Ever heard the phrase you can do anything, but you can’t do everything?

When it comes to scaling your online business, it’s tempting to do it all on your own. But few things will help you grow faster than hiring a virtual assistant (VA). VAs can help with virtually every aspect of your business, from tech to client management and social media. 

Not convinced yet? Check out this post on the Top 5 Reasons to Hire a Virtual Assistant. Then read on to learn how to hire a virtual assistant, so you can grow your business faster and with less stress.

How to Hire a Virtual Assistant in 5 Steps

1. Determine where you need help.

Before you can write the job posting and start interviewing candidates you need to have a clear idea of what you want your virtual assistant to do. 

Are you struggling to keep up with email and organizing your calendar? Do you need someone to step in and help manage your client experience? What about content creation? 

Chances are, if you’re reading this post, there are one or several areas that are currently causing you overwhelm. The first step is to identify where specifically you need help. Here are two tips to get you started:

Consider your goals and pinpoint your weaknesses.

If you’re looking to expand your online presence and get into Pinterest marketing, for example, you’ll probably want to hire a virtual assistant who specializes in that niche. Or maybe you want to start a Youtube channel, but know nothing about editing videos. 

On the other hand, if you’re a one woman show, handling the marketing, client management and everything in between, you might want a VA to support you in your day to day tasks. In that case, you might choose someone who specializes in organization and systems. 

Think about the tasks you dread and always seem to put off.

If you know you need to be engaging on Instagram, but can’t seem to make yourself do it, think about hiring a virtual assistant to take over. Or if you’re tired of spending hours everyday on email marketing, maybe that’s the task you want to outsource. 

The goal of hiring a virtual assistant is to make your life easier and your business run smoother. Get clear on what that looks like for you, so you can find someone who meets those needs.

Tip: Still not sure what kind of VA you need? Try tracking your time for a week to see where your working hours go, and where you might be wasting time on tasks that could be outsourced.

Related Post: How to be Productive Instead of Busy in Your Business

2. Outline clear instructions.

Now that you know what tasks you want to delegate, you can start outlining your process for each. If you don’t already have standard operating procedures (SOPs), now is the time to create them! 

Write down instructions or record a video that walks your future VA through the task step-by-step. The more detailed, the better. Having these systems in place will also make it much easier to onboard future team members.

Related Post: How to Set Up Your Systems and Hire a Dream Team 

3. Start your search.

Although you may be tempted to start searching right away, having clarity and solid systems in place will make the hiring process much smoother. Now you can target your job posting towards the specific type of VA you want and look for people with experience in that area.

When writing your job description, make sure to include important details like budget (most VAs are paid an hourly rate or by retainer) and how many hours you’ll need from them each week/month. Many VAs have other clients they work for, so it’s important to set those expectations from the start.

Once you have your job description, you can post it on job sites like Indeed and LinkedIn or Facebook groups. Another great way to find a VA is to ask other business owners if they have anyone they recommend!

4. Interview candidates. 

Now the fun part! You put your job posting out there, had a few applications come in, and now it’s time to interview the candidates.

How you structure the interviews is up to you. You may want it to be relaxed and informal so you can get to know each other, or you may want to focus on their skills and references. (Hint: If they have experience doing the task you’re looking for, ask for samples!).

There are a lot of virtual assistants out there, and you’ll probably find several who meet your criteria. At this point, it might come down to who you connect with better. Remember you’ll be working closely with this person in your business, so you want to get along!

5. Onboarding.

The final step in hiring a virtual assistant is bringing them onto your team and making sure they have everything they need to get started. This is where you’ll be glad you didn’t skip over those SOPs!

Remember to set reasonable expectations. Don’t expect your VA to pick up everything overnight, especially the tasks you’ve been doing yourself for years. And if you want something done a certain way, tell them – don’t expect them to read your mind! 

If you’re still a little uncertain about outsourcing, it’s perfectly okay to start with a trial run. Make your first contract 30-90 days so you can ensure you and your VA are a good fit. If all goes well, hopefully they’ll be with you much longer!

Final thoughts on how to hire a virtual assistant. 

Hiring your first team member is a critical step on the journey from solopreneur to CEO. It frees up your time so you can focus on tasks that truly grow your business. Chances are, after you hire a virtual assistant, you’ll see your productivity and income skyrocket.

If you’re ready to step into that next level you, check out my Freedom Mastermind. This six month coaching program was designed to help you stop playing small and scale your business to $10-30k+ months – without working more hours. 

Sound like just what you need? Get on the waitlist here! 

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