It has been almost two years since the world as we knew it was forever changed by the pandemic.

Whether a personal loss or someone close to us, we all are or know someone who has been irrevocably affected by the coronavirus.

In addition to health and personal challenges during the ongoing pandemic, many people were professionally affected. There were wage cuts, layoffs and some companies even had to close because they could no longer cope with the financial burden on a company.

The impact of Covid-19 on our economy has been far greater than any of us could have predicted, and the havoc it has wreaked on businesses both large and small has been appalling. While measures like the paycheck protection program and company stake pledges have helped expand access to money, and new digital tools have been of tremendous help, vaccinations must be a fundamental part of our country’s recovery plan from Covid-19.

After the vaccine became available to the general public in early 2021, the world split in two. Half were people who couldn’t wait to get their vaccination, and the other half wanted nothing to do with the vaccine. With this disagreement, cracks were again created in professional life. For example, some stores refused to entertain customers who were not wearing masks. In some cases, entrepreneurs required their employees to be fully or partially vaccinated in order to be able to work.

While previously the decision was entirely in the hands of the business owners, the new vaccine mandate proposed by the Biden government will definitely come with difficulties of its own as some workers are still reluctant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The new federal rule, implemented by the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) under the administration of Biden, says all companies with more than 100 employees will have policies in place that require their employees to be at least partially vaccinated by January 4, 2022. In other cases weekly testing may be required. Companies that fail to adhere to these rules can be fined up to $ 14,000 for violating the new mandate.

According to US surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy, “I keep hearing from small businesses, large companies, and workers … that what is really hurting the economy is actually COVID itself. There are times when we realize that our choices have a wider impact on the people around us. COVID has reminded us of this, and therefore such workplace requirements will not only be helpful but a necessary step in accelerating our way out of the pandemic.“(Source: New York Post)

While over 70% of adults across the country are at least partially vaccinated, a significant number of people oppose the vaccine, which in turn creates conflict in the workplace as vaccinated people are reluctant to be in the same workplace as their unvaccinated counterparts.

As a small business owner, you may now be wondering how this mandate applies to your company that doesn’t have 100 employees. While the mandate currently only applies to large companies with more than 100 employees, Dr. Murthy, “nothing is off the table” and it is only a matter of time before the vaccination mandate also applies to smaller companies.

Second, since the vaccination mandate leaves people who have chosen not to get the vaccine off the job, they have no choice but to rely on small businesses for employment, which puts small business owners at greater risk of exposing themselves to the virus. An opportunity not everyone wants to take, as a survey of 3,000 small business owners found that 87% believe their employees need to be vaccinated.

Third, small businesses need to be vaccination leaders, motivating their employees and people in their communities to get vaccinated.

So what’s the solution?

While there is a lot of talk about the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our working lives, if there has been one positive finding in the past two years, it is the benefit of remote working for small and large businesses. While working from home was once despised, it is the only salvation that has helped companies survive and thrive in the pandemic and multiple lockdowns.

Small companies do not have the same resources as large companies and have to work extra hard to keep their business going, with only a fraction of the capital of large companies. So at a time when we can’t afford to risk business losses due to COVID-19, remote assistants are the perfect solution to help small businesses do backend work without putting anyone at risk.

What is a remote assistant?

You can think of a virtual assistant as someone who remotely takes care of your backend tasks and administrative work. They can handle everything from email replies to data entry, website maintenance, and even social media management. Most virtual assistants are contract or freelance workers who work from home, so you have ultimate control over how much of your work you outsource. Some virtual assistants can also be obtained from an agency.

Zainab Hamdani, an India-based virtual assistant who works with Wishup, said the following about her duties as a virtual assistant:

“My client has a full-time job and a sideline. Secondary jobs often die if not properly cared for. They take a lot of care, something that a full-time employee cannot do on their own. This is where I come in; I am the eyes, ears and, let’s say, the mouth of my client.

I mark important tasks and organize meetings. I am the link between newly developed teams. Basically, my inbox keeps humming; Content approval goes through me where I set a scheduled time for my client to go through it all at once instead of their phone exploding every hour. I help my client to concentrate on his full-time job and his sideline activities alike. “

If you’re wondering how having the help of a virtual assistant will benefit your business, here are some of the top benefits of having a virtual assistant on your team.

You are working with an expert

As the virtual assistant sector expands, so does the range of skills and talents available. Today, virtual assistants have many years of experience in areas such as marketing, administration-related professions, social media management, data collection, accounting and project management.

Professional work ethic

Hiring a virtual assistant for your team is an effective way to build a long-term fruitful business relationship for you and your VA. You usually start with the simplest of tasks such as managing email, entering data, or scheduling a calendar. However, as they understand your business better and gain your trust, they will assume more responsibility over time.

Save costs

As your business grows, you need to be careful about where you invest your capital. In addition to the high employment costs for a full-time employee, there are additional expenses such as social benefits, bonuses and paid vacation.

There’s no need to enter into a long-term contract, commitment or grapple with tax complications with a virtual assistant. You can also end the contact at will and scale your team up and down with additional assistants depending on how busy your business is.

Focus on business strategy

With the one-man-for-all approach to running a small business, you are probably used to doing everything yourself, from customer care to accounting. Unfortunately, this doesn’t leave you time to think about how you can actually grow and improve your business!

With a remote assistant to assist you, you will have the freedom to develop creative campaigns, develop new advertising strategies, and make important decisions to take your business to greater heights.

There are many departments where you can get the help of a virtual assistant, from calendar management and invoicing to handling taxes and financial statements.

Here are briefly some of the tasks you can delegate to your remote control.

Administrative tasks – This includes answering customer emails, making sure all your calls are answered promptly, managing your calendar, and even sending out Christmas cards now that it’s Christmas time. You can also manage your hotel bookings and travel arrangements for professional and personal reasons.

accounting – From categorizing invoices to handling invoices and receipts to assisting with taxes, there are many accounting tasks that you can assign to your VA which will save you a lot of time.

Project management – You can work with different departments and make sure that all of your various ongoing projects go smoothly and smoothly.

Personal management tasks – A personal assistant is someone who can help you in your personal life as well. Whether you reserve a table in the restaurant, pick up your laundry or order your lunch on a busy day, your personal management assistant will be happy to take this responsibility off your hands.

SEO and social media marketing – We are all aware of the potential that social media marketing has to attract new customers to your company. A social media assistant can manage your social platforms and regularly update your blog with SEO knowledge. It helps improve your search engine ranking and reach new audiences organically.

“Nothing is off the table“- Dr Vivek Murthy, on small businesses that need to meet the vaccine mandate.

Given the unpredictability of the ongoing pandemic, small businesses must be prepared to face all challenges with a bold face. With a virtual assistant on your team, topics like working with unvaccinated employees or complying with federal laws won’t be on your radar.

If you think a virtual assistant would benefit your business, click here to schedule your free consultation with Wishup or contact us at [email protected].