A few years ago we took the leap to finally hire a Virtual Assistant for our wedding planning company. We’ve had assistants in the past but never one dedicated to working on all the behind-the-scenes and making sure things were running smoothly from an admin position. I always get tons of questions about hiring a VA, what it’s like, and how I found my team; so we decided to dedicate an entire blog post to it!
Why did you hire a Virtual Assistant?
I hired not only a Virtual Assistant but a whole Online Business Management team at the time because I was noticing that I was spending too much time working IN my business rather than ON my business. My role as a CEO of a wedding planning company is to push the business forward and think of ways to keep it growing. I need to focus on marketing strategies, getting new business, keeping the brand fresh and outsourcing certain tasks when needed. This is where my Virtual Assistant team came in.
Where did you find your Virtual Assistant?
I found my Online Business Manager (a high level Virtual Assistant that is more like a COO), Tamara and her team through the recommendation of a fellow wedding planner. What I loved about Tamara is that they knew the wedding industry but also knew a lot about online businesses.
At the time, I had just started my 2nd business which is a Pinterest Marketing company where I help wedding pros attract and book their ideal clients on Pinterest. I knew I needed a lot of help getting my processes in order there too!
Before officially hiring Tamara and her team, I did interview a few other Online Business Managers. I really enjoyed all of them quite frankly but the knew Tamara was the one who was going to take my businesses to the next level.
What Does your VA do for you & your business?
Tamara and her team do everything under the sun! For my wedding business, we have been going through creating or updating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), automating questionnaires and emails to client to help make the booking process stress-free.
They’ve also help transcribe some of my YouTube videos into blog posts, set up an affiliate/marketing calendar, create email funnels to help sell some digital product and so much more.
If there’s something you would like your virtual assistant to take on you should ask if they are familiar with that task ahead of time or even purchase a training for them once hired.
What has been the most beneficial part of hiring a Virtual Assistant?
Not only do I have more free time to enjoy with my friends and family but my time is also put to better use. I don’t have to spend hours working on scheduling, instead I can focus on higher level tasks that will move the company forward.
I’ve been able to juggle two businesses, accept more clients and hire more planners because our business is running like a well-oiled machine!
What has been the hardest part of having a Virtual assistant?
Like any new employee there’s a learning curve. The hardest part for me was getting all of my processes that are normally just in my brain onto paper or capture it in a video. We don’t realize how many little processes we have in our business. From onboarding new clients to sending emails, it’s important to record them so that your whole team can follow the same processes and save time!
What advice do you have for people thinking about hiring a Virtual Assistant?:
Rip the bandaid and do it! I remember being worried about having to commit to paying someone every month but, let me tell you, it’s been well worth it. Not only that but you can do as little as 5 hours per week which is what I started with and increased from there. It also made me want to work hard in my business because I knew I had to pay someone else other than myself every month.
Also, make sure you interview several different people to make sure your personalities are compatible as well as your work ethic and goals!
