I am Carrie Ybarra, mother of two daughters, wife to an amazing husband, and busy virtual assistant. Prior to launching my virtual assistant business, I was a marketing coordinator in the building industry working for a leading North American land developer and home builder where I supported an incredible team of marketers. Prior to this role, I was an Executive Assistant to a top producing real estate agent and coach, and prior to this I was an educator. My 12 years of EA and marketing experience led me to start my thriving VA business, offering relevant and efficient services to small business owners and entrepreneurs today.
Some of the tasks I was responsible for as a marketing coordinator included creating email marketing campaigns, managing large-scale grand openings and community events, and providing a multitude of administrative support.
I was an Executive Assistant (well, he referred to me as his partner) for a top real estate broker in San Diego for four years where I managed the back-end of his business to allow him time to garner more clients and sell more real estate.
As a highly skilled and experienced marketing and administrative professional, I know first hand how it feels to not have enough hours in the day and to become bogged down with general (yet very important) tasks when you could be out finding new clients and building your business.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant is someone you can outsource time intensive tasks that are stopping you from running at full capacity.
Many small business owners, freelancers and consultants are aware that they could do with an extra pair of hands but aren’t aware of how simple and effective working with a VA can be.
Some of my clients have similar concerns before handing their work over to me. They have questions about how exactly we can work together and achieve the results they require; the answer is often straightforward.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Q: I’m not sure about working with someone virtually, I would prefer someone in the office.
A: Many businesses today have teams within them that work together virtually most of the time and working with a remote assistant such as myself is no different. I have an abundance of technology at my fingertips which makes it very simple to communicate via email, phone or skype, send files and share necessary information.
- Q: I know I need some help, but I’m not entirely sure what a VA can help me with?
A: What are the things that you do regularly that you know you need to outsource to free up your time to be focusing on the bigger money making items?
I normally suggest that you make a list of all the tasks that you have to do both regularly and occasionally and then categorize them based on tasks that only you can complete and tasks that you could potentially outsource. Then relist the tasks in the outsource category starting with things you enjoy doing at the top of the list and then add the tasks that you don’t like doing or just never get time to do near the bottom. That should give you a clear indication of what to outsource first. I normally start doing a few set tasks for a client but my role tends to evolve once a working relationship is formed.
- Q: I don’t think I can keep a VA in the loop, if they aren’t present in the office they’ll be too disconnected from the everyday running of the business.
A: This is really no different than keeping a member of your admin team in the loop, but instead of walking into the next office to update them you just ping me an email or pick up the phone.
I start each week by emailing or calling my clients to confirm exactly what they want me to do for them in the coming week and I end every week by emailing them an update and plan of action for the following week. For some clients that is enough, others like to touch base by phone or skype too which also works well. Like with any team in a business, communication is key!
4. Q: I have no idea how many hours the work I want completed will take?
A: Chances are I’ve done something similar before so I’ll be able to give you an idea on time required but if not I can happily do an hour and give you a progress update before carrying out any further work so that I can make an informed estimation.
It’s very likely that what you need completed each week will take me less time and cost you less money than it would if you had to employ someone to complete the work. Think about it this way, you only pay me for every minute I’m actually carrying out your required tasks, however with an employee you pay when they stop working, when they make a cup of coffee, when they are on holiday, or even when they are off sick!
5. Q: How can I be sure that your working on my tasks when you say you are?
A: This mainly comes down to trust and if you can’t trust a VA it’s pointless having one. I track all the time I spend on my client’s tasks and send a full report with each invoice. The trust issue applies to your employees too, unless you physically watch them for every minute of the day, how do you know they are actually working when they say they are – you don’t but you trust them to be honest and you monitor their results and what they achieve each day/week/month.
It works much better for me if I keep my clients happy and get regular work from them so I’m certainly not going to charge them for my time if I’m not working on their tasks!
6. Q: Can I try the service before I commit?
A: Absolutely! This applies to much of what we do in life so having a VA shouldn’t be any different. You can secure my time for anything from 1 hour a month to 10 hours a week without any commitment. Most of my clients do retain my hours, purely because they don’t want to risk missing out on me working with them but this is definitely not the only way you can work with me. If you’re unsure, book an hour to begin with and see how it works for you.
7. Q: I don’t think having a VA is going to help my business make money, but it will cost me!
A: I can relate to this, as a freelancer I have to justify each penny that I spend on the running of my business but ask yourself what your lack of efficiency in the tasks you want to outsource is costing your business? Or what you could be spending your time on if you were to outsource your time consuming but all important admin tasks? Could you be fee earning or focusing on winning new business?
Although outsourcing will cost you money, delegation is the key to growing your business.