Hiring an assistant can be a big decision. Knowing the right time to hire can be tricky. But it can also be the catalyst for serious business growth. If you spend a lot of your time working on low value projects and tasks it means you never get time to work on the truly important stuff.

This is where a VA (virtual assistant) can play a vital role. You can hire a VA from countries like the Philippines for around $5-$10 per hour. You can find people with skills in admin, writing, marketing, or technology.

Maybe you want someone to help manage your social media, to build marketing automation, to design websites and landing pages, or simply handle all your bookkeeping.

If you know it's time to let go of some of the tasks that take up a lot of your time, that you are able to do, but are not the best use of your time. Then a VA could be the perfect solution.

1. Don't start your search for an assistant by looking superman or superwoman. Let me save you the trouble. They don't exist. Instead, think carefully about the tasks that take up a great deal of your time or that you are not skilled or interested in doing and delegate them. 

2. Regular communication is a key to success with a VA. You need to schedule time especially at the start of the relationship to onboard your VA properly. They need to be treated like any employee. At the start they will need more of your time to help them understand what you want from them.  If you don't set a clear picture of your expectations, they will not deliver what you want.

3. Make sure you are ready to hire. That you have a clear list of the consistent or repetitive tasks that you want to outsource to your VA and that you have grown your business to the stage where you can afford to pay them each month. 

Episode 14 - Mark Bloodworth - The A-Z of Recruiting Great People for Your Business

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