Top 8 Misconceptions About Virtual Assistants

Pointing out that hiring a Virtual Assistant is one of the smartest things you can do for your business has been the trend and will continue since the virtual industry is the present and the future. More businesses and even solo entrepreneurs are working with virtual assistants to keep their businesses profitable even during times of economic uncertainty.

The internet is rich with the benefits of Virtual Assistants but there are also fluffs just for good ol’ Marketing. So before hiring a VA, you should separate the wheat from the chaff.

1. Virtual Assistants can only do Web Research, Data Entry and Admin Work. Oh please this is absolutely false. We can – yes, but the industry has been very competitive and evolving that our range of services has expanded and continues to offer diverse skills like Social Media Management, Email Marketing, Newsletter Automations, and a whole lot more. You may check our list here.

2. Freelance VA’s are better than Team VA’s or Agency VAs. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages but having a team to back you up is the best way. We Empower Team has the credentials and verifiable accomplishments to support you. If you’re business is growing and eventually succeeding, we have the scale to keep up with you without going back to retraining or the complex and time-consuming process of recruitment.

3. Virtual Assistants cannot be trusted with confidential information. We understand this clients concern. Their need for us to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements is a must. Our team also uses password management apps for access credentials so you can sleep soundly at night knowing you’ll never be hacked.

4. Virtual Assistants should hit the ground running. This can only be true if we’ll be working on web research or data entry or simple doing some edits. But for other tasks your VA, even if they’re totally experienced at the tasks you provide, will still need to get a full grasp of your branding, your tone and must get comfortable with your style and processes for task completion. Be patient, encourage them to ask and be ready to answer questions. Don’t give up on them if they’re trying, or you could end up getting rid of someone who’s loyal to a fault and will never let you down in a crunch.

5. Virtual Assistants ask too many application and soft tools. Yes, we do but only to make us efficient and effective in serving you. Our team musts are the work monitoring tools, password management app, task management / project management app and cloud storage. We’re also very flexible in letting you choose the tools you want to use.

6. Virtual Assistants are for temporary projects only. This is true for startups however when the business grows and expands, the business relationships lasts years. We have team members who’ve worked for as long as 4 years for a client. We’d like to very much stick with you for decades!

7. Having a Virtual Assistant is time consuming. We admit that at first it requires more time from you to engage with us because we need to get a full grasp of your business. Sooner than later, you’ll find yourself at ease. Commit about 3 to 5 days to sit with your virtual assistant and discuss all the tasks we would need to do for you. It should be enough to get us running. It might take weeks at time, but sacrificing a few minutes or hours a day is a lot less painful than a month or more of errors and complications.

8. Virtual Assistants are miracle-workers or magicians or genies or robots. We are humans who possess the experience, skills, and competence to get your business moving on the right track. What we can do best for you once we’ve fully grasp your business is take it to next level.

I always say that Virtual Assistants are the invisible assets of your business. However, we cannot do everything on our own. We need your full cooperation and commitment that you’ll do your part to hit the goal.