Robot and human hand
Did you see the company that accidentally spent half a billion dollars on AI? Imagine being that CFO! While your small business may not be at that risk many are outsourcing and delegating admin tasks to AI and oblivious to the risks. According to FSB 31% of SMEs are now integrating “agentic AI” (tools that autonomously handle tasks like invoicing and customer support), underlining the productivity gap between adopters and non‑adopters. [fsb.org.uk]
And yet only 8.7% of users check facts and claims in AI-generated content. [forbes.com] leaving a wapping 91% of users NOT fact checking AI outputs before using them. [forbes.com]
With a need to grow your business, your issue could be that you don’t have enough of the right staff and are trying to juggle everything yourself to save money so you can take a wage yourself. Here’s 5 signs that you need help;
- You’re still doing the boring stuff.
Wasting time on answering emails, chasing paperwork, and updating systems is a cost. You are not meant to be a cost; you are meant to be an asset. So, if you are doing the low cost dull stuff, you are the most underutilised commodity in your business. - Things only happen when you remember.
You have a list, a diary, and a number of jobs in your head and sometimes they get done and sometimes they wake you at 3am! That’s not a consistent way to grow and means you are running on luck, not control. - You say “I’ll do it later” a lot.
Later turns into evenings. Evenings turn into weekends or never! And suddenly the business owns all your time. When was the last time you had a weekend just for fun? - You’re the bottle neck.
Nothing moves unless you touch it. Every decision, every reply, every follow‑up waits for you. That’s not leadership, that stops growth and that’s firefighting. - You know this isn’t what you signed up for.
You didn’t run your own business to sit at a desk clearing emails or fixing small things that shouldn’t need your attention. Yet here you are stuck in front of a laptop and not doing what you love.
Imagine getting rid of the drudgery and the laptop?
That’s where a VA comes in because did you know on average a business regains 13 to 15 hours a week by delegating tasks to VA's. Which enables the boss to boost efficiency by 35%, with a 13% higher productivity than in-house staff. [thereistalent.com]
Jenny from Pängels talked about her time with 4th Dimension,“They are a business transformation company and I was privileged to work with them for 10 years. Supporting the directors with PA, administration, marketing and diary management. Monthly invoicing using QuickBooks and Dext, and liaising with customers to book meetings and log using a CRM. The 2 directors often commented that having a Jen was like having 2 secret members of staff in a cupboard!"
And that’s what a VA does, remote VA services enables companies like yours to make more money and reduce the hours you work.
The hardest thing is working out what to hand over to a VA, because your business and your customers really matter to you. With Pängels and Jenny you are working with someone that is like a second you, because they really care.
Here is an example of just some of the tasks Pängel have been taking off or bosses desk this month, so they are freed up to get out there and make the money:
- Inbox and email management – inbox and email management, virtual assistant support, remote office support – these are often automated and AI can miss leads, Pängels doesn’t.
- Invoicing, bookkeeping support and credit control – invoicing support, bookkeeping support, credit control, QuickBooks support, Dext support.
- Diary management and customer follow‑ups – diary management, appointment scheduling, lead follow‑up, customer communication support. Yes, AI can do this, but the success rate of a human is higher.
- CRM and customer relationship support – CRM support, customer relationship management, sales pipeline support, client database management. Building relationships still needs that human touch and Jenny’s hourly rate is a lot lower than yours. Freeing you up to do what you do – be the commodity in your business, not the cost!
- Marketing and business support – marketing support, social media scheduling, content support, business administration services. Creating your digital voice and ensuring you flow on all platforms that your business need to be seen on. Pängels can even offer blog article writing optimised to please AI/SEO and Humans!
The hardest bit is working out what to trust to Pängels. Jenny said “I had a client via networking, who ran a hairdresser franchise. When we met, I thought he was going to need help with the salon, however he’d started a bespoke suit measuring franchise too, and so I ended up learning how to measure suits and pleaded with friends to be guinea pigs. I ended up measuring suits and delivering VA services and admin support for his hairdressing business too!”
We know it can feel scary to relinquish control on tasks, so have a chat first.
You can also meet Jenny at these networking events and talk about your needs;
BWN INsiders click here to learn more and Essex Networking Skills click here to learn more.