In today’s hectic world, virtual assistants (VAs) have become indispensable for busy entrepreneurs and executives. A VA – sometimes called a virtual executive assistant – is a real person working remotely to handle tasks that keep you tied up in busywork. The Ultimate Guide to Hiring Virtual Assistants in 2025. By leveraging remote staffing models, you can delegate everything from calendar invites and travel bookings to bills and gift shopping. Leaders often find that offloading these “admin” chores restores hours to their week and reduces stress Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant, Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant.
Virtual assistants combine technology with the human touch. Today’s AI-powered virtual assistants (like Alexa, Siri, or specialized scheduling bots) can automate routine reminders, answer simple questions, and even draft email responses. AI and Administrative Work: Enhancing Productivity, AI and Administrative Work: Enhancing Productivity. But they work best in partnership with a human VA who brings critical thinking, context, and a “human premium” – the judgment and creativity that AI lacks. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant, Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants. As MySigrid co-founder Paul Ostergaard puts it, the best results come from “leveraging smart technology while still having a human assistant who can think critically, anticipate needs, and adapt to your style” Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant. In short, today’s top assistants use AI tools as one more resource, but the real magic is in having a dedicated person on your team.
As a busy founder or executive, virtually any task that can be done by phone or online is fair game to outsource. Here are some personal tasks and errands that VAs routinely handle:
Each task, while low value for your career, can consume large blocks of time. By outsourcing administrative support, you reclaim those hours for strategy and creativity. Studies find that entrepreneurs spend about 36% of their week on administrative busywork (invoicing, scheduling, data entry, etc.) Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant – work that doesn’t directly grow the business. Leaders who delegate these tasks (the so-called “expert delegators”) consistently see higher revenue and profit growth than those who don’t (Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant) (The Big Price Of Small Tasks: How Entrepreneurs May Be Unwittingly Keeping Their Businesses Small, Hurting Bottom Lines And Compromising Wellbeing | Time etc). In other words, handing off routine chores isn’t a loss – it’s an investment in your productivity and peace of mind.
Image: A dedicated virtual assistant at work helps a busy professional manage schedules, travel plans, and more (source: Pexels)
Good time management for executives isn’t about squeezing more into a day; it’s about focus and leverage. Top CEOs spend only a sliver of their time on routine tasks – one study found the average CEO devotes just 11% of their time to administrative chores. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant – and they delegate the rest to assistants. The same principle applies to entrepreneurs and executives without a support staff: your highest-value work requires your full attention Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant, Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant. Why spend an hour sorting emails or booking travel when someone else can do it for a fraction of your cost?
A VA is essentially a force multiplier. When a founder or executive passes tasks like inbox triage and itinerary planning to a capable assistant, they immediately free up time for high-impact activities (product development, investor meetings, board strategy, etc.). As leadership coach Cameron Herold quipped, “If you don’t have an assistant, you are one!” Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant. In practice, this means you end your workday on time, avoid the overwhelm of weekend chores, and enjoy greater clarity. MySigrid clients report feeling “more present” both at work and at home once a VA takes over life’s minutiae. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant. One busy entrepreneur put it simply: having a VA is “a luxury I now enjoy” – but it’s a luxury that pays off in productivity and well-being. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant.
Actionable Tip: To start delegating, make a list of every task you do that doesn’t require your unique expertise (from the morning coffee run to quarterly report formatting). Then decide which can be handed off to an assistant. You’ll quickly find it’s a long list! Begin with things you procrastinate or dislike and move on from there Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant.
Technology has given rise to many AI “assistants” that can handle simple tasks. Tools like Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant can set reminders, answer general questions, and even make calls or send messages by voice AI and Administrative Work: Enhancing Productivity. Specialized AI scheduling tools (e.g., calendaring apps, meeting bots) can also save time by auto-finding open slots or routing calls. These AI tools accelerate routine work – for example, automating email sorting or drafting responses can clear your inbox in minutes. AI and Administrative Work: Enhancing Productivity, AI and Administrative Work: Enhancing Productivity. Crucially, these systems are designed to assist, not replace, the assistant. As Office Dynamics notes, AI is here to help administrative pros work smarter by taking over monotonous tasks. AI and Administrative Work: Enhancing Productivity. AI and Administrative Work: Enhancing Productivity.
However, AI still lacks human judgment. This is where the “human premium” comes in. A human VA understands context, reads between the lines, and can adapt on the fly to your preferences and business goals. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants. For example, an AI might book your flight, but a human assistant will proactively change plans if a meeting gets delayed or notice that you prefer window seats. A digital scheduler won’t say, “I noticed you hate airport layovers after 9 pm, so here’s a better option,” but a savvy VA will. In practice, many high-level assistants use AI tools themselves, like using an AI draft for a response or a scheduling tool, and then refining that work with their expertise. MySigrid calls this a “human premium” approach: we blend top talent with advanced tech, ensuring quality and personalization. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant.
In short, think of it as a spectrum: simple, repetitive tasks can be automated by software, while nuanced tasks – those requiring negotiation, creativity, or trust – are best left to people. A well-managed VA ecosystem taps into both. For instance, your VA might use an AI transcription app to quickly get meeting notes, but then they’ll follow up personally to clarify action items. Or they may set up recurring payments automatically with your permission, but keep an eye on which subscriptions are still useful to you. This synergy of AI tools and human assistants maximizes efficiency without losing the personal touch. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant, AI and Administrative Work: Enhancing Productivity.
To see how this works in practice, consider some common scenarios: A tech founder on the move might have a VA who handles all flight and hotel bookings for a multi-city startup tour, sometimes even anticipating visa or lodging needs before the founder does. Global executives often rely on assistants to schedule their calendars around the clock: one VA we know blocks off sleep time, schedules meetings in convenient local times, and handles rescheduling with international partners. Another busy professional told us her VA “frees up a lot of my time so that I can focus on more productive work,” noting she “loves the consistency” the service provides. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant.
Even outside work, VAs add value: one CEO uses his assistant to send birthday flowers to clients and remember family anniversaries, while another lets a VA manage their home-renovation appointments and contractor payments. The net effect is a clearer mind and more time. MySigrid’s clients describe feeling like they can relax off the clock – at work they’re the “sharp strategic leader,” and at home they’re not “glued to [their] phone sorting out schedules” Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant).
Effective delegation is part art, part process. Here are some tips gleaned from productivity experts and veteran entrepreneurs:
By following these steps, you’ll delegate more effectively and enjoy the benefits sooner. Remember: even corporate chiefs set up regular check-ins with their assistants. A quick daily email or chat update can keep you informed without you doing the nitty-gritty yourself. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants.
A key advantage of virtual assistants is cost-effectiveness. Unlike a full-time employee, a VA is typically an independent contractor or part-time hire. You pay only for the hours or services you need – no salaries, benefits, or office rent. Businesses often save 30–50% on operational costs by using VAs instead of in-house staff. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants. For example, a skilled bilingual VA in Latin America might charge around $1,800–$2,300 per month (roughly $21–27K a year) – less than one-third what an on-site U.S. assistant would cost in places like New York. Maximize Efficiency and Cut Costs with Smart Remote Staffing Solutions.
Flexibility is another big plus. Need help, just 10 hours a month for personal tasks? Done. Have a big product launch coming up and want extra support? Scale up with more hours or extra assistants without hiring new staff. Virtual assistants work from anywhere, so you can even plug in evening or weekend coverage by tapping different time zones. This remote staffing agility means you can respond to a spike in workload quickly without long hiring processes. Virtual Assistant vs. Hiring a Full-Time Employee: Which Is Right for Your Business?. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants.
Of course, there are trade-offs. A full-time employee brings deep loyalty, intimate company knowledge, and guaranteed availability during work hours. But for many small to midsize teams, the pros of a VA outweigh these factors. Professional virtual assistant services are structured to mitigate these issues – for example, MySigrid provides a dedicated backup team and ongoing training to ensure reliability. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants. Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants. In short, a well-managed VA can match or even exceed the effectiveness of a traditional hire, while offering significant cost savings and scheduling flexibility Debunking Common Myths About Virtual Assistants.
Once you’re convinced, how do you find the right assistant? You have options:
Whichever route you choose, look for someone (or a service) that understands your industry and culture. Check reviews or referrals. And remember, the best virtual assistant services will ask you the right questions up front (about your priorities, tools, and expectations) and will focus on a good match, not just the cheapest rate.
In summary, delegating personal and administrative tasks to a virtual assistant offers concrete benefits for entrepreneurs and executives:
In short, a skilled virtual assistant is a force multiplier and a sanity-saver. They do the tasks you shouldn’t be doing – and enable you to be the executive or founder who focuses on vision and value. As one MySigrid client put it, by offloading day-to-day work, she was able to “focus on more productive work,” knowing “nothing important would fall through the cracks.” Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Assistant.
Ready to delegate and transform your schedule? Visit MySigrid to learn about premium virtual assistant services for entrepreneurs and executives. You can also schedule a consultation to discuss your needs and find the right VA match. And for thought leadership on executive support, connect with Paul H. Østergaard, co-founder of MySigrid, on LinkedIn.