As a small business owner, developing your business will always be at the back of your mind. Can you go bigger? Better? What’s next on the cards? But when you’re already juggling an impressive workload, it can be difficult to turn those thoughts into reality.
As Virtual Assistants, it’s our job to step in and take some of that workload off your shoulders while simultaneously putting processes and support in place designed to help take your business to the next level. If developing your small business is on the cards for you but you’re not sure how you’re going to get there, here’s how investing in a Virtual Assistant could help…
Small Business Development with a Virtual Assistant
Administrative Support
One of the biggest barriers to business development is time and, as a small business owner, you’ll know that admin takes up a lot of it! In fact, studies show that the average small business owner spends up to 33 hours working through administrative tasks per month. We don’t know about you, but we reckon a lot more business development would be on the cards if those hours were earned back.
This is where a Virtual Assistant can step in. Where admin is concerned, VAs are focused on taking on the niggly but necessary tasks that you don’t have time for. As an example, your VA may take over your email management, overseeing your inbox, flagging important emails for your attention and dealing with enquiries. Not only does this free up copious amounts of your time, but it also aids business development. Customer enquiries will be responded to promptly and professionally, helping to build strong customer relationships and eventually increase retention.
Similarly, if it’s maintaining customer data or updating records that eats into your time, having a VA on hand to take care of it not only gives you those hours back, but ensures records are up to date and fit for purpose when it comes to business development strategies like marketing campaigns.
Filling your working days with admin won’t aid business development, but investing in a Virtual Assistant to do it for you just might!
Market Research
Staying ahead of the game when it comes to business development requires a focus on market research. If you’re looking to reach a new or wider audience, launch a new product or rebrand your business, you’ll need to know what other businesses similar to yours are doing, and how their audiences are responding.
But when you’re also busy running a business, it can be difficult to find the time to carry out market research in depth.
Virtual Assistants specialising in market research can step into support you. They’ll take the time to immerse themselves in your industry, study similar businesses and products and their audiences to determine the best business development strategy for you. They’ll work to put together proposals and detailed plans that can help you take your business to the next level.
Without the necessary support, the idea of developing your business in this way runs the risk of never being more than an idea (because who has the time, honestly?) Investing in a Virtual Assistant breaks down that barrier.
Content Creation
When we think about business development, we’re often thinking ‘how can I get my business out there?’ To develop your business further, you need an invested audience that your business, products and services resonate with. And to gain that audience, you need to be showing up on their radar, which is why content creation for small businesses is so important.
Providing valuable content to your audience through emails, blogs, social media, newsletters, even your website, helps form those initial connections and turn them into lasting customer relationships. But creating valuable content takes, you guessed it, time! And when you’re tight on those elusive hours as it is, content creation can get relegated to the back burner.
Virtual Assistants specialising in content creation can take over this aspect of your business, working to create valuable content created with your specific audience in mind. They can put together written content, create images or videos and work across your platforms to engage with your audience in real time. Doing so will bring your brand to life, help it reach a wider audience and form better relationships with existing customers.
Content creation can be a huge propeller when it comes to business development, and investing in a Virtual Assistant for support allows you to utilise that opportunity to its full potential.
Credit Control
Hands up if credit control is your least favourite business task! It’s the same for so many small business owners – not only is it time-consuming, but late payers and missing invoices can make it feel incredibly frustrating. It can also hold your business development back if not kept on top of.
Virtual assistants with expertise in credit control are focused on supporting your credit control process to ensure invoices are sent, received and paid on time, aged debt is collected, and your cash flow remains positive. Not only does this, yet again, free up your time, but it also means you’ll have accurate, up to date accounts, allowing you to determine what funds can be filtered back into the development of your business.
Credit control processes that aren’t efficient or effective can massively hold your business back, so don’t be afraid to reach out for the support of a VA if business development is your goal.
Small Business Support with The Edwards Company
Working with a Virtual Assistant breaks down the barriers that stand in the way of your small business development. It frees up your time, allowing you to focus on implementing new ideas, sourcing new customers and building better relationships with existing ones.
If business development is on the cards for your small business and you’re on the hunt for a helping hand to support you, please get in touch with our fab team of Virtual Assistants.