The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast
166: When & How to Hire a VA (virtual assistant) with Sandra Booker
Description:
Running a yoga business is more than just teaching yoga classes. From scheduling and collecting payments, to sales and marketing, to promotion and logistics, we may find ourselves needing help with different elements of running a business. That’s where a Virtual Assistant (VA) can come in handy, but where do we start?
Sandra Booker is the founder of Any Old Task, where she provides small business owners with Business Support and Assistant Services. She specializes in workflow and process review, and helps streamline business processes and develop efficient workflows to keep things organized and on track. She also helps startup VAs generate the same kind of raving clientele she enjoys in her own business as part of her work at VA Studio.
Do you really need a VA or you need to look at your own productivity? What should you look at before hiring a VA? How much would a VA cost? Where can you find them, and what are some questions you should ask before hiring? Sandra answers all of our questions about bringing a VA onto your team, and shares some of the benefits that having a VA on your team could provide.
If you’ve ever thought about bringing in help into your business but aren’t sure what that would look like, this episode will be an eye-opener.
Key Takeaways:
[10:33] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Sandra Booker.
[12:05] What is the work that Sandra does and who does she do it for?
[14:22] How can yoga business owners tell when they need to hire a VA?
[16:49] Sandra clarifies when someone might need an OBM vs a VA.
[18:09] How much do VAs charge?
[21:08] Sandra also teaches VAs how to build up their own practice.
[23:39] How specialized should your VA be?
[26:44] How can we prepare to hire a VA?
[29:31] It can be hard to give up tasks that we're so used to doing. How can we decide what to keep and what to give up?
[32:55] Shannon and Sandra discuss some of the benefits of having a VA on your team.
[39:15] What are some things we need to do prior to hiring a VA?
[43:31] Sandra has some tips around when you might start looking for a VA.
[47:50] Your job posting can include some screening questions to filter out applicants to hire.
[50:07] Sandra offers her prospective clients a call to assess if they are a fit for her VA services.
[52:43] How else can you find a VA? Sandra has some suggestions about how to find a VA who is a fit for you and your business.
[55:06] Sandra has a few final tips for anyone thinking about hiring a VA.
[59:08] Get in touch with Sandra via her website or email.
[59:38] Shannon shares her key takeaways from this episode.
Links:
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity
Quotes from this episode:
"What goals are you working towards right now? What do you need in order to achieve those goals? And what are you missing, what's holding you back?"
"Always be aware of what the goals of the person you're about to hire are."
"All-in-ones don't work. They don't work with shampoo, they don't work with VAs."
"If you have anything less than 10 hrs of work to hand off to somebody a month, you probably don't really need a VA yet."