Entrepreneurs don’t have to know, understand, and do everything themselves to be successful in business. In fact, most successful estate agents don’t attempt to go it alone. They are successful because they’ve found the right people with the right skills to handle important yet routine tasks for them. Growing a team can be perceived as increasing business overheads. This is what drives many small estate agents to save money by shouldering the workload and doing everything themselves. But are they saving money in the long run or are they just limiting business growth? There are some very serious hidden costs inherent in doing everything oneself.

Here is a run-down of the hidden costs DIY estate agents pay for doing everything themselves:

  1. Emotional and physical costs
  • Stress:  Two of the common causes of stress in estate agents include a massive workload and working long hours.
  • Job burnout: An extended period of experiencing constant pressure and relentless stress along with low levels of support is likely to cause job burnout – or worse.
  1. Lack of work-life balance
  • Work-life balance incorporates five main facets: work, mental health, physical well-being, time to socialise (or spend quality time with family) and time to rest. To avoid burnout, estate agents should strive to achieve a balance between their work and personal lives. This includes taking sufficient time for themselves.
  • Not being able to take a break: For estate agents who have no back up or support, taking a break means closing the doors of their business while they are away, which is a no-no for them.
  1. Operational inefficiencies
  • Lack of attention to detail: A large workload, long hours and insufficient time all lead to cutting corners and attention to detail goes out the window.
  • Compromised quality: When you are constantly under pressure or doing too much at once, the quality of your work is bound to suffer and mistakes creep in.
  • Slow-moving client service: Navigating a massive workload will inevitably lead to a slower response to client queries or engagement.
  1. Stifling business growth
  • Delayed decision making: Estate agents who are overwhelmed by a massive and relentless workload struggle to make timely decisions. Being a bottleneck can slow down critical processes and hinder growth opportunities.
  • Lack of skills: There are specific tasks that every estate agent faces. These are often not the tasks that they are good at or enjoy – and they are tasks they take far more time to complete than in the hands of a specialist professional.
  • Missing out on opportunities to learn: Busy estate agents miss opportunities to learn new things when they try to do everything themselves.
  • No capacity to scale: Building a company means building a team. An estate agent who does everything themselves limits their company’s capacity to grow.

The remedy: Take on a Virtual Assistant

Taking on a Virtual Assistant will allow you to delegate the routine tasks that would otherwise take up far too many hours in your working day. This can include anything from admin tasks, like diary management and answering emails, to managing your social media accounts or managing your bookkeeping.

Here are three benefits of taking on a VA:

  1. Saving money: Taking on VA is significantly more cost-effective than employing a full-time, in-house staff member because you pay them for their productive time without having to pay employee benefits or increase office overheads.
  2. Freeing up time: Taking on a VA will free up your time so that you can focus on the things that are most important to the success of your business.
  3. Achieving work-life balance: A Virtual Assistant will help you to maintain firmer work-life boundaries by taking work off your plate and streamlining work processes. Plus a trusted VA will manage day-to-day work while you take a break.

If administrative tasks are taking up the bulk of your day and getting in the way of important work – or if you’re continually missing out on family dinners and your friends complain about not seeing you enough, then it is time to take on a Virtual Assistant to help lighten your load.