There comes a point in every online business where you need to start outsourcing but the task can feel so overwhelming and time consuming that you keep putting it off.

You don’t know who to choose to trust your business to, or where to find them and you definitely don’t have the time to spend preparing materials to train them on what your business needs. Eventually you are just working too many hours a day and you must start outsourcing in order to keep up with your current workload and grow further.

How do you know you’re ready to hire a virtual assistant? You may or may not be making a profit when you decide on bringing a virtual assistant into your business. It’s more important that you have a process for creating profits then it is to have a lot of extra cash on hand. If you have an action plan for creating real income and making the investment of a VA back then you’re ready to outsource.

Here are 7 easy steps to hiring a virtual assistant (or assistants) that will be a great asset to your business:

1.Start Writing Down Processes – Any virtual assistant who becomes an important part of your online business will get to know it very well. You can help speed up the learning curve and the process of getting your new VA setup by writing down your business processes.

I know, you’re busy, but if you just take a few minutes anytime you do anything important that you can eventually see yourself outsourcing it will save you a lot of time and money later on. Take a screenshot, or make a short video of each important task. Over time this effort will add up and you’ll have a full stock of training materials. This is a big help to a virtual assistant!

2.Ask Friends/Collegues For Referrals – One of the very best ways to find a virtual assistant you’ll be happy with is to ask other business owners you know who outsource.

3.Look at Their Website – A virtual assistant should have a professional website, it is their virtual ‘office’. Check out the website of the assistant you are considering. Do they pay attention to detail? What services do they offer? What is their availability?

4.Interview a Number of Virtual Assistants – You probably don’t want to hire the first virtual assistant you come across. Take some time to interview a number of VAs and compare the responses.

Most virtual assistants will have a free 30-minute interview which will give you plenty of time to give good consideration to what they have to offer your business.

5.Ask for Portfolios or Testimonials – Most virtual assistants will have testimonials on their websites of satisfied clients. Have a look for these and read them through.

6.Wait For a Follow Up – If you have some time before you need to hire a virtual assistant, wait and see if the VA will follow up with you. This shows that the VA you’ve contacted is organized and on top of things.

7.Try a Trial Run – Before booking a 10 hour per month retainer, ask if you can do a trial run of working together. Tim Ferris suggests in his book, the 4-Hour Work Week, that you test your new virtual assistant by providing some small tasks and setting deadlines. Make sure the directions are clear and see if the VA follows them and gets the project completed on time. If the VA can’t meet these expectations then move on to one who can.

8. Check out Shelancers – This is a website of women freelancers (that I also belong to!) where you can submit a request for proposal (RFP) and find yourself a great virtual assistant.