When Should You Invest in a Virtual Assistant?

Is it possible to be too successful?

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, your food blog is probably doing very well. So well, in fact, that you’re in a state of panic. You’re may even be facing a few new challenges:

• Forgetting special occasions
• Never reaching the end of your inbox
• Neglecting the important tasks that will advance your blogging career
• Finding time to spend with family and friends

As crazy as it sounds, success can be the death of an entrepreneur’s success. More success equals more work. If you don’t have help in getting that work done – including all of the little daily tasks that support that work – you will invariably drop the ball and find your victories becoming fewer and harder won.

It is possible to have too much success if you don’t have a plan in place to cope with the additional work and stress that comes with success.

How do you know when it’s time to invest in a virtual assistant?

Any number of clues may indicate that it’s time to get help in the form of a virtual assistant, but they all point to one common theme: your blog has become too burdensome to manage alone in the time that you have.

• Are you missing opportunities that become buried in your inbox?
• Are you forgetting to touch base with prospective sponsors?
• Are your comments flowing in faster than you can respond to them?
• Are you forgetting to share your posts to social media?
• Are you missing appointments that are clearly scheduled on your calendar?
• Are you feeling burned out and anxious about your passion project?
• Are you spending more time organizing your files than accomplishing your goals?
• Are you falling behind on your bookkeeping?

If you found yourself nodding like a bobblehead on the dash of a souped up Cadillac, it’s probably time to consider a virtual assistant.

But I’m worried about…

Money

A virtual assistant is an affordable alternative to hiring an employee. Many VAs are freelancers who are happy to work out a pay schedule that works within your budget.

Mistakes

Naturally, VAs are humans, and so they’re going to make mistakes. However, if you make your needs and processes clear, a competent, energetic VA is much less error-prone than an exhausted, frustrated food blogger.

Privacy

I get it. You don’t want to give up your passwords to a virtual stranger. Never fear. There are plenty of apps that make it possible for you to give access to your VA without giving away the goods.

No one can do it like me

That’s probably true, but attempting to do it all yourself will invariably lead to burnout. The most productive people are productive because they’re willing to delegate.

Don’t let your success be your downfall. One of the most profound developments we’ve made as a society is the idea of a sharing economy. By outsourcing the tasks that you’re most likely to forget or waste too much time on, you’re helping your business while also supporting other entrepreneurially-minded people. That makes it a win-win.

When did you decide that you should think about hiring a VA?