While the term Virtual Assistant is becoming more and more popular, many of us are still unsure as to how to use one in the day to day operations of a business. The Virtual Assistance industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Every VA has their own niche and specialty skill set. This post is the first in a series. Each week I will be covering the different ways that a business can use a Virtual Administrative Assistant, a Virtual Bookkeeper and an Internet Marketing Assistant.

The following are just a few simple and easy ways that a Virtual Administrative Assistant can jump in and save you lots of time. And lets face it, more time equals more money, more freedom, and even less stress.

Are you spending a large chunk of your day sorting through your emails and jotting down voice-mail messages? Give your Virtual Assistant access to your web-mail and answers to some frequently asked questions and they can:

• Weed out spam messages
• Handle customer service emails
• Answer frequently asked questions
• Flag high priority messages

You can also set up a separate high priority email account that important messages can be re-routed to. Set it up so that you are notified immediately when a message comes in, via cell phone or PDA and you are able to stay on top of the super important messages without getting distracted by the lower priority items.

Do you find yourself wondering if you are forgetting an important event, meeting or special occasion? Give your Virtual Assistant access to your online calendar and a list of your special occasions so that they can:

• Input all of your special occasions into your calendar
• Set up a customized reminder system so that you never forget a special occasion, meeting or conference call again

Don’t have time to send out cards or gifts? A Virtual Assistant can send out “thank you” notes and cards as well as greeting cards for special occasions. They can also arrange to purchase and send gifts.

Like most entrepreneurs, you probably have all kinds of ideas or projects that are sitting on the back burner because you don’t have the time to explore or implement them. Your Virtual Assistant can:

• Be a sounding board to bounce your ideas off of
• Help you brainstorm, streamline, and add to your ideas
• Research
• Map out a plan to explore or implement your new project
• Seek out and coordinate other resources or contributors
• Liaison between you and other contributors as project manager

Do you find that you don’t have time to jot down notes from meetings and interviews? Are you coming up with questions or ideas while driving or otherwise engaged and can’t write things down? Do you have a lot of correspondence to address and not enough time? With a digital recorder your can record your thoughts, meetings, interviews, memos, letters etc. Download the digital file and email them to your Virtual Assistant. They can then:

• Transcribe your recording and type it up for you, then email your meeting notes or interview back to you for future reference
• Transcribe your thoughts and ideas for your review
• Type the email, memos, or letters and email them back to you or distribute them for you

These are just a few quick and simple ideas to begin implementing Virtual Administrative Assistant Services in your business. This is just the first in a series. We will also be covering Virtual Bookkeeping and Internet Marketing Assistant Services. Subscribe to my Virtual Assistant Blog to receive the next installment.

Marta Costa

[http://www.va-4-hire.com]

Go to my website to find out more about how a Virtual Assistant can take your business to the next level!