If you've never worked with a Virtual Assistant before, it's completely reasonable to wonder what one actually does.
The slightly unhelpful answer is: it depends.
Virtual Assistants can specialise in everything from bookkeeping and social media to marketing, design or project management.
My work is much more focused on the practical, behind-the-scenes jobs that keep a business running.
I specialise in supporting established wellness and health businesses, and no two of my clients use me in exactly the same way.
For one client I might be managing patient enquiries and appointments. For another, I'm updating their website, preparing a newsletter or sorting invoices.
And sometimes a message arrives that basically says:
“Rachel, can you work out how to do this?”
Those are quite often my favourite jobs.
What can a Virtual Assistant help with?
The easiest way to think about my role is this:
There are jobs in your business that need doing, but they don't necessarily need to be done by you.
That might include:
- managing your inbox and responding to routine enquiries
- client or patient administration
- appointment and diary management
- working with booking systems such as Cliniko or Acuity
- invoicing and basic bookkeeping admin
- updating your website
- preparing and sending newsletters
- scheduling social media content
- organising documents and information
- sorting out systems and processes
- researching or figuring out how to do something
- keeping on top of the recurring jobs that otherwise end up at the bottom of your list
For most of my clients, it's a mixture rather than one particular task.
What does that look like in a real business?
This is where “Virtual Assistant” can feel a bit vague, because a list of services doesn't always explain what having one actually changes.
Imagine you run a busy therapy or health practice.
An enquiry arrives while you're with a client.
Someone needs to change an appointment.
There's an invoice that needs sorting.
You changed a service or price last week and the website still needs updating.
There's a newsletter you meant to send three weeks ago.
None of those jobs is enormous.
But they all need somebody's attention.
Without support, that somebody is usually you.
With a VA working behind the scenes, some of those jobs can simply be handed over and dealt with.
That's the bit that makes the difference.
Do I need to know exactly what I want to outsource?
No.
This is something that can stop people from getting support in the first place.
They know they're spending too much time running the business behind the scenes, but then think they need to create a giant list of tasks, document every process and get everything beautifully organised before they can hire someone.
You don't.
In fact, you don't need to get organised enough to hire me.
When I start working with a client, I get to know their business, the systems they use, how they like things done and where their time is disappearing.
We can then work out what makes sense for me to take over.
Sometimes that starts with one or two regular jobs and grows naturally from there.
Will I have to manage my Virtual Assistant?
Obviously, I'll need information from you and there'll be some communication between us, particularly while I'm getting to know your business.
But the aim isn't to give you another person you constantly have to manage.
My clients tend to stay with me for a long time, and over time I become familiar with how their businesses work.
That means less explaining, less back-and-forth and more:
“Rachel, can you sort this?”
Yep.
Do Virtual Assistants work remotely?
Yes, that's the virtual bit. 😂
I work remotely from Worcestershire and support clients in different parts of the UK.
Depending on the business, I might work within their existing systems, shared documents, inbox, booking platform, website or other software.
We don't need to be in the same office or even the same part of the country.
Do I need regular VA support?
Not necessarily.
Some businesses need regular support every month, while others only need occasional help.
Most of my work is ongoing because that's where I can become genuinely useful behind the scenes. The better I know your business, the easier it is for you to hand things over without explaining everything from scratch each time.
I also offer ad-hoc support where I have capacity.
How do I know if a Virtual Assistant would help my business?
A good starting question is:
What am I regularly doing that doesn't actually need to be done by me?
Look at the jobs that keep repeating, the things that continually get pushed down your list and the tasks that eat into time you could be spending elsewhere.
You don't necessarily need to be overwhelmed before outsourcing makes sense.
Sometimes your business has simply reached the stage where doing everything yourself isn't the best use of your time anymore.
Looking for a Virtual Assistant for your wellness or health business?
I'm Rachel, and I provide practical Virtual Assistant support for established wellness and health businesses.
I've been running my VA business since 2021 and work behind the scenes with therapists, physiotherapists, yoga businesses and other wellness and health professionals.
I currently have space for 1–2 new ongoing clients.
If you're wondering what you could hand over, even if you haven't got a clue where you'd start then get in touch and let's have a chat.
No sales pitch. No pressure. And you absolutely don't need to arrive with a perfectly organised to-do list.
