to know when to bring on a VA, let’s dig into the process of onboarding them.
How to onboard your VA
Once you’ve met a VA you’re ready to work with, it’s time to onboard. (I always recommend a brief phone or Zoom chat to: connect, make sure you’re on the same page, and get a “feel” for them - just making sure you’re a fit!)
One of the things to determine either ahead of time of finding a VA, is their desired pay rate (if the VA hasn’t already let you know their pre-decided rates.)
Is it hourly? Or do they work in pre-pay packages or hour bundles? Or do they expect to be paid per project?
I hesitate to give any hourly examples here in the post because the VA industry is so fluid and rates have changed so much over the years. I will tell you, I have never hired anyone for more than $20-25 an hour, and I’ve been blessed to work with VA’s in my business who were happy with less per hour, but also given bonus incentives (based on the results of our work together.)
Many VA’s will offer “bundles” of hours that bring their rate a bit lower, if you pay ahead. If you don’t have any previous recommendations of the person, maybe hire them for an hour or two first, just to make sure you are happy with the amount of work, and quality of work, that they complete in the hour or two. Then, you’ll know that the pay-ahead plan is a great deal!
Once your expectation for hours and their expectation for pay arrangements have been met, you move on to writing up the contract. I promise this is a SIMPLE step and helps to cover you legally, keep expectations clear between you, and just have a place to go back to in any misunderstanding that could occur. I’m giving you a {free} EXAMPLE CONTRACT template HERE, so that you don’t have to find one.
If you are hiring a VA for a one-time project or task, then a contract isn’t as necessary - this would be for more permanent, ongoing work. Just use your discretion for each situation!
How to work with your VA
Before digging into the nitty gritty work with your VA, make sure expectations are clear between you and your VA (and then you hold up your end of the bargain or at least communicate if by chance you can’t!) For instance, decide how many hours are expected (that they agree on) and what the pay date for those is. ie Every 2 weeks? After the tasks are done? Half up front, half when completed? This is up to the two of you, but decide on it, make it clear, and then honor it!
In the same way you communicate through expectations, you also need to be super clear on your instructions to your VA. Communicate regularly, and with firm grace. If there’s a need to “hash things out,” try to get on a call - don’t leave it up to text or email. Voice is still the best way to communicate.
Other important notes on working with your VA:
Watch for improvements in time it takes them for tasks, but give space for them to learn new systems, software, etc
Be ready to make or recommend tutorials if you are teaching your VA something
If your VA is actually teaching you how to do some things, don't be afraid to ask for tutorials or a walk-through on Zoom
Important things to consider behind the scenes:
Set up accounts for your data, systems and programs that give the VA access, but are limited or controlled so that the access can easily be shut off once your relationship is over.
Set up your content folders in your own Google Drive and share from there with your VA - this way you own the files, and can end the VA’s access easily once your work is done.
Make sure that you learn FIRST, or already know how to do everything your VA does just in case you end up without the help (my VA and I both learn new programs so that either one can do the work in a pinch!)
There will be a time when either your VA is done with what you need or you need to end the relationship for other reasons.
Here’s how to end the relationship with your VA properly:
Legalities - send an email (which is a legal document in most states) stating what the terms of ending it are
Content ownership - since you’ve set it up to protect your ownership of all the content, this should not be a problem
Don't burn the bridge - unless it ends very badly (which has happened in my business before!) there’s no reason to “burn the bridge” with the VA. Keep the relationship friendly and open - you never know when God may bring them back into your life and/or business for a reason!
Working with others in our business is NOT always easy, but it’s a blessing when you go about with wisdom and care. This is OUR dream and calling, after all! But there are some amazing VA’s out there, and they could be your biggest fan AND help you grow. It could be the catalyst you need to push your business into the next level!
I’d love to hear from you in the Health Coaches on a Mission {free} community about this topic! Have you already worked with a VA or are you currently looking to partner with one? What has been your experience? I’d love to know if any of the tips shared here resonate with you!
Believing in you,
~Coach Bess