Business Owners: Are you spending too much time on non-billable tasks?

By: Deirdre Cooke

Your productivity is directly related to your time management. We have all heard the phrase “time is money”. No matter what your line of business, your time has a value. The more time you spend on non-income producing tasks, the less overall income you will produce. Paperwork and administrative tasks, along with managing email seem to be among the top 5 time-consuming activities for business owners. There is a way to help manage these time wasters.

Paperwork and other administrative tasks can include, written correspondence, bill paying, customer invoicing and bookkeeping, which all are an important part of any business. These non-billable mundane tasks do need be done regularly, but they should not take away from the income producing side of the business.

Email is a great tool to communicate, but it can become very overwhelming and distracting. There is not a day that the content of my inbox is about 75% spam or junk mail. Sound familiar? How much time is spent on sorting it all out? Efficient email management is necessary to avoid wasting valuable time.

Is there an answer for ridding you of these time wasters? Yes, simply delegate to a Virtual Assistant. Using a Virtual Assistant (VA) to help you manage your non-billable tasks is Smart Business. A VA is an entrepreneur and independent contractor who provides various administrative services to businesses. Working virtually means the VA is working in her own office, using her own equipment and communicating via email, telephone, Internet, fax, remote access and other modern communication technology.

Some of the many benefits of using a Virtual Assistant:

 You gain a partner. Your VA is also a business owner and is dedicated to help you succeed.

 You will be able to increase your profits by spending less time on non-income producing tasks.

 You do not have the extra costs and headaches of having an employee (vacation pay, employment taxes, etc).

 When using VA you only pay for “time on task”, no idle time.

Outsourcing or hiring a VA to handle your business correspondence, bill paying, customer invoicing and basic bookkeeping allows you to focus on the things you do best. Your VA can supply you with daily updates, so you do not feel out of the loop. Your VA can also provide email management, by screening your email, deleting spam and junk mail and by sorting relevant ones. Your VA can also send replies on your behalf, if desired. Virtual Assistants also offer a variety of other timesaving office services. Just imagine the extra time you will have to focus on building your business.

About the Author:

Deirdre Cooke is the owner and founder of Excellent Virtual Office Services, providing Virtual Administrative Assistance to Small Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Real Estate Professionals. Saving You Time and Money, so you can Successfully Build Your Business. Deirdre is a Member of Southeastern Virtual Assistance Group and Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce.

© 2007 Excellent Virtual Office Services, Deirdre Cooke, all rights reserved. You may print this article for personal use, or republish it only if it is left unaltered in its entirety with all links made active. If published please email the author (Deirdre@ExcellentVirtualOfficeServices.com) with a link to the article. Contact the author directly for other permissions.