You’ve taken the time to not only acknowledge the fact that you need support in your business, but also to make a list of what tasks you’ll be delegating out.

Congrats to becoming aware of the problem and how to solve it!

Now, let’s take some action!

Once you have your VA task list prepared, turn it into an attractive job listing.

Remember that you’re a small business, not a corporate conglomerate, so feel free to inject some personality and pizzazz into the write-up. Yes, you want to come across of a professional business that people should take you seriously, but also you want people to know you’re human.

Be sure to include a list of the tasks the VA will be responsible for, but also some expectations for the assistant. These are items like:

• response time for communications – are you looking for same day or 24 hours or something else?
• skill level – do they need to know certain pieces of technology or will you train them?
• number of hours per week – this helps a candidate know if she has the bandwidth to take you on as a client.
• starting pay – some assistants have a minimum pay rate they’ll accept; note that you don’t need to include this in your listing if you prefer not to.

A few helpful notes as you’re eyeing the process…

You can expect to pay $20-50 per hour for a US-based VA, and the amount will depend on the tasks they’re doing. For example, general admin like answering your support inbox and managing your calendar is on the lower end. If the VA is doing more technical tasks, like managing Infusionsoft, you can expect to pay on the higher end of that range.

If you’re not sure how many hours the weekly tasks might be, think about how long they take for you to complete and go from there. Give a range in the job posting, such as 3-5 hours per week. It doesn’t need to be exact to the minute, but informative so that candidates can make the decision of if they have enough time for your workload.

Next, let’s find you some candidates.

Use the posting you crafted and reach out to your network, including friends, family, other business owners, your email list, posting to your business’ Facebook page. Your reach outs can be done via email or social media, wherever your community hangs out.

Ask if anyone is either interested in the position or knows of someone who fits the profile.

The benefit of reaching out to your network first is that your applicants will likely be familiar with your business, programs, and products. This means that you won’t have to get the new team member on board with your WHY, only your HOW for doing business.

If you’re a part of any FB groups with other entrepreneurs, post your listing there too. Be sure to check the posting guidelines of the group first.

Or, try an online hiring platform, such as HireMyMom.com.

In your listing, direct candidates to fill out an application, which you can host on a free platform, such as Google Forms, TypeForm or Survey Monkey.

The application should be short enough that someone can complete it in 5 minutes or less, but more detailed than merely name, email address and website.

Sample questions and prompts include:

• Name:
• Email Address:
• Phone Number:
• Website:
• How did you hear about this position?
• Why are you interested in this position? What part of this position most appeals to you?
• What are your work hours and time zone?
• How flexible is your schedule?
• How many hours per week do you have available to work with us?
• What is your average response time to emails or when assigned a new task?
• How do you invoice for your time, i.e. hourly, prepay for block of hours, monthly retainer, etc.?
• How do you track your time?
• Is your payment method flexible? (this should be a ‘Yes/No’ drop-down box)
• Please select the programs you feel comfortable working with: (list all of the main pieces of technology and programs you use to run your business and make the responses be checkboxes)
• Would you be willing to do a selection of sample tasks as a part of our application process? (It would be paid.)
• Please list 3 references (name and email address) or the link to testimonials on your website.
• Please share anything else here that you think may be important for me to know.

Based on the responses, you’ll hold a 15-20 minute interview with the top 3-5 candidates.

Next week, we’ll go over what questions to ask during the interview, checking of references and how to make a decision on who your next assistant will be.

Have a question for how to find candidates for your assistant opening? Post your listing below. I’ll review it and direct you on your exact next steps.

Photo by Climate KIC on Unsplash