How a general virtual assistant unlocks an abundance of time

Running a business takes a lot of energy, and when you’re juggling tasks like admin work and email management, you have less time to spend on scaling. The best way to free up your schedule is by hiring a general virtual assistant (GVA). Learn which time-consuming duties to delegate to them so you can focus on growing your brand.

What Can General Virtual Assistants Do?

GVAs are remote freelancers who help executives and businesses with routine tasks. Rather than specializing in one area, GVAs have a wide range of skills and can handle administrative, technical, and creative duties. They can also help with personal matters when needed.

The Benefits of Virtual Assistant Services

Hiring a remote assistant offers the following impactful benefits:

• Boosts Efficiency: With a VA, small but essential tasks happen in the background so you can concentrate on leadership duties.
• Reduces Overhead Costs: Virtual assistants are remote, so you don’t need extra office space to accommodate them. They’re also typically freelance, reducing payroll costs like benefits and taxes.
• Lets You Focus on Growth: When you aren’t overburdened with admin work, you can spend more time scaling your business.
• Encourages a Healthy Work-Life Balance: Business owners wear many hats, but this quickly causes pressure and stress. Outsourcing helps you focus on high-level tasks and use the rest of your time to enjoy your personal life.
• Improves Turnaround Time: It’s challenging to give routine, time-sensitive tasks the attention they need while handling your own work. VAs complete these jobs quickly, making your business more efficient.

10 Tasks for Virtual Assistants

Here are 10 tasks you can outsource to a VA, from quick wins to high-level matters.

1. Admin Work

Administrative tasks are one of the most common items to delegate. Virtual assistants handle jobs like data entry, database management, and file organization. They make great junior HR professionals, taking on duties like writing job descriptions and welcoming new hires.

2. Calendar Management

Managing a calendar takes up a surprising amount of time, whether you’re making appointments, remembering birthdays, or setting reminders. A VA can easily handle these tasks, giving you complete scheduling support in your personal and professional life.

3. Email Management

Maintaining good communication is essential for successful businesses, and this task usually takes longer than you think it will. VAs can respond to messages, organize your inbox, and set up automated replies — and you get an extra 28% of your workweek back.

4. Customer Service Support

Strong customer support shows clients you care, boosting your brand image. The faster your response time is, the better — and good GVAs quickly answer questions and resolve complaints. They can also take on behind-the-scenes responsibilities, like writing troubleshooting scripts and distributing satisfaction surveys.

5. Basic Accounting and Bookkeeping

Few small businesses have a dedicated accountant, but a virtual assistant with basic bookkeeping skills can manage your finances. They’ll handle invoices and payments, prepare taxes, track expenses, and oversee your budget. 

Even if you already have an accountant, VAs can work directly with them by organizing critical documents, receipts, and invoices.

6. Transcription

If you spend a lot of time in meetings, hire a VA to take notes so you don’t miss any crucial details. They summarize the chat, organize notes into tidy documents, and send the transcript to every attendee.

A great virtual assistant is also tech-savvy and knows how to use modern AI meeting software, helping you create recordings and save sessions for later.

7. Social Media Management

Regularly posting to LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) is a strong digital marketing strategy, but drafting posts quickly becomes exhausting. Delegating your social media to a VA makes your accounts a consistent resource, which keeps your brand top of mind and boosts your credibility.

8. Website and Marketing Support

GVAs can provide general website support, improving your visibility. They can develop a blog posting schedule, optimize your site's SEO, and manage small ad campaigns (think pay-per-click advertising via Google Ads). This is a cost-effective way to attract more potential customers without needing a full-time marketing team.

9. Technical Help

If you don’t have dedicated IT support, look for a tech-savvy GVA. Delegating software updates, app maintenance, and backups saves you time and ensures each task is done with expert know-how. And when assistants keep an eye on these systems, they can address alerts early — before they turn into full-blown problems like computer crashes or website outages. 

10. Personal Assistance

Even personal tasks can build up and cause stress, but VAs help maximize your free time. For instance, if you want to go on vacation, your assistant can create an in-depth travel itinerary. 

And during the holidays, they can find thoughtful gifts for each of your family members. Some even help with tasks like writing grocery lists or scheduling healthcare appointments. Taking these things off of your to-do list gives you more breathing room.

Must-Have Skills to Look for in a General Virtual Assistant

A great freelance virtual assistant has the following skill set.

Communication Skills

VAs often act as a go-between for you, your clients, and your team. So, their communication needs to be clear and concise — any misunderstandings can cause mistakes or confusion. 

When assessing a VA’s communication skills, check if they write straightforward instructions. Pay attention to their tone, and see whether they can tailor messages to formal or casual occasions. 

And note whether they ask relevant, clarifying questions during your conversations. This indicates that the VA is an active listener, so they’ll pick up on instructions quickly and get things done faster. 

Organization and Attention to Detail

Since VAs usually have multiple responsibilities, they have to be thorough and precise. Even a small oversight can lead to missed deadlines or forgotten details, whether assistants are managing complex filing systems or creating itineraries. 

By staying organized, the most skilled virtual assistants can anticipate your needs and complete tasks before you ask for them.

Software Skills

GVAs are remote workers, so they at least need a baseline understanding of how to use essential programs. And many of a GVA’s tasks involve using software tools, so they have to be proficient in tech. 

Look for someone with basic know-how, like email management and office suite skills, to handle day-to-day tasks. For more advanced duties, such as using customer relationship management or bookkeeping software, you might need to hire a more specialized VA.

Problem-Solving Skills

You won’t always be there to answer your VA’s questions, so they need problem-solving skills to resolve issues without you. Critical thinking helps them assess a situation, consider the best solution, and act on it.

This is a crucial ability when you’re going out of the office. Many leaders build an OOO playbook for VAs to follow, letting them use their best judgment and only reach out if absolutely necessary.

Adaptability

It’s impossible to plan for sudden events like last-minute cancellations or shifting market priorities, so VAs need to think on their feet. They should comfortably manage urgent tasks, fluctuating workloads, and brand-new software.

Your priorities for them will shift, too, so the types of jobs they handle are bound to change. One month may be heavy with project check-ins and client meeting schedules, while the next is mainly personal errands.

Time Management

In addition to managing your time, VAs need to handle their own schedules effectively. Since they work remotely, assistants need to know how to prioritize tasks without getting distracted.

Many virtual assistants also support clients in diverse time zones, so they’ll have to adjust their schedules and meetings to accommodate various business needs.

Customer Service Skills

Your VA needs a people-centric mindset to connect with your clients. This goes beyond good communication and requires customer service etiquette, patience, and warmth.

This is especially important when you route messages through your VA. Leaders need an assistant who can professionally manage high-priority connections without help.

Reliability

Reliability is vital, especially for remote workers who have no physical presence. You need a trusted virtual assistant to be attentive during working hours, manage assigned deadlines, and communicate with clients. Even more so for urgent delegations — you can count on a great assistant to reschedule meetings and respond to customer inquiries quickly.

Get Started with an Athena Assistant

Athena’s assistants are carefully vetted from a talent pool of over 500,000 candidates, with an acceptance rate of less than 1%. Each goes through a four-week boot camp where they learn industry-leading tools, so you know you’re getting an EA with the skills to succeed.

If you don’t have an assistant, you are the assistant. But you don’t have to be if you sign up with Athena. Delegate more and unlock time abundance.

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