From that point, I explained how to search for the most appropriate VA, whether tailored to a particular subject matter such as legal or real estate, or be able to provide a multitude of support.  If you did not act on my marvelous suggestions, have no worries!  There is still time to soak in the benefits of how helpful VAs are and how much easier they can make your life become.

If you act on these suggestions now, you may actually have a chance to enjoy some of that beach time you’ve been dreaming about all winter.

The following are simple reminders on the benefits to hiring a VA:

• No extra expenses with a VA, such as benefits or vacation pay.  VAs are ideally consultants.  As they work for themselves, they purchase their own benefits, insurance, and there is no paid time off from you.
• VAs use their own equipment.  That’s right!  No need for you to buy new laptops and printers, not to mention office supplies, as they already have these items in their home offices.  If you were to hire a new employee at your office headquarters, this would be one of the first additional costs for your business’ overhead.
• No extra office space required.  VAs have the pleasure of working from home and can be as close or as far to your business as necessary.  Save on construction expansions and go spend a day at the beach with your family.
• Only pay for the time VAs charge to your project.  By giving a VA a task, they charge you when their time is complete.  You are not paying for down time.  Thus, their time is as efficient as you can expect.  Although, you want to ensure you choose a VA with the appropriate background that can complete your tasks precisely, accurately, and efficiently.
• VAs are hard working and reliable.  VAs rely on steady income streams just like the rest of us.  They are competitive and will work hard to keep their business successful.  This means that if you choose someone of credibility, they will go the extra mile for perfection and will work hard to keep stability with your business relationship.
• VAs can assist with specialized tasks.  Do you have real estate work that you need assistance with?  How about legal documents that you need help with?  Sometimes VAs are simply retired lawyers and real estate agents, or those that no longer practice full time.  Of course the more specialized skill sets will most likely require additional charges, but again, this still saves you time and money in the long run.
• No agency fees when hiring a VA.  Have you ever hired a temp for your business?  This usually involves increased costs through an agency and no real guarantee that the employee will be around for any additional tasks you may need assigned in the future.  With a VA, you will not only avoid agency fees, you will also have a consistent contact for future assignments.
• VAs are more apt to work outside of normal business hours.  As VAs have a flexible schedule, you may be able to assign a given task at the end of the day and find that it’s been completed and ready for you first thing in the morning. Wouldn’t that be a nice surprise, versus paying overtime to the employee that has to stay past 5 o’clock?
• Expertise in the areas you are not.   Are you terrible at organizational skills?  How about developing a Power Point with all of the bells and whistles?  VAs are specialized and administration support is a key element with their background skills.  If you put their expertise to work, you will most likely not be disappointed.
• Office pressure amongst co-workers lessens.  Is there a deadline to meet and Sam won’t be able to get everything accomplished on time?  Well, send a partial amount of the work to Shelly and let her work from her home office.  Through proper email correspondence and phone communication, you’ll have a polished product in no time.

Again, these are just a few of the simple reminders as to how Virtual Assistants can positively change the work flow at your business or increase the quality of life that you wish to have for yourself.  Do you find yourself wanting a few extra days off this summer?  Do you have a few things that you would love to have taken off your plate?  Impact Virtual Services can help with this decision making process and guide you in the best direction that will assist your needs most efficiently.  Make an appointment with us today.   We’d love to be part of your solution.

Stay tuned for more pointers in upcoming posts.  Keep positive and enjoy the beautiful weather to come.

What I am going to try to determine is whether it’s better to put your company’s future in the hands of one of the largest search engines out there, Google; or if it’s better to strategize with the future of one of the largest growing social media websites, Facebook.

• Reaching the Audience: Yes, it is true that Facebook has one billion active monthly members, but surprisingly enough, the winner here is Google.  Google search engine provides results for more than one billion queries from around the world, every day, and its ads are displayed next to relevant results.  Plus, “Google ads can be displayed on thousands of partner sites, which reach upward of 92% of all internet users in the U.S.”, states author Allison Howen in Website Magazine May 2013.
• Target Options: Google can target audiences in multiple ways: using keywords, location, time of day, and general audience interest categories.  It has the ability to display to people who have particular interests in subject matter.  Facebook has a larger ability to target audiences due to user data collected over time.  Facebook can target by location, age, gender, marital status, and interests.

For example, a home design store can target options to reach families that have recently moved, or live in a particular location, or have an interest in décor or personalizing their homes.  So, the winner for this category goes to Facebook, although Google is in a close second with the launch of its Enhanced Campaigns capabilities.

• Potential to Convert: With Google, ads are displayed primarily based on the intent of the consumer.  This means that the consumer is usually searching for a particular product and has an immediate interest.  As a result, they make the purchase when they find the results they are seeking.  Facebook ads are based on the user’s defined interests and previous behavioral interactions.  As this is somewhat more limiting, the winner in this category belongs to Google.
• Campaign Impact: According to May’s issue of Websitemagazine.com, Facebook ads tend to produce customers with longer average lifetime values.  Why is this?  Well, Facebook ads often lead brands to receive an increase in “likes,” which allows brands to continue marketing to these customers.  Fans then interact with the brand’s content and become more comfortable and likely to continue purchasing.  Likewise, they continue to network the brand by spreading the word to friends and family members.

Is there really a great conclusion to this debate?  Probably not! The best form of advertising seems to solely depend on the goals of the start-up.  If you are looking for an immediate outreach, then Google is the place to target a larger audience.  If you are looking for a smaller target audience that will grow over time, as the market is continuous, then Facebook could be the best solution.  If you want to be absolutely sure, and if the pocket book allows, try both forms and see where you notice the most activity.  Track, track, and track again!

Which social media site has worked best for you and your business?

• Organization – VA’s have the benefit of working from their homes or an office location outside of your business.  They have the ability to work with online programs, create power point presentations, sort files, and turn tasks into more manageable, organized solutions.  They create precise details at first glance, versus trying to sort through hours of your own personal notes.  Seems like a great idea to me!
• Specialization – Maybe your business deals with more specialized services such as real estate or tax issues?  Virtual Assistants can vary in background specialties.  Usually the more experienced will require a higher price tag, but if it saves yourself time, it can all be worth it.
• Travel Plans – Does your job require a lot of traveling?  Is it time consuming for you to sit down, find the most cost-efficient flight, car rental, and hotel?  Well, VAs can perform these activities too.  This may seem minor to you, but if it saved you (4) hours a week, would it be worth it to you?  Especially if you figure your wages per hour in comparison to hiring the work, simple things like this can sometimes be a no-brainer.
• Answering phones – Do you have a business that needs a live person at the end of it in order for the customer to always have a friendly voice to approach with a question?  Well, this is another role where VAs can be very successful.  Again, it saves you loads of time as this simply requires forwarding your phone and the rest is on them!
• Blogs – Do you have a website that requires a blog, but you are sometimes too busy to write them?  Well, VAs can research topics and publish creative masterpieces for your clients’ viewing pleasure.  As the decision maker for your business, you of course have final say in the content of these articles.  Given the minor task of advising of the final touches, in comparison to writing an article from scratch, will absolutely save you time and money.  Who knows, you and your clients might very much enjoy this new creative perspective VAs can bring to your business.
• Website Updates – We all want the most innovative and interactive, up-to-date website, but who has time to always post the latest and greatest?  Guess what?  A VA can do this too!  This requires a little more direction regarding your goals and target audience that you wish to reach, as well as a more specialized VA background, but definitely a great task to hire out.

These are just a few of the many activities that VAs can be available for and able to assist with regarding your small business needs.  I’m also excited to make the point that Impact Virtual Services can offer all of these services to you and would be pleased to offer a free consultation to discuss the demands of your small business and how we can offer the most practical solutions.  We’re approaching summer time and this means it’s time to get out and enjoy the weather.  We all work way too hard, year-round, so take advantage of these opportunities and let us know how we can help save you time and money.

If you’re looking for an app on your phone to download, you won’t find it just yet.  This new technology comes in the form of a software package at this stage.  Such devices as the HTC First will be the first to come preloaded with the Facebook Home software, while others in the HTC series and later Samsung models (Samsung GALAXY S III, S4, and Note II), will have downloading capabilities from the Google Play Store.

So what benefits can Home have besides just looking cool and being able to post your friends’ latest and greatest news feeds?

• Facebook Home could become the next powerful marketing tool for companies.  The software will be able to store user information, including which applications a user opens, etc., and appeal to a specific target audience.
• The software has the potential for great visuals to be shared, although visuals appearing from your friends and family probably aren’t the most fascinating.
• Privacy settings will be the same as the regular Facebook app that you are now familiar with using.  Thus, if you wish to hide something, that particular information will not appear on your cover screen.
• Programmers are updating Facebook Home at least once a month.  Things that are recognized as bugs today will soon be issues of the past.

Drawbacks can be concerning as well, and include the following:

• One of the biggest drawbacks is that this is a newsfeed of your Facebook friends.  That usually includes a vast assortment of close and not-so-close friends and family, right?  Your only news feed options become those of viewing silly photos, self portraits, cute puppies, and occasionally something of importance, but mostly not.  Actual breaking news will not be coming through on your newsfeed, although we have seen that all “worldly” news somehow seems to break on Facebook at the same time CNN covers it.  The good news is that Facebook has recognized that the filter issue is a problem (you can’t select which updates you’d rather be seeing) and is currently working on better resolutions.  One easy piece of advice on this would be that maybe it’s time to finally delete those friends that you’ve thought really never had anything of importance to say, or just the opposite, say too much.
• There is no screen lock for pre-installed Facebook Home, but you do have the option to disable the software to secure your privacy.
• Limited search functions.  This means that you would have to still log into the regular Facebook application to search for a particular page/brand.
• Not available to iPhones at this time or anytime in the near future.  This speaks for itself as it will exclude a very large target audience.
• It’s a new service.  “New” means “change” to most of us, which leads to apprehension and negativity.  Also, with the first wave of software, there are usually bugs to still be worked out.

All in all, for those of us who have been addicted to Facebook, Facebook Home will probably be the next great thing.  It’s fun to use, it’s simple, and like everything else, if you aren’t doing it soon, you’ll be in the minority.  I do wonder how soon iPhone will join the Android race and I also wonder how soon Facebook will just go away altogether in the application world.  For now, for those of you that have it, I’d love to hear your feedback.  Do you love it, hate it, have you already disabled it?  Your feedback might help the rest of us decide just when it is time to “Go Home.”

As you have probably noticed, there are endless rules associated with the tournament, designed to cover even the most miniscule infractions.  Surprisingly enough, even though you would think these rules extend into social media, they are still yet to do be defined when it comes down to how to deal with the issue of student-athletes and social media.

I guess the biggest issue that comes up is how to control what your favorite student-athlete says via Facebook, Twitter, etc., without violating the individual’s freedom of speech rights.  This topic continues to be an on-going challenge, and neither the NCAA, nor its member institutions, have quite figured out exactly what the solution should be.

There have been many instances of public tweets where student-athletes have vocalized their opinions and traumatized their teams.  Author Jordan Parker (bleacherreport.com) recently wrote an article stating a mishap where Ohio State University recently responded to a student-athlete’s obnoxious tweet with the following:

“We allow our student-athletes the opportunity to express themselves via the social mediums.  What we do ask of them and communicate to them is the importance of being respectful, appropriate and aware that their communications can impact many people. We remind that others may have different views and opinions on what may and may not be appropriate, so always remember not to post or tweet anything that could embarrass themselves, their team, teammates, the university, their family or other groups, organizations or people.”

Seems pretty simple, right?  These “values” aren’t new, they are worldly views of respect.  It’s not rocket science that what you say publically is not going to disappear.  Not even the best lawyers can erase something that is documented publically.  Once it’s said, it’s said, and there is always someone out there waiting for the opportunity to get famous by recognizing someone else’s foolish mistakes.

Since this behavior can be very debilitating to a college team of any sport, there are companies that are looking out for the outspoken student-athletes.  UDiligence, Varsity Monitor, and Jump Forward are just a few of the companies that have products designed to help athletic departments monitor social media feeds, potentially stopping troublesome issues before they occur.

As social media is continues to be a trending topic, the issue isn’t going to go away anytime soon.  This year has been filled with headlines from the college sports world, most, if not all of, which have been documented over every social media site out there.  Specifically, the NCAA and colleges and universities alike cannot hide from the trend. They have to work together to develop a set of rules and regulations that protect and regulate without stepping on student-athlete rights.  It’s strange they haven’t yet, since the NFL, NBA and NHL already have social media policies in place.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you agree that the best discipline will be the consequences of the players’ own actions or do you feel players should not be allowed to vocalize their thoughts, no matter how positive or negative?  Personally, I think freedom of speech allows the impact to be a personal one.  If you think it may harm someone, maybe you should think twice about publicizing your viewpoint, student-athlete or otherwise.  Either way, it’s an exciting time for college sports, so be sure to tune in and enjoy some of the craziness!

What is anger?  It tends to be an emotion that ranges from mild irritation to intense fury and rage.  It’s a natural response when we feel threatened, but can also be from frustration when our needs, desires, and personal goals aren’t being met.  It’s important to realize that anger is a normal emotion, but when it leads to actions that are impulsive or aggressive, or even violent, this presents a concern.

In my role as an Owner of a Virtual Assistant business, it would be harder for me to see such actions, as I do not necessarily see my team members on a day to day basis, but these actions, when extreme, still can present some red flags.

Signs to look for:

• Snappy emails.  Do employees seem pleasant in their correspondence?  Is email communication friendly and inviting, or short and snappy?  If short and snappy, maybe try to promote a little more communication from your co-workers or employees.  Ask how they are doing or what they did over the weekend.  Maybe this will spark the issue and help them move forward.
• Negativity.  Do you find the attitude of your employees to be positive consistently, or are you sensing that something is triggering negativity in their work?  Maybe they are dissatisfied in what they do and they need more challenges?  Are they looking for positive reinforcement?  Sometimes it’s easy to fall into the same patterns day in and day out.  Break it up.  Throw in a company lunch.  Encourage employees to be a part of the team and acknowledge their skills and capabilities.  Rewards, even in the smallest of circumstances, can go a long way!
• Depression.  If every thought is borderline sad or depressing, there may be a very serious, more involved issue.  If your company allows, refer them to an Employee Assistance Program, common among benefit plans.  This is obviously one of the most extremes of anger in the workplace, but if recognized early, it may avoid accidents or injuries or even disciplinary action such as job loss, arrest, and even imprisonment.

The main point that I want to stress is when employees are happy, the workplace atmosphere is a more serene place.  Anger pushes people away and causes negativity to brew amongst employees.  Recognize the signs and challenge them.  Offer solutions such as an Employee Assistance Program, company lunches, or small talk conversations.  Engage yourself with your employees to keep up with what is occurring in their personal lives.  Even if they are very private with their own lives, it never hurts to ask questions and show some interest.  This may be the subtle differences in keeping a positive work environment amongst all employees, whether they are in your immediate office, or on a virtual team, such as is the case for my team members.

Do you find that you are making online purchases through your favorite social media sites? To clarify, what I am asking is when you view an ad on Facebook that displays a coupon for Bath & Body Works, Starbucks, or another favorite store; do you immediately click on that ad to get the coupon? Or do you find yourself driving to the closest store to venture around and see if anything new captures your attention? Is it just as convenient to go to the store’s website for a direct purchase?

For me, I’d say that I do a combination of all. If I see an amazing deal, I wouldn’t hesitate to click on it and shop right from the link, but I also have no issues with a retail mid-afternoon getaway!

“A new global study from PwC, the global consultancy, reports that last year, only 12% of consumers bought anything through social media and only 18% of those consumers active in social media made a purchase as a result of information they got via their social-media connections,” states mediapost.com.

What I find interesting about this is that we all use our favorite social media sites to follow or hear about up and coming brands. I know there have been multiple times that I have seen a new trend on Pinterest, or read through a friend’s tweet, that I immediately found myself further investigating to determine where I could directly purchase the merchandise. I’m sure I am not alone in this…or am I?

PwC claims there are three different types of shoppers that purchase from social media sites:

• Brand Lovers: These are die-hard shoppers. These shoppers frequent stores and make online purchases on a weekly basis. These people are not afraid to make direct purchases from social media sites and they do so often.

• Deal Hunters: Half of the population surveyed falls into this category. If they find an appealing offer, they click through to the store and make that special purchase. Personally, I think I can be found in this category. Who doesn’t like a good deal?

• Social Addicts: This group makes up the smallest percentage of shoppers, according to PwC. They use social media to talk about their experiences with brands. They learn from these sites which brands their friends love and will recommend. They submit questions to customer service channels and submit product feedback to the companies. Although a small percentage of social media site shoppers, they have a large influence on the online world with their frequent posts and comments.

It really just comes down to where do you personally trust to shop? Sometimes it’s just extremely convenient to buy merchandise when you’re already physically in a store and can compare prices, or better yet, compare to other stores’ merchandise pricing in general.

Yet sometimes, it’s just the most opportune to click “buy now,” right at that very moment when you see the merchandise pop up on the computer screen. I think it’s these unique personal preferences that in turn, ultimately, set the next shopping trends that we end up later reading about. If there is one thing that I am sure about, it’s that social media sites certainly influences what we buy, it’s just where we buy that is still up for debate.

In this three part series (see part 1 and part 2), we’ve learned how to create task lists of our most important (and not-so-important) duties or business related functions. These lists have been categorized into home/work/social, etc. and prioritized into those we can easily accomplish on our own and those which would be best to hand off to someone else.

Next, we learned methods to manage these task lists, from simple post-it notes all over your computer monitor, to more advanced syncing functions with your PDA. Some devices required extensive training of software applications, while others were as simple as sending personal reminder emails.

In this final segment, we’ll discuss the delegation of your tasks to a Virtual Assistant who is the best fit for your demanding lifestyle. One who can accomplish your given tasks in the most productive, cost-effective manner and will allow you to flourish in your own business and personal successes.

As we learned in Part II, a Virtual Assistant is generally someone who is:

• Self-employed.

• Providing professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients remotely from their own office.

• An independent contractor.

• Responsible for their own employee-related taxes, insurance, and benefits.

What’s important in hiring a Virtual Assistant?

• Cost – You will want to choose a VA that you can afford within your own personal budget.

• Reliability – Are they credible? Do they offer references? How long have they been in the business? If you intend to use the VA for a more long-term purpose, you may tend to do more research on their work history. The more years of experience they have usually indicates a more knowledgeable person, although their costs may also reflect their extensive experience.

• Location – This may be a factor if you choose to delegate more personal chores/tasks in which they will travel to your home or business to perform work. Otherwise, VAs tend to work from their own office and this is a non-issue to the immediate success of your delegated tasks.
• Specialty – You will want someone specialized in the tasks which you wish to have completed. For instance, if you had Real Estate forms that needed to be filled out on a consistent basis, you wouldn’t want to hire someone that has no credentials/background in Real Estate. It’s important to remember that the more specialized the VA is, the higher their fees may become.
• Personality – You will want to search for a VA that you can interact with in a positive manner versus one that will create a constant conflict of interest.

Now that we know what is important in researching a competent VA, where do we look to hire them?

• Impact Virtual Services – Yes, my business can help! www.impactvs.com I’m not just trying to advertise for my own business, but rather I’m trying to make a very logical point. When you choose from a creditable business such as Impact, we’ve already done the research for you and because of this, are able to provide VAs that offer extensive specialties, credibility, and work history.
• Online. Another obvious choice that can offer solutions is to perform a search on the internet to help you resource VAs (Craigslist, Google searches, etc). The negatives of choosing from Craigslist is that your background checks are all at your own time and expense. You definitely take on more of a personal risk when using such search tools.
• Word of mouth. If you have a referral, this is always a great choice. It usually means the advice is trustworthy and already worth your investment in time.
• Newspaper ads. Again, comparative to Craigslist, but if you are aren’t an online person, this is another route. And shows you really need a VA to take your business to the net!

You now have all of the tools available to make the executive decision of hiring a reputable Virtual Assistant. Look for affordability based on your budget and needs, credibility in their references and work history, and ultimately, someone that can accomplish a given task based on your demands and time restraints.

Ultimately, if you choose to hire a Virtual Assistant based on the tools I’ve passed along in this three part series, you will be taking the next step in making a positive investment in the future successes of your business and personal lifestyle.

According to a recent State of Social Media study released by Harris Interactive and MyLife, 62% of adults who belong to more than one social network “keep an eye” on their networks daily; and 40% said they’d rather get a root canal or spend a night in jail than give up their social networking profiles!

If this sounds a little too familiar, it may be time to start that social media diet plan.

Social media pinning/posting/nipping/and tucking takes up a lot of our time and may actually have a negative impact on your lifestyle.

• Do you find yourself feeling depressed, sad, envious, or even just annoyed at what a close friend or relative posts on your newsfeed?  A trip that you can’t afford, an engagement when you haven’t dated in over a year, someone’s weight loss success story after you’ve realized you’re up a pant size!  Can it get any worse sometimes?
• Does looking at the success of others pressure you to be “keeping up with the Joneses”?
• Are you missing out on other aspects of your life because you’re spending too much time pouring over your social media accounts?

I think it’s extremely important to recognize that you’re also not seeing people’s “real lives” most of the time.  How often do we post negative issues?  Is it often you take a photo of yourself right when you arise out of bed and say, “I’m beautiful and am going to post this photo to the entire world today?”  Rarely, I guarantee it.

The main point I’m trying to express if that if you start to feel depressed or moody as a direct result of your excessive time on these websites, then it’s time to make some changes.  Here are some actions you can take to improve your mood swings and social appetite:

• Update the control settings on your accounts.  For instance, on Facebook, you have the ability to hide a friend’s newsfeed.  The person is completely unaware of this change (unless you physically block them), and you will no longer be able to see the negative posts, whether it be on a weekly, daily, or even sometimes, hourly basis.
• Take a break altogether from the sites.  If you can’t quit cold turkey, then limit the number of times a day that you view your favorite sites.
• Exercise or participate in some sort of activity or hobby to limit your time spent on the computer.
• Catch up in person!  Think about the good old days when we didn’t even have such options and head to your favorite coffee shop or restaurant.  Gab the night away versus clicking it away.

The most important point I’m trying to express is if you find yourself “addicted” to social media or your favorite newsfeeds, to any extent, then it’s time to possibly take a hiatus.  Do you really have to see your best friend’s self-posed images every hour or even her most adorable English bulldog giving her kisses by the fireplace, or could you probably go without knowing about these non life-changing events?

Here’s food for thought…put away the phone or computer, save the eye strain, and engage in some positive physical activities.  Hit the gym or read a challenging book.  Surround yourself with the positives in life and you will find that a social media diet might be the best cure to a healthier lifestyle.

There are many ways to manage and track lists of tasks, all depending on what is going to best suit your needs or temperament. Here are some ideas to get started with your task management mission.

Just a warning…if you start feeling overwhelmed just trying to figure out how to get started, you just may find that a Virtual Assistant will be the best route to handle most of your concerns!

• Free web-based to do list managers.  Examples are ToodleDo (our personal favorite!), Ta-da List and Voo2Do.  Some of these applications provide project management capabilities for software scheduling and tasks organized by project.  Downfalls with this…. do you have time to learn more programs and software applications, or are you looking for an easy hand off for someone else to do this for you?
• Task lists integrated within your desktop computer or online calendar.  Yahoo and Gmail offer simple task list incorporation, as well as Microsoft Outlook and Entourage, and Mac’s iCal software.  Again, easy management, but you will ultimately be responsible for checking and organizing.   Another reason to justify an easy hand-off to someone else.
• Word processors or spreadsheets, desktop or online.  Microsoft Office or OpenOffice are great tools.  You can create task lists, print them out, and scribble off completed accomplishments.   Online versions (Google Docs and Spreadsheets and Zoho Office) allow sharing capabilities, a benefit if you want to send to a Virtual Assistant, co-worker, family member, etc..
• Sticky notes.  This is the “old school” version!  They’re great to get projects started or for simple reminders, but to keep your clutter to a minimum, keep your sticky notes to a minimum!

The list can go on and on.  PDA applications, fancy notebook and pen to write and track your best creative moments, a to do widget list, mind mapping, online wiki services, and something just as simple as daily emails can all track and manage your task lists.  Find one that works for your needs and your desired mode of working, and put it to good use!

Another big thing to consider is if you have time to complete all of these tasks or if you foresee your time being better spent elsewhere.  If you feel the answer is elsewhere, that is where I highly encourage you to consider hiring an outside source to assist you in the “simple things in life.”  Are you looking for an extra hour of free time? Would you like to be able to go to the gym at the end of the day?  Are you just plain tired of a certain chore that could be performed by someone else?

If you find yourself thinking “yes” to these questions, then I think it is time you consider hiring a Virtual Assistant.  A “what” you ask?  Well, a Virtual Assistant is generally someone who is self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients remotely from a home office.  As they are independent contractors, clients are not responsible for any employee-related taxes, insurance, or benefits.

Depending on just what the tasks are that you wish to hand off, this just may be your perfect solution.  In my final Part III of this series, I’ll show you how to search for the Virtual Assistant that best fits your needs in order to maximize the success of your business, or even better yet, your personal life!

This list is a great place to begin your task management, and it may be something you love to do!  If not, you may soon come to the conclusion that a Virtual Assistant is the best route to assist you in accomplishing all your priorities.