As a wedding professional you are most likely highly organized and a perfectionist in all aspects of your business. It is a multifaceted job and there are many elements involved in the day to day operations. Some tasks you may find less enjoyable than others and some can be very time intensive, but all are necessary for the success of your business. You may have heard of Virtual Assistants but are unsure exactly how one could help. Hopefully, the 8 points below will illustrate exactly how wedding professionals can utilize a Virtual Assistant and free up time for you to focus on other areas of your business.

1. Research

This could come in any number of forms, i.e. SEO and keyword analysis, researching target audiences or ideas for new blog content. It could also relate to an event and the research involving rehearsal dinner locations, accommodation options, event decor, etc. Researching generally takes a large amount of time and could be one of the first tasks you outsource since it is easy to offload and doesn’t require too much explanation.

2. Following up: Collecting Reviews & Photos of the event

Once your event is successfully completed you can ask your Virtual Assistant to collect reviews from your client and also any other vendors you worked with. Positive feedback is critical info to display on your website and social media platforms. A template could be created to have your Virtual Assistant send it out a week after the event, with a follow up a few weeks later if no review has been received. You may also want to task your Virtual Assistant with contacting vendors to request photos of the event that you can share with your network.

3. Pinterest

This platform deserves its own section since it’s potential is HUGE. As a visual search engine, Pinterest can help drive a lot of traffic to your website and any creative business should be utilizing this to its full potential, especially businesses that blog a lot. (Which for SEO purposes it is really necessary). Fully getting to grips with the functionality of this platform and implementing a successful pinning strategy can take a great deal of time. As with many things, consistency is key to see growth and you need to be pinning daily and not just willy nilly. Hence, this can be a time suck and monthly maintenance could be handed off to a Virtual Assistant that is well versed in this arena.

4. Social Media

We all know social media presence is a must for any business worth their salt. It is another one of those time-draining activities that you may want or like to do yourself, but could also be an easy task to delegate. It is also something where you can choose to maintain the control over as much or a little as you like. Perhaps you need a few extra posts a month to boost your account or perhaps you want someone to schedule all. Perhaps you want to hand over the entire thing so you don’t ever have to think about it.

5. Database or CRM Management

Task your Virtual Assistant to handle updating business contacts, client profiles, etc. They could also take charge of new client onboarding processes, invoicing and initiating workflows. Being a small business owner themselves and more likely working with a CRM system, most Virtual Assistants will be familiar with how to implement such tasks.

6. Email Management

This can be a very hard one to hand over initially (believe me, I’m a control freak myself). But, it is where you could soon reap the benefits of having a clean, tidy and organized inbox. You could start off slow, if you find it difficult to fully hand over the reigns, and gradually build up responsibility and control the more you grow to trust your VA.

7. Scheduling Appointments/Consultations

Your dedicated Virtual Assistant could handle your calendar, remind you of appointments, schedule walk-throughs, site visits, or client consultations. Basically be one step ahead of you so you are not running around like a headless chicken!

8. Travel Arrangements

If you are part of a destination wedding or event, you’ll inevitably need to make plans to get there. Perhaps you need to organize travel for others too. Why not task your Virtual Assistant with this? They can search for the best hotel, flight, and rental car details which will save oodles of time.

This is by no means an exhaustive list as there are so many other ways a Virtual Assistant can offer a helping hand in your business. The value comes down to the skill set of the Virtual Assistant and the areas in which you really need support. With the flexibility to come on board when you need them the most, plus the cost saving benefits compared to hiring an employee, a Virtual Assistant is your answer to feeling helpless and overwhelmed!

Start with writing down tasks that are on your to-do list that you could easily outsource. I suggest using a project management tool like Asana that can make the process of delegation and task tracking way easier.

If you want to know more about what you can expect when working with a Virtual Assistant, check out this blog post:

https://ccmarketinganddesign.com/what-to-expect-when-working-with-a-virtual-assistant/

Don’t wait until you’re already feeling overwhelmed! Be a step ahead and start working with a VA today. Find out more about how I could help by contacting me today!