What can a virtual assistant do for your business? A virtual assistant can take most of the pre-work…
and post-work around what you do off your plate. The calendar, client prep and follow-through…
content and admin.
That's the short answer. The longer answer starts with a common mistake. Most founders hand a VA a few random tasks…
and wonder why nothing changes.
The work that's eating your week…
isn't the work you'd think to hand off. Let me show you where to look.
#1 What can a virtual assistant do for my business?
A virtual assistant can own almost everything…
that happens before and after your core work. You're good at what you do. Clients trust you…
and the work only you can do is the reason they pay you.
But every piece of that work…
has prep in front of it and follow-through behind it. There are emails before the call…
and notes after it.
There's a proposal to send…
an invoice to chase…
and a file that needs to land in the right folder. That's where your week goes. You're a runner stopping every 10 feet to tie your shoes.
Here's what a VA can take off your plate…
grouped by where the time usually goes.
Booking, rescheduling, prep notes before each call
Going back and forth on times
Gathering files, agendas, past notes
Hunting for links 5 minutes before a call
Recaps, next steps, reminders, invoices
Remembering who you promised what
Scheduling posts, repurposing blogs, newsletters
Writing at 10 PM because nothing went out
Guest booking, show notes, publishing
Chasing guests and files
Updates, new pages, blog uploads
Waiting on a developer for small changes
Scrum notes, tracking, onboarding new people
Being the only one who knows where things are
Options, quotes, tools, travel
Spending your best hours comparing tabs
You don't need all of it on day 1. You need the right first piece.
#2 Why do most founders hand off the easy tasks first?
Because they hand off what's easy to explain…
not what's costing them the most. So the VA gets a list of small jobs. Update this spreadsheet. Post this when you get a chance.
None of it touches what's really pulling you in. Before long you're inventing work to keep them busy. It's almost like finding toys to amuse a child with…
while you work for 2 hours.
That's a second job, not relief. And when nothing changes…
it's easy to decide the VA wasn't any good.
It wasn't the person. It was the setup.
Kris Ward
#3 What should I hand off to a virtual assistant first?
Hand off the task that interrupts you most. It isn't always the biggest project…
or the thing you dislike most. It's the one that keeps pulling you out of your real work…
over and over, every week.
For many of the founders we work with…
it's the calendar or client prep. For some it's client follow-through. Every call creates a trail of small jobs…
and that trail never gets picked up.
There’s a simple way to find yours.
At the end of today, ask yourself 1 question.
What pulled me off my plan today?
The answer that keeps showing up…
is your first hand-off.
Not sure where your time is going?
Take the 5 Minute Capacity Check.
It shows you where your business depends on you most…
and which work should come off your plate first.
#4 What should I keep for myself?
Keep the work only you can do. That means the calls with your best clients…
and the decisions that need your judgment. Everything around those…
is where your VA starts.
This part surprises people. Even founders who say "my business is different"…
have far more pre-work and post-work than they think. A consultant still has a proposal after a discovery call.
A podcast host still has a guest to book…
and an episode to publish. For the core of it, you may be right. You may be the only one who can do the work.
But you don't have to be the only one…
who can get it ready.
#5 Can a virtual assistant do more than tasks?
Yes, and that's where the real time comes back. A VA who only takes tasks…
still needs you to hand them the next one. You stay the person everything runs through.
What you want is a VA who owns the work. They know what's coming. They bring you what's done and what's stuck…
along with the fix, not just the problem.
That's a different kind of VA…
and it doesn't happen by accident. At Win The Hour Win The Day…
we find, hire and onboard a full-time VA we train to lead.
Our Leadership Program trains them to think ahead…
and own the work.
Your VA should be a peer, not a task puppet.
Kris Ward
Founder, Win The Hour Win The Day
#6 What does a virtual assistant need to own the work?
They need a setup to step into. A VA dropped into a business with no setup…
ends up waiting on you for every answer. 2 things change that.
Super Toolkits.
Each task gets a step-by-step guide…
with every link inside the step where it's used.
Your VA follows it like GPS directions.
A short daily Scrum.
Your VA shares what they're working on…
and where they're stuck.
You answer once…
and the answer goes into the Super Toolkit.
That's how a task stops coming back to you. Business does not run on memory. That goes for yours and your VA's.
→Related read, How to Stop Being the Bottleneck in Your Business#7 How many hours a week can a virtual assistant save me?
It depends on how much pre-work and post-work…
is still running through you right now. We don't promise a number. What we see again and again…
is that it starts with the task that interrupts you most.
That task becomes the first thing that stops needing you…
and the next one follows from there. Our clients keep the same VA for years…
because the setup grows with them.
Key Takeaways
- ✓A virtual assistant can own most of the pre-work and post-work around your core work, from the calendar and client prep to client follow-through, content and admin.
- ✓Most founders hand off easy-to-explain tasks first, so nothing changes and the work still runs through them.
- ✓Hand off the task that interrupts you most. For many founders it's the calendar, client prep or client follow-through.
- ✓Keep the work only you can do, the client calls and the decisions that need your judgment. Everything around them is where your VA starts.
- ✓A VA who owns the work needs a setup to step into, Super Toolkits for the how and a short daily Scrum for what's moving and what's stuck.
Not sure what to hand off first? Take the 5 Minute Capacity Check to see where your business depends on you most.
FAQ
What can a virtual assistant do for a small business?
A virtual assistant can own most of the pre-work and post-work around what you do. That includes the calendar, client prep and follow-through, social media, podcast production, website updates and team admin.
What is the first task to give a virtual assistant?
The task that interrupts you most. For many founders that's the calendar, client prep or client follow-through, because each one pulls you out of your real work many times a week.
What should I not hand off to a virtual assistant?
Keep the work only you can do, like calls with your best clients and decisions that need your judgment. Your VA takes the prep and follow-through around those.
Can a virtual assistant work in a specialized business?
Yes. Even in specialized, high-trust work, every task has prep before it and follow-through after it. That's where your VA starts, and their ownership grows from there.
Why does my virtual assistant keep asking me questions?
Because the answers live in your head. Collect the questions for a short daily Scrum, answer once, and put the answer in the Super Toolkit so nobody has to ask again.
Is a virtual assistant just for admin tasks?
No. A VA with the right setup and leadership training can own whole areas of work, bring you what's done and what's stuck, and come to you with the fix, not just the problem.
