Have you ever felt that what you’re doing within your business is mostly legwork?
So much daily legwork that you’ve already forgotten to focus on more important tasks?
But hey, you got yourself thinking, “If I focus on more important tasks, who’ll take care of these minor but tedious ones?”
If this is YOU, then you already need a Virtual Assistant!
We care for you and your business’s welfare. And so, here are some pointers to see if you are already in need of a VA.
1. You’re completing maintenance tasks
Most notably if you spend your free time more on maintenance tasks instead of those that are growing your business. Maintenance tasks such; checking your emails, replying to customers or inventory health, etc.
2. You're struggling to focus on a clear growth path
You feel you are wearing different hats throughout the day, from bookkeeper to administrator, there is a lot to attend to. With so many tasks to manage, it does not necessarily mean that you’re being productive all day as you consistently switch your focus from one task to the other.
3. You’re feeling overwhelmed
Yes, owning a business is not a walk in the park. At the same time, you shouldn’t feel so overwhelmed that it starts to affect your health and your business growth. You should always find something inspirational within it to keep on pushing towards your goal. However, because of doing tasks that you don’t like, but you have to, or doing too much, may lead to overwhelm.
Ultimately, if you are feeling one or more of the above, then it might be time to hire someone to help you.
What Tasks Can You Hire For?
Here is a comprehensive list of Arbitrage business processes, as a solopreneur you will be responsible for day to day, until you are able to take that next step and onboard your first Virtual team member to help you with the operations.
Sourcing
Reviewing
Purchasing
Adding Inventory
Replenishing
Repricing
Shipping
Seller Central
Inventory Management
Inventory Health
Finance
Operations
Where to start?
What to outsource first?
How do I successfully outsource?
These are key and very common questions we get asked. One very effective way to decide on tasks to outsource to a VA, is to record what you’re working on for a week or 2, to then enable you to assess where you spent the majority of your time, how much of your time was was spent on maintenance tasks and how much was spent on key income tasks. It is the maintenance tasks that we recommend you focus on first as these will be the easiest to outsource and once a VA is onboarded, provide you with more time to focus on growing your business and scale by completing the key income tasks. Just think…what you could do with an extra 20+ hours per week, every week of the year going forward?
What Methods Can You Use To Track Your Time?
Here are our Top Two methods:
1. Good old fashion Google Sheet
We suggest google sheets over excel, especially if you are using G Suite or google workspace for your business, as this allows you to create, access and share sheets and documents from any device and store them within your drive. Remote access anywhere in the world to whoever has the link, making it very easy for your Virtual Assistants working in a different country to access your business files.
2. The Time tracking App Hubstaff
Hubstaff is a fantastic time tracking software that we use inside of our business and will allow you to monitor and track your time and your Virtual Assistants with this online performance software. Track screen results for each user, their time, scheduled timesheets, raise and pay invoices and much more. It fully integrates with a large number of apps and software, including Asana, which we use as the main software hub of our operations. They offer a FREE 14 day trial, which you can take advantage of HERE.
Once you have chosen your platform to track your time, be consistent and do this for a period or 1 to 2 weeks (the longer the better). At the end of the time tracking period, review where you have spent your time and ask yourself the question…
Do I need to be doing this task myself?
You’ll also be surprised at how much time you’re spending on certain activities. If you are already at the stage where you have a sourcing VA and purchasing yourself as well as maintaining the business admin, this will be key to deciding which role of VA you need next.
Where To Find Your Superstar Virtual Assistant?
We’ve recently partnered with #GlobalVASolutions, online recruitment specialists who have vast amount of experience with virtual assistants in the Philippines, profile and business culture matching (finding winning VAs who fit in well within the company) and together with our experience of the ecommerce industry are able to help other ecommerce business owners find their super star VAs.
Not only will the core service solutions provide a fully managed recruitment and onboarding experience but it will also provide advanced training, specific to Amazon, to the core business software the VAs will need to use on a daily basis and advanced training within the role that they are taking on. It’s a one of a kind service that we are extremely excited about and you can reach out to learn more by booking a free consultation.
Whether you are looking for your first Virtual Assistant or wish to build your Virtual team within this industry, Global VA Solutions will work with you to personally source, shortlist, train and onboard your Virtual Assistant, specifically to the role you require, as well as providing the necessary support you need to successfully manage your VA. This service is tailor made for you and the unique benefits that they can bring to your business, sets them apart from other services out there.
Final Thoughts
In summary, as an Amazon FBA seller, you have to build your business from the ground up, from sourcing to reporting. However, at some point you will realise the need to have someone who can help you with the daily legwork of the business, as that is key to gain significant traction and scale.
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Need More Help? Here Are Some Additional Resources
Get Coaching: Want our help growing your eCom business? Apply for our Arbitrage Experts Academy Programme Here.
Free Training: How to start, systemise and scale your online business. Register Here.
Book a FREE Strategy Call: Get 1-2-1 support from the OSC Team to devise a tailor made plan you can follow to achieve scale. Click Here.
Get Expert Virtual Assistants: Want our build your team of transformational VAs and free your time? Learn more here.
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