Outsourcing jobs to a virtual assistant is a great way for busy business owners to get many small tasks accomplished at once.  A virtual assistant can do anything from reading and replying to customer service emails and placing orders for clients to setting up appointments and answering phones from a remote location.  However, if you are not careful, there can be some major pitfalls.  Here are some of the most important mistakes to avoid when outsourcing to a virtual assistant.

1.   Know Who You Hire

When you hire a virtual assistant to help with tasks that are important to your business, it is important to know your new employee as well as possible.  You need to treat this position as you would any other in your business.  Conduct interviews.  Look over resumes.  An outsourcing job generally performed remotely still means you need to get to know your candidates first.  The level of independence afforded by a remote position can be taken advantage of when an employer does not thoroughly check out a new hire.

2.  Communicate With Your Virtual Assistant

If work by your virtual assistant is done without keeping the lines of communication open, it is very possible that your assistant will not do as good a job at completing the tasks you need finished as you would have done them.  If you want your jobs to be done the way you would have done them, it is very important to be honest and open and communicate often with your assistant.

3.  Make, and Stick to, a Budget

If you have more than one outsourced job, it is easy to lose track of the funds you are spending for those jobs.  Some assistants will ask for hourly wages.  Others will expect to be paid by the project.  Still others may work through contracts, or even on commission.  If you do not keep accurate track of the funds you are spending, it will be easy for you to overspend on your budget.  Always keep accurate records of your spending, and never hire anyone you simply cannot afford.

4.  Use Your VA to His or Her Fullest Potential

Make sure when you hire a virtual assistant that you take some time to get to know his or her skills, and that you mandate tasks to him or her that are best suited for the particular skills offered.  If you neglect a talent your virtual assistant has, you may be missing out on a valuable resource.  Conversely, if you delegate more to your assistant than he or she can handle, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.

5.  Never Overstep Your Boundaries

Always remember that you are likely not your virtual assistant’s only client.  Asking too much and being over-protective is not only selfish, but it could be a way to lose your virtual assistant.  Be respectful, above all else!

When you are a business that has a lot of service to do and you need to get your business moving it can be difficult, especially when you have to wear every hat that the business needs. For most small business owners this means that marketing goes down to the bottom of the pile as something that will eventually get done.

Today, Internet presence is what is needed for most businesses and you must do this with some sort of effort. Whether you are a social networking or you are using professional social media to market your business, you will find that the Internet will play a major part in your marketing.Because of this and because you are probably too busy to do it yourself, you will need the professional services of a Virtual Marketing Assistant (VMA). This is an individual who is skilled in doing what you need done on the Internet.

There are probably thousands of VMAs who have the skills you need and they advertise them regularly. Some are in the beginning stages of their business but they may have expertise from other work.

A VMA can be particularly important when you have several projects to do at once. Here are some ways to work effectively with your VMA:

Define the Task

When you first start working with your VMA be very clear about what it is you want them to do. They are not mind readers and in order to get what you want you have to spell it out. Before you talk with your VMA make a list of all the things that you want done and that you are already doing. Be clear with yourself about which ones you want to delegate to someone else.

Define your way of working

As a small business owner you have a certain way of working that is only known to you. This information must be communicated to your VMA so that they can work with you instead of against you. The more they know the more the two of you will be able to work around your quirks.

Write what you want done in an email

Don’t expect that your VMA will know how to do something in the way you want it done. Write down in detail what it is that you expect to be done and when. Always give them a deadline so the two of you are on the same page.

Design a process for communication and working together

From the very beginning make sure that the two of you talk about working together and how that will look. Talk about the work flow and the way(s) in which you will communicate.

Let go of the work

Once you give your VMA an assignment you should be confident that they have the skills and expertise to do it. Ask your VMA for a regular update from them to resolve any control issues you have and then let them do their job.

Humans are social animals and they must be connected to other social animals in order for them to survive. In the real world they have families, friends and business associates that they connect to on a daily basis.

In the virtual world of the Internet, social media is the way that people get connected and stay connected on the Web. There are so many sites and they do so many different things that it can be difficult to figure out whether any of them will benefit your business.

This is where you might need the assistance of a Virtual Marketing Assistant (VMA). In the old days of the Internet it was thought that everyone wanted to be connected to an institution of some type. This meant that you were connected to the people on your job, your friends at college or your bridge club.

Marketing was done face to face with people who you knew who told someone about your work. That was the only type of marketing that was done because life wasn’t as complicated or technical as it is now.

Today, social media is taking people into bookmarked territory where they can take their friends or their contacts from place to place and keep them interested in their group. A VMA can help you find that group and sort through those pieces of social media that are right for you.

Because the Internet is immediate and we live in a society that expects immediate results, a VMA has the task of finding just the right media to connect you without getting you overloaded. Because they have expertise in this area, it is a very easy process for them. By yourself, it may take a longer time.

Your business will determine how you are connected and your VMA will work with you to help you decide which parts will be the most effective for you. When you hear words like Twitter and Flickr or LinkedIn you are probably asking yourself what you are supposed to do.

A skilled VMA knows exactly what you need to do with each one of these and how many of the connection tools will be the perfect fit for your business.

The way it works is you will submit your thoughts to them about what you need and they will give you a quote for the project. Once you have this information all you have to do is answer any questions they may have along with looking at their finished product.

When you work together you will find that your name is out and about on the web in ways that you probably would not have thought to do. The more information you give about your company, its customers and your target market, the better fit your VMA can make for you.

When you want your business to be competitive, you will want to use social media in a systematic way. You will find that a skilled VMA can save you time and money as they help you build your connections.