Here is where I talk all things navigating life as a momtreprenuer and give advice / tips on hiring a virtual assistant for your wedding business.

Most wedding professionals have an endless list of daily tasks but not enough time in the day. Hiring a top tier virtual assistant can help streamline your systems and handle those time-consuming (and annoying) tasks you keep pushing off. Let’s learn how:

Here are the top tasks a virtual assistant can do for your wedding business:

Email Management

This task can be as thorough or as simple as possible. Between sorting your 100,000 unread emails to answering nonstop incoming inquiry emails (yay for you!), current clients and vendors. Inboxes are usually a wedding professional’s worst nightmare. Let a virtual assistant handle it so you can focus on doing what you actually love! For example, a VA will keep your inbox clean and labeled accordingly.

CRM Management

Having a clean and organized CRM system can literally make or break a business. Having an extra pair of eyes on your Honeybook or Dubsado will make sure nothing is missed. This typically includes workflow and automation management as well. Your virtual assistant will have constant eyes on your systems and processes and additionally making adjustments to assure invoices get paid, questionnaires get sent out and more.

Calendar Scheduling

A huge time-consuming task wedding pro’s deal with is scheduling calls and sessions with inquiries and current clients. A virtual assistant can take that task of going back and forth with dates, times and locations. You can sit back and see your calendar fill up without you lifting a finger (besides shooting over your availability).

Administration / Housekeeping Tasks

Running a business, there is always something that needs to be done. A virtual assistant will be your sidekick to handle any additional tasks you don’t have time for. For example, creating and sending you a list of who has booked and how much they paid. Another example is sending Thank You notes to your clients.

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Up until today, you have been working your ass off on your wedding photography or wedding education business. You have been spending countless hours on marketing, emails, content creations, writing up contracts and invoices, answering and following up with inquiries and more. You have been doing an amazing job and I want you to be so proud of yourself. But I can bet you have lost out of so much time with family and friends, have gotten in a bad sleeping and eating habit, or losing chances on bigger opportunities because you “just don’t have time”.

If you are sitting there shaking your head because what you’re reading sounds like your own life… Let’s get down to business and hire a wedding virtual assistant to avoid that inevitable burnout everyone talks about. So here is how a Wedding Virtual Assistant helps you from burnout?

Takes Over Tasks You Don’t Enjoy

The last thing I want to do is take away tasks you actually enjoy doing. You can delegate every single tasks or just ones you don’t like, that’s the art of hiring a virtual assistant. It depends on your preference and the wedding virtual assistant you end up signing on with.

I bet you have outsourced help without even thinking about it too much. So why keep pushing it off when it comes to your business? Think about it..

No time to walk your dog – Hire a dog walker

No time to clean your house – Hire a housekeeper

Don’t want to handle taxes and bookkeeping – Hire a CPA / Bookkeeper

Allowing a virtual assistant to handle tasks such as emails, Honeybook or Dubsado management, inquiry management opens up the opportunity to have more time to spend on bigger weddings, additional income opportunities, self-care or time with family and friends. The world is open when you have more time!

When I said it depends on the VA you choose, it means that you have chosen a virtual assistant who is capable of handling the tasks you want to hand off. Personally, I handle majority of backend admin tasks and client experiences. An example is: Inquiry and email management, CRM management, graphic and questionnaires, Special Event assistance (workshops, content days, styled shoots). Not all VA’s offer these services. Some only handle social media, so it truly depends on what you are needing.

Pros Hiring a Wedding Virtual Assistant VS an Employee

Wedding Photographers and Educators don’t have time to train or the budget for an employee hence hiring a VA. Now, I am not against hiring an employee if that is what you prefer but the difference is quite substantial:

+ A Virtual Assistant is already trained and they will let you know exactly what they offer (if I need to learn something you are needing, I learn on my own time). An Employee means you will 99% have to train them.

+ A Virtual Assistant is very productive because they do the same tasks for almost every client (it’s drilled in my head!) and they already know what they need to do daily. An Employee you will need to delegate tasks every day.

+ A Virtual Assistant is budget friendly-er. Stop rolling your eyes! It’s actually true. VA’s create their own rate and it is based on how many hours they will work on your business (I usually spend 1 – 2 hours per day for each client). For an Employee you set the pay and hours. If you need them for only 2 – 5 hours a week, that’s most likely less than they can do.

+ A Virtual Assistant is an Independent Contractor which means you don’t provide raises, benefits, tax, equipment, etc. (there’s goes that budget friendly again!) An Employee is a W2 which you will pay all of the above.

What Tasks To Hand Off to Your Virtual Assistant

Now that you know what the difference is between a Wedding Virtual Assistant and an employee, what do you hand over to your VA? This is typically one of the causes for many photographers to hold off on hiring a VA. You know you need help in avoiding burnout but don’t know how or what to hand over.

Here is a short list on what you can outsource to a wedding virtual assistant:

+ Email communication

+ Inquiry responses and follow ups

+ Scheduling calls and sessions

+ Creating and sending out contracts / invoices and follow ups

+ Graphics, Guides etc

+ Social Media

That’s just to name a few! Just imagine all of the other tasks. Visit my SERVICES page to learn all that I offer. Burnout is inevitable so please take time to really get into the mindset of hiring help. Even if it isn’t me! My goal for my business to assist amazing and talented wedding photographers but if I’m not a good fit for you then I still love referring you to someone who fits your business best.

Feel free to see my INSTAGRAM content and learn a little more, see behind the scenes and support each other!

You are a busy wedding creative who has been handling every piece behind and in front of the scenes since day one. It may have been doable at the beginning but now that your business is rockin’, you need some extra hands. You may have recently decided that it is time to outsource to a virtual assistant. Maybe you have been searching for one for a while but having trouble finding one. Whatever the case may be, this is a huge step in your business and I am so proud of you!

Hiring a wedding virtual assistant is a large investment and should not be taken lightly. Once you have gotten to a spot, mentally, where you are comfortable in handing certain tasks and responsibilities over along with being able to afford it…. it is the perfect time to hire help. Here are important steps when you are searching for a wedding virtual assistant:

Important Things to Keep in Mind

When hiring a virtual assistant for your wedding business, please remember:

+ You are hiring them as a independent contractor, not an employee. They will set their own monthly rates, hours and boundaries.

+ They will already have the knowledge, tools and experience prior to working with you.

+ No matter who you choose and how experienced they are, it will take time for them to learn your business, for you to see results and for you to build a relationship.

When is a good time to find a wedding virtual assistant?

As mentioned at the beginning, hiring a wedding virtual assistant is a large investment. You should only do it when you are mentally and financially ready. We all know the wedding industry has peak seasons and very slow seasons which can make this investment even more scary.

I highly recommend hiring a VA before peak season hits so they are well established in your business and already handling most of the backend tasks so you can focus on your weddings and sessions. You can still absolutely hire a VA during a peak season but the thought of it may be too overwhelming.

You may realize you are just running out of time every damn day and galleries are being delivered late, inquiries are responded to weeks later or you are having trouble keeping your calendar straight. This means you need help, girl!

So, how do you find a wedding Virtual Assistant?

I highly recommend asking other vendors if they have a virtual assistant or know of one. Most of my clients are actually referrals from a close knit photography group and I love it!

Another way wedding creatives have found me is from searching Wedding Virtual Assistant or Virtual Assistant for Wedding Creatives on Instagram. You can then scroll through each profile to learn about them, their services and find their website link. Take time in viewing their stories and reading their post!

But don’t stop there!

Make sure you set up one or two calls with them to have the chance to ask them questions. There have been many times where I instantly connected with a wedding photographer and they knew they wanted to sign on with me. We shared the same values, they liked how I communication daily through text or Voxer (walkie talkie app) or they were also a mama and loved the fact we could bond and grow together in that way. I have also had calls with wedding creatives who we didn’t click very well or we learned what I offered was not what they needed at the time. Calls are VERY important!

After you speak with a few virtual assistants (yes, talk with maybe three or four) and it is time to make a decision… I will always say “Go with your gut”, make sure to connect with who I am working with. I want you to be able to trust me, come to me for advice or feel comfortable enough to tell me when I need to adjust something. That is very important to me.

Questions to think about asking virtual assistants

Here are a few important questions that come to mind to hopefully help you narrow down your options:

+ How do you communicate with your clients and how often?

+ How many clients do you have and do you have a max?

+ Are you hourly based or packaged based?

+ Do you time block per client or per tasks?

+ Does your contract have a minimum commitment requirement?

+ Can I adjust our package once we sign on?

+ What services do you offer and why do you offer those?

+ If you talk with my clients, do you personalize your responses or only use a template?

I hope this has helped you! I do want to say again, I am so proud of you wanting to outsource. Please do the necessary research and once you do, make the best decision that best fits what you and your business is needing. If you are interested in setting up a call with me, I’d be happy to! Please fill out my contact form on my website HERE.