Every entrepreneur reaches a breaking point. You’re working harder than ever, but your business isn’t growing faster. You’re saying yes to everything, but delivering on nothing as well as you’d like. The question isn’t whether you need help. It’s when to hire a virtual assistant who can actually move your business forward.

At Well Balanced Business, we work with entrepreneurs worldwide from our base in Des Moines, Iowa, and we’ve seen this pattern hundreds of times. Founders wait too long to get support, thinking they need to do it all themselves. But here’s the truth: knowing when to hire a virtual assistant is one of the most important business decisions you’ll make.

Let’s look at the seven clear signs that it’s time to bring on virtual assistant support.

Sign #1: You’re Working Too Many Hours But Revenue Isn’t Growing

This is the biggest indicator that you need to hire a virtual assistant. You’re busy, but busy doesn’t equal profitable.

When you’re spending hours on administrative tasks like email management, calendar scheduling, social media posting, and data entry, you’re not doing the revenue-generating work only you can do. A virtual assistant handles these operational tasks so you can focus on strategy, sales, and client delivery.

If you tracked your time last week, how many hours did you spend on tasks someone else could do for $50/hour? 

That’s your answer about when to hire a virtual assistant.

Sign #2: You’re Missing Deadlines or Opportunities

When you start dropping balls, it’s a red flag. Missing client deadlines, forgetting to follow up on leads, letting proposals sit for days, or losing track of important projects all signal that you’re at capacity.

A virtual assistant creates systems and handles follow-through so nothing slips through the cracks. They manage your task list, send reminders, track deadlines, and ensure you’re showing up as the professional you are.

The cost of missed opportunities is always higher than the investment in hiring a virtual assistant.

Sign #3: Administrative Tasks Consume Your Creative Time

You started your business to do meaningful work. Whether that’s coaching, consulting, creating content, or delivering services, you have unique expertise that drives your business forward.

But when administrative work takes up 20, 30, or even 40 hours of your week, you have no time left for the creative, strategic work that makes you money.

Signs administrative overload is holding you back:

• You’re answering emails at 10 PM
• Your content calendar is weeks behind
• You haven’t updated your website in months
• Client onboarding feels chaotic every single time
• You’re managing your own travel, expenses, and receipts

When to hire a virtual assistant? When administrative tasks prevent you from doing what you do best. Virtual assistants excel at operations so you can excel at vision.

Sign #4: You Can Afford to Invest $500-$2,000/Month

Let’s talk numbers. When to hire a virtual assistant from a financial perspective?

A good rule of thumb: when you’re consistently bringing in $5,000-$10,000/month in revenue and have predictable cash flow, you’re ready. Virtual assistant rates typically range from $25-$65/hour depending on experience and specialization.

Most entrepreneurs start with 5-10 hours per week of virtual assistant support, which translates to roughly $1,000-$4,000/month. That investment should free up 10-20 hours of your time weekly to focus on $100, $200, or $500/hour work.

Do the math: If hiring a virtual assistant at $50/hour frees you to do work worth $200/hour, you’re making $150/hour by delegating. That’s a 400% ROI.

Here in Des Moines and across the Midwest, we understand bootstrapped growth. The question isn’t whether you can afford to hire a virtual assistant. It’s whether you can afford not to.

Sign #5: You Have Repeatable Processes (Or Need Them Created)

When to hire a virtual assistant becomes clear when you notice yourself doing the same tasks repeatedly. If you’re manually doing the same thing every week, posting to social media, sending client welcome emails, processing invoices, scheduling meetings, those are prime tasks for a virtual assistant.

Even better? You don’t need perfect processes before you hire. At Well Balanced Business, our virtual assistants help you build SOPs as they take over tasks. They document processes, create templates, and establish workflows that make your business run smoother.

Many entrepreneurs think, “I’ll get organized first, then hire help.” That’s backward. Hire a virtual assistant who can help you get organized.

Sign #6: You’re Turning Down Clients or Projects

This is the most expensive sign you’ve missed the window of when to hire a virtual assistant.

When you’re so maxed out that you can’t take on new clients, you’re literally turning away revenue. If you’ve said “I’m at capacity” in the last month, you waited too long.

A virtual assistant expands your capacity immediately. They handle client communication, project management, scheduling, and administrative coordination, which means you can serve more clients without working more hours.

One of our clients, a business coach, was capping herself at 10 clients because she couldn’t handle the administrative load. After hiring a virtual assistant for 15 hours weekly, she scaled to 20 clients without adding a single hour to her workweek.

That’s the power of knowing when to hire a virtual assistant and actually doing it.

Sign #7: You Can’t Remember Your Last Full Day Off

Burnout isn’t a badge of honor. If you’re working seven days a week, checking emails on vacation, or feel guilty every time you step away from your laptop, you need support.

When to hire a virtual assistant? Before you burn out, not after.

A virtual assistant gives you permission to rest. They handle urgent matters, manage your inbox, keep projects moving, and ensure your business runs even when you’re not working.

Entrepreneurs worldwide, from Des Moines to the UK, are realizing that sustainable business growth requires strategic support. Your business should support your life, not consume it.

What to Delegate First: Quick Wins for New VA Relationships

Once you’ve decided to hire a virtual assistant, start with high-frequency, low-complexity tasks:

Week 1-2: Administrative foundations

• Email management and filtering
• Calendar management and scheduling
• Travel booking and expense tracking

Week 3-4: Client-facing operations

• Client onboarding and welcome sequences
• Meeting preparation and follow-up
• CRM data entry and updates

Week 5-6: Marketing and content

• Social media scheduling
• Blog post formatting and publishing
• Newsletter management
• Pinterest management

The key is starting small and building trust. When you hire a virtual assistant, give them room to learn your business and prove their value.

How to Calculate ROI on Virtual Assistant Support

Still wondering when to hire a virtual assistant from a financial perspective? Use this simple formula:

Your hourly rate = Annual revenue goal ÷ 2,080 hours (52 weeks × 40 hours)

Example: $200,000 revenue goal = $96/hour value

Well Balanced Business VA rate: $50/hour

Weekly hours saved by VA: 15 hours

Weekly VA investment: 15 hours × $50 = $750

Your time value for those 15 hours: 15 hours × $96 = $1,440

Your weekly net gain: $1,440 – $750 = $690/week

Annual net gain: $690 × 52 weeks = $35,880 additional profit capacity

And that’s assuming you only replace those hours at your current rate. If you use that freed-up time to take on higher-value clients, launch new offers, or pursue strategic opportunities, the ROI multiplies significantly.

When you frame it this way, the question shifts from “when to hire a virtual assistant” to “how soon can I start?”

Ready to Hire? Here’s How to Get Started with Well Balanced Business

At Well Balanced Business, we specialize in matching entrepreneurs with strategic virtual assistant support that actually moves the needle. Based in Des Moines, Iowa, we serve clients worldwide who are ready to scale without burning out.

We don’t just provide task-doers. We provide thinking partners who understand your business and help you build sustainable systems.

If you recognized yourself in three or more of these signs, it’s time. You don’t need to have everything figured out. You just need to be ready to lead differently.

Learn more about our virtual assistant services or discover the difference between a VA and an Online Business Managerto find the right support level for your business.

Apply for strategic VA support here and let’s talk about what’s possible when you stop doing it all alone.

When to Hire a Virtual Assistant: Your Next Step

Knowing when to hire a virtual assistant is half the battle. Taking action is the other half. If you’re working too many hours, missing opportunities, or feeling the weight of doing everything yourself, you’re ready.

The entrepreneurs who grow sustainably aren’t the ones who do it all. They’re the ones who build teams, delegate strategically, and focus on what only they can do.

Your business deserves that. And so do you.