Hiring a Virtual Assistant, of course. But why not hire an employee in your small business? In my opinion, it is hardly worth it. If you are concerned about costs, taking on a full-time employee that you are 100% responsible for will no doubt be an extremely stressful undertaking, especially during the uncertain and turbulent times that we currently face. You do not want the additional hassle of having to accommodate for a Personal Assistant in an office situation (which you may not even have at the moment), all the expenses that come with an office set up (i.e. Laptop, Printer, WIFI, etc.), not to mention a full salary and the fact that you need to oversee her every move to make sure that your work is being taken care of at all times.

Hiring a Virtual Assistant does not entail any of the aforementioned needs of a full-time Personal Assistant, because a Virtual Assistant is completely independent. She works from her location, she already has a full setup at her own cost, and does not expect to be paid a salary, only for the services and hours that she works for you. Here are some other major benefits:

• You are not responsible for any employee benefits (i.e., maternity leave, annual leave, sick leave, bonuses, increases, or anything else affiliated with a full-time employee)
• There is no need to micro-manage a VA (a good one that is), because all the tasks she performs for you are time-tracked and come off the monthly retainer you have already purchased at the beginning of the month
• You have a Virtual Assistant who can handle the entire administrative/organisational function for you, while you get to decide which tasks you want to focus on, and your Virtual Assistant takes care of the rest.