About 9 months ago I hired an eaHELP Virtual Executive Assistant. Having had no experience in this arena I wasn’t sure what to expect but had heard rave reviews about the company and their VEA’s so I was hopeful. Honestly, I didn’t really know how to delegate virtually but with the help of my new VEA and her expertise, I was able to unload some very tedious daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.
The key to the success has been the match that eaHELP made with me and my VEA. They took serious the need to match me with a VEA with a similar worldview and personality. It wasn’t just about skill set and competency. Michelle, my VEA, is awesome at getting things done and has learned our work habits even though she’s in Atlanta and I’m in Nashville. But the best fit has been with her love for the Lord and desire to see LifeWay succeed through her work with me. She has become invested in my success and the success of LifeWay in general. This is critical with a virtual assistant. And eaHELP does a great job matching client and VEA.
So in what ways does she help me?
I started by handing over my calendar. She began scheduling all my meetings, conference calls, even some personal appointments. I can’t tell you how much time this has saved me. Now, when someone wants to schedule with me they simply email her, and she sets it up.
Next, she took over my monthly expense report. All it took was one video call to train her and off she went with that task. Again, a few hours a month of time saved for me. All I have to do now is just save my receipts and Michelle does the rest. If you have to do expense reports, you know how frustrating it can be to stop “real work” to handle clerical work. Michelle eliminated that frustration for me.
I have been able to use her for other tedious, time-consuming tasks as well, ie: weekly newsletter preparation, data collecting, spreadsheet creation, the list goes on. I have learned, with her help, what else I can delegate to her. I continue to analyze my work load to send tasks to her that take up too much time for me and keep me away from focusing on what really counts in my job.
There are so many benefits that I have realized from hiring a VEA with eaHELP. First and foremost, the savings to our company is huge. We just pay a monthly fee. There is no contract. She is not an employee of our company so there are no employee costs like payroll taxes, benefits, etc. And, I have the ability to cancel the service with just a 30 day notice.
Not only has this saved me time and let me focus on my work, but I am more productive now than ever because I have someone dependent on me to be productive. Please DO NOT MISS THIS: I am more productive as an employee because I have someone relying on me to be productive and to send her stuff so that she is productive. I simply get more done. In fact, I can effectively get two things done at once.
Finally, my VEA from eaHELP has taught me a few tricks. I have learned how to use new tools for efficiency and organization. These productivity and task management tools have helped me better sort out what my tasks are and which I can delegate. The focus on organization that eaHELP has brought to my job has been priceless.
Pastors, ministers, and self-employed folks, if you need an talented assistant to handle a lot of the tedious tasks of your work but don’t really need or can’t afford a full time employee, this is definitely something to explore. I would highly recommend the Virtual Executive Assistant service from eaHELP. The support and partnership they provide is the best, and this has been a win for me personally and for LifeWay.