It's no secret that owning a home services company can be incredibly time-consuming. Between meeting with clients, completing projects, and managing your team, it's easy to lose track of time.

In fact, many business owners find themselves working 60-70 hours a week! If this sounds like you, don't worry - you're not alone. But did you know that there are ways to reclaim some of those lost hours?

In this blog post, we will discuss how home services company owners can reclaim 10 hours a week and spend more time with family!

The Average Day of a Home Services Company Owner

As a home services company owner, your days are probably pretty similar. You wake up early to get a head start on the day, work until late at night, and then collapse into bed exhausted.

Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone. In fact, this is the average life of a home services company owner.

But what if we told you that there are ways to change this? Ways to reclaim some of those lost hours and spend more time with your family?

Would you be interested? We thought so!

Solutions That DON'T Work for Reclaiming Time

The average blog post you'll read on the topic will give you the same old solutions:

• Automate some email communications
• Delegate tasks to other employees
• Prioritize your time!

It's that easy, right? Just follow the general advice and you'll magically have more time! Real solutions require a little more effort than that.

The home services industry is different - you can't just delegate tasks to other employees or automate all of your communications. You need real, actionable solutions that will help you reclaim those lost hours.

So, without further ado, let's get into it!

The Secret to Reclaiming 10 Hours a Week

The solution to reclaiming time as a business owner is simple: hire a virtual assistant (VA).

What is a virtual assistant? These specialists are online professionals who can help manage tasks business owners deal with daily - items like:

• Sending out meeting reminders and important company updates
• Scheduling important meetings and following up with key stakeholders
• Coordinating inter-office snags that arise in real-time

A virtual assistant can help with all of these tasks and more! There are many reasons to hire a virtual assistant, but the main one is simple: it will free up your time so that you can focus on the things that matter most.

Meet Jack, the owner of a roofing company in Georgia. Jack's story is probably familiar to you - he was working 60-70 hours a week, barely had time for his family, and felt like he was always playing catch up.

Jack knew he needed to make a change if he ever wanted to see his wife and kids more. So, he decided to hire a virtual assistant. Then, he hired more as he saw how much it helped his company grow!

"At first I was hesitant," Jack told us. "I didn't want to spend the money on someone I couldn't see or manage in person. But after doing some research, I decided to give it a try. And I'm so glad I did! My virtual assistant has helped me reclaim at least ten hours a week. Now I can actually enjoy my evenings and weekends with my family."

Let's look at how Jack utilized virtual assistants to reclaim his time and grow his roofing company.

• He started by hiring an executive assistant. This individual managed his daily schedule via Google Apps, responded to emails, planned any upcoming travel commitments, and ran daily reports in his Hubspot CRM.
• After about 90 days, Jack decided to hire a second virtual assistant. This individual oversaw the company's technical backbone, overseeing any issues with the company's CRM, email systems, and integrations with the 20 web tools they used for scheduling, webinars, file management, and more.
• Jack decided to expand his virtual assistant team after his first year and brought in a contract Lead Creative. This individual oversaw video editing of all completed project footage, oversaw graphic design for all social media postings, and managed all web page design.

Jack was able to reliably free up his time to work on the parts of the business that he was passionate about. The tasks that only he can do. The tasks that helped him grow the business.

You can do the same!

How to Hire a Quality Virtual Assistant

Not all virtual assistants are created equal. When you're looking to hire someone, you need to look for five specific qualities. We recommend vetting for the following skills:

1. An ability to take initiative
2. A high degree of organization
3. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
4. Familiarity with the home services industry (or a willingness to learn)
5. Proven experience with the software tools you use every day

When you find someone who meets these qualifications, you're well on your way to hiring a quality virtual assistant.

These skills are general in nature and meant to serve as a template for deeper interview conversations. The goal is to get the individual to discuss specifics when interviewing potential VAs.

Where to Find Quality Virtual Assistants

If you're looking for a quality virtual assistant, we recommend checking out three specific sites:

• Upwork
• Fiverr
• FreeUp

All three of these platforms offer a variety of services, including virtual assistant services. Once you create an account, you can post a job listing and receive proposals from interested individuals.

We recommend starting with Upwork or FreeUp. Fiverr is more geared towards one-off tasks as opposed to long-term projects.

Reclaim Your Time Today

If you're ready to reclaim your time and grow your home services company, hiring a virtual assistant is a great place to start. Follow the steps outlined in this blog post and you'll be on your way to freeing up ten hours a week in no time!

If you're looking for an even deeper step-by-step guide on hiring virtual assistants, check out our full hiring guide. We give you everything needed to get the right VA the first time, including specific interview questions, email templates for following up, and tips for assembling an onboarding package for your amazing new hire.

What are you waiting for? Let's get started!