DEFINITIONS FROM WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY:

Expense – financial burden or outlay

Investment – the outlay of money usually for income or profit

Many small business owners do not truly differentiate in their thinking between expense and investment but tend to view the overall picture of how much they are spending and where costs can be saved or reduced. Let’s look at the expense as the financial outlay essential to conduct your business, such as Telephone, Office Supplies, Power, Internet, etc., and investment, as the financial outlay that is strictly focused on acquiring income/profit, such as Advertising, Public Relations, Networking, Social Media, etc.

Do you have anyone working for you? If not, you are spending your own time on administrative tasks. These tasks are essential for conducting your business. You could hire someone, but you probably and justifiably feel that it is too costly an expense. Having an employee not only involves a salary as well as other benefits, but there is inevitably downtime you are paying for, plus the added expense of the space and equipment an employee would require.

How does all this relate to the growth of your business and your profits? Let’s say (hypothetically) that your fee is $200 an hour. If you spend 20 hours of your time checking, sorting and responding to emails, updating your database, creating forms, scheduling appointments, writing your newsletter, maintaining your Social Media, and other administrative tasks, that is 20 hours you are not available to clients. In this example, not only are you losing time, you are potentially losing $4,000 of income you may have earned had you been able to spend those 20 hours on client work.

So, what’s the solution? Many entrepreneurs come to realize that they need more hours in their day for income-producing activities. That’s where a Virtual Assistant can help them. Since investment in Virtual Assistant services is well below the fees clients charge their customers and has the added advantage that Virtual Assistants are often more proficient at administrative tasks and streamlining procedures, many solo entrepreneurs now consider hiring a Virtual Assistant not only a necessity, but a proven investment strategy for the continued growth of their business. A Virtual Assistant provides his or her own ‘remote’ office space, equipment, and software. In addition, he or she pays their own taxes, health insurance, and vacation time. Unlike with an employee, who may have downtime, you pay only for the services they provide and the projects they undertake.

In conclusion, having extra available hours of real productivity in your workday can help you secure greater income for your business. When viewed this way, a Virtual Assistant is not an expense, but a smart investment—one which will ultimately lead you to greater prosperity. Remember, an investment in a Virtual Assistant pays dividends to you…far beyond what you pay for a Virtual Assistant’s services.

In essence, you are paying to have more time to make more money; I would imagine that would make you happy and gain your accountant’s approval too.

I provide procedures that streamline administrative tasks, and for several clients handle these tasks, I handle Social Media, and also offer strategies to take businesses to their next level.