Event planners only have a finite time to do what often seems like an infinite number of tasks. For businesses that wish to stay lean and keep costs down, hiring an assistant might not be possible. But have you considered taking on a VA to take care of day to day admin?
Stuck in the rat race.
At Get Invited, we’re big fans of outsourcing and remote working. After all, this is the digital age – there’s no need to be tied to your desk, stuck in the endless commute – office – commute cycle. In fact, our CEO has been sharing his experiences about his decision to quit the rat race and run Get Invited remotely. (Editor’s note: if you’re stuck in a dreary office and seriously missing the sun, just looking at the photos of Thailand will brighten up your day!)
If you’re considering taking the plunge and working remotely, a change that you can easily make at the same time is freeing yourself from the shackles of admin. Wouldn’t it be great to hand over the endless emails, database work and bookkeeping to a professional? In fact, wouldn’t it be great to do that even if you want to remain office-based?
Hiring a VA is easy.
Contrary to hiring an assistant who would work in the office, hiring a VA is much, much easier. Simply sign up to one of the VA sites (check out Upwork, Taskbullet or any of the other dedicated virtual assistant sites out there) and see the services available. You’ll be amazed at the skills and experience that professionals are offering.
Moreover, this comes at a fraction of the price that you would pay for a traditional assistant. (And that’s not taking into account the myriad of other benefits that employers are legally required to provide for office-based employees.) It’s also an especially cost-effective way of recruiting someone if you only want a few hours of assistance per week.
The secret to being successful AND happy.
Successful people usually feel neatly into one of two categories: overworked and stressed, and busy but happy. As you’ve clicked on this post, the chances are that you’re in the former category and are looking for a way to make a change. Those in the latter have learned the art of delegation. We all know it’s impossible to do everything yourself, but relinquishing control is one of the hardest things for any event business owner to do. You’ve built up a great reputation, your clients trust you to put on a great event each and every time, and things are going brilliantly. Is letting someone else step in really worth the risk?
In short, yes.
If you can free up time to focus on the big picture stuff, just imagine how successful your event organisation could be. A VA won’t have free rein on what happens – you will still be in control of what gets done. Starting off with smaller tasks, then building up over time helps to establish a good working relationship. You will learn to trust them, and they will learn how you want things done.
What can a VA help me with?
Of course, this depends on the VA’s experience, but as a general guide they should be able to assist with:
- Diary keeping
- Emails
- Bookkeeping
- Database entry
- Research
- Presentations
- Social calendar work (responding to invites, sending out Christmas cards etc.)
If you have any thoughts on VAs, or hints on hiring a virtual employee who is a good fit for your organisation, share them with the event planning community on Twitter or the Comments section below!
