Working with anyone takes time to adjust, especially if you are used to doing it all yourself.
The first thing you need to do is be prepared to trust your VA and yes this does take time, but communication, information and a degree of patience are key to a successful working relationship, on both sides. Before you start working with a VA it is a good idea to ask around your network for recommendations and then arrange a free discovery call. Most VA's offer this and it gives both you and the VA the opportunity to decide whether you are a good fit. Key questions to ask include Are they insured? What type of insurance do they have? Are they registered with the ICO? What is the cost per hour or do you need to buy a package? What is their availability? What tools do they use? How do they communicate with their clients? Following on from your initial call if you are a good fit then expect to receive a contract to sign outlining your VA's terms and conditions along with a description of the services and hours contracted. I always recommend an initial paid block of 10 hours, as this gives you the opportunity to work together and see how you both get on. Once you have both signed the contract and made payment, then expect to spend approximately an hour going through everything on a call, in more detail. This will depend on the complexity of the work and with good email communication maybe reduced or the need eliminated. It is often helpful, especially in the initial stages to arrange a regular check in as this helps to answer any questions and reduces the risk of miscommunication. Communication really is key - your VA needs information in a timely fashion! The more you give them when onboarding the better, even if it does feel like overload to you, your VA will sort out what they need to know. While experienced in their field they are not an expert in your business and systems or mind reading! My crystal ball might need polishing but I am not effective if you don't communicate with me. Please don't expect me to second guess what you want. While property does have sequences and steps all clients work in different ways. Some are happy for you to get on with all the onboarding without any intervention from them, while others want to know everything, which of course as the client is your prerogative, but micromanaging isn't helpful and this is where you need to learn to trust your VA and that if they are unsure they will ask. Agree the steps and then let them get on with it. I have worked with clients over the years, who don't want to be involved with anything, do everything themselves, ignore the uncomfortable things, or practice radio silence all of which are equally frustrating, for different reasons. It is about getting the right balance for you and your business. Some people really aren't ready to work with a VA and that is fine, but burnout is a real thing and nobody can do everything on their own! But learning to let go of your business baby is equally hard. Honesty is essential for both the client and also the VA. I would far rather a client tell me when we are working together, if it isn't working for them. Flexibility is the key, then we modify things and if the doubts still persist then better to part company. My integrity and the ability to sleep at night are far more important to me than anything else Boundaries & availability - be honest about what you expectations are. Are you looking for cover outside standard working hours? Some VA's do offer this but many choose not to and as a business owner can decide what works for them. Do you need somebody available Monday to Friday, during standard office hours or can your work be done in the evening and at weekends? How quickly do you expect a response from your VA? Many clients are entrepreneurs and work on multiple projects at different times of the day and night. if this is you then fine but as the VA you might want to silence your notifications as being woken up at 4am by multiple notifications causes sleep deprivation and insomnia! I turn my phone off at night so this isn't a problem but the early morning scrolling through your emails can incite panic and the need to start work there and then! If your VA tells you that they work certain hours please respect this and don't expect replies, outside of this. This is common sense but I have worked for clients in the past who don't know where to find things, even when you have told them on multiple occasions and then decide to interrupt you on a Sunday afternoon for details. This is not okay and yes I no longer work for the client. Yes emergencies do happen and just occasionally projects might overrun and need to be worked on outside of normal hours. A lot of VAs can and will accommodate this and this should be clear in their terms and conditions. If you think this might happen please be upfront about this and if your VA can't accommodate this they might work in a team or have associates, so you have double the knowledge. Personally bookkeeping is something I avoid, it is specialised and I have no wish to do it, so I always find someone else who can. Saying please and thank you - just three simple words but these mean everything and make you feel great about yourself. Trust me as a VA this can make or break your day. Yes there really are people out there who rarely say please or thank you and as a parent two of the first words we teach our children! These are just some of the things that I have learnt from working with clients over a number of years. Not all VA's are equal! Unfortunately in recent years becoming a VA has been marketed as a great side hustle with comments like all you need is a laptop and an internet connection, which of course are not helpful and completely false. As you can see you need a lot more than just a laptop and internet connection.
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Do you find yourself struggling to plan and stay on top of your to do list or do you prefer to take it day by day? Or are you a combination of both? Or maybe you are like my daughter who never writes the to-do list despite insisting she will! No worries any which way I have some ideas to help you out...
Do you want to try and get more organised or are you happy to as you are? If you are happy as you are then please feel free to stop reading here. But you don't want to miss this ;) or maybe you do, only one way to find out and that is to keep reading! Some of us love being organised in all aspects of our lives, while others are fantastic in our work lives but not so great in our home lives, or vice versa. Both are fine and being less organised is fine if you are happy. However, working with a VA can help you to focus on getting your to do list done. We are all experts in our own fields and have things that we all love to do and other things we avoid until they have to become a priority. For me my accounts are always the things I outsource. I can create an invoice and chase my payments but anything more complicated (the rest of the math-y stuff) I am happy to leave my accountant to do. When you start to realise that your to do list is longer than you can manage and detracting from your productivity it's time to start to think about how you can get more organised. The first thing I recommend is write down everything you do in your life from cleaning to shopping, to the things that we often overlook like washing the dishes, including all your business tasks. Once you have done this work out what you love doing, what you don't mind doing and the things you don't want to do. What's your budget, what can you afford to outsource? Work out what you can afford and find out how much you can expect to pay for the tasks you want to outsource. what do you need to outsource to keep yourself sane and what are you able and happy to do yourself - business can be hard but it shouldn't be coming at the cost of mental wellbeing or overall sanity. For more tips on getting organised feel free to download my top tips for getting organised and how to stay organised. Or book a call to discuss your organisational needs - I like this option personally ;) Working as a property Virtual Assistant, for a number of clients means every day is different! For me I love the variety and switching between different tasks. A lot of property work can be reactionary rather than planned.
My role covers everything from advertising for new tenants, to dealing with maintenance issues, while managing tenants and their expectations and ensuring Landlords are compliant with all the relevant legislation. I support clients with single lets, multi lets, HMOs (Houses of multiple occupation), as well as SA (Serviced accommodation). My typical day includes
As you can see the work is very varied and each client has different requirements. For some clients I carry out the whole range of property tasks while for others I carry out a small part of this. The key to working in property is flexibility and adaptability, something I pride myself on. My clients use a range of different tools hence the need to switch quickly and efficiently between different tasks and clients. It can be challenging at times and often I can be dealing with multiple situations and the ability to prioritise is essential. Did you know that Right to Rent checks are changing?
From the 6th April 2022 people who hold Biometric residence cards and permit can no longer just manually show their documents. Like those with pre-settled or settled status they need to obtain a share code and then you can use the Home Office checking service to check their eligibility. Tenants can obtain them here https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent There are no changes for those with pre-settled or settled status. There are also some plans for British & Irish citizens who if they prefer will be able to submit their documents using digital technology known as Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT). At the moment this is optional for Landlords and Letting Agents. However, manual checks are still acceptable and the Home Office have advised that there are no plans currently to make this mandatory. For bigger multi-national agencies it may make sense, but perhaps not for single branches. The Right to Rent checking service for Landlords and agencies can be found here https://www.gov.uk/view-right-to-rent Video right to rent checks remain acceptable and will end on the 30th September 2022. For more information https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-landlord-right-to-rent-checks How many of us spend time scrolling? Are you wasting time or is it constructive? It depends on why you are scrolling. Throughout the day unless I am doing Facebook Community Management I tend to stay off social media of all types.
In the evening I can be found scrolling again but I combine it with looking at business groups which I belong to. I spend about an hour a day checking my preferred channels and thinking about my business and how to engage on social media. Some people recommend chunking it into 15 minute intervals, throughout the day. But for me I know that this realistically won't just be 15 minutes and will interrupt my work flow and probably the rest of my day too. My plans for this year are to schedule time to work on LinkedIn each day and also Facebook, scheduling and planning the time makes the rest of the day that much easier - and run a lot smother than it might otherwise. Often when I am reading or watching the news I will see something that I choose to share across my social media platforms, it's my way of keeping myself up to date - and my platform too. As a planner, and someone who likes to be in control, I spend a couple of hours each month planning and scheduling most of my social media posts. It doesn't have to be monthly if that doesn't work for you, if weekly works for you then that is great, it is whatever works for you. For me, a quiet Sunday morning with a cup of coffee (biscuits are optional) works the best! My posts tend to be similar each week to provide consistency to the people who follow me, as well as appealing to those people who might be interested in working with me. My 3 top tips for social media are simple (and I don't mean 'simple' - I mean simple)
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AuthorI am a specialist property virtual assistant, looking after HMOs, single lets and multi lets. Archives
March 2024
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