Why a Virtual Assistant Might Not Be Your Best First Hire for Your Handmade Business

When you’re running a handmade business, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Between fulfilling orders, marketing on social media, responding to emails, and managing inventory, it can feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. At this point, many entrepreneurs start considering hiring help—and a Virtual Assistant (VA) might seem like the perfect solution. After all, they’re typically affordable, flexible, and can work remotely.

But here’s the hard truth: hiring a VA might not be the best first step for your handmade business.

Before you hit that hire button, it’s worth looking closer at whether a VA is truly the support you need right now or if there’s a better way to build a foundation for growth. This blog will help you understand why a VA might not be the best first hire, what alternative hire could actually help, and how this decision can set you up for long-term success. 

Why a VA May Not Be Your Best First Hire

While Virtual Assistants can be a powerful asset to a business, they require a lot of preparation to make their role effective. Unfortunately, many handmade entrepreneurs find themselves unprepared, leading to wasted time, money, and frustration. 

1. You Need Systems to Set a VA up for Success

Delegating tasks to a VA isn’t as simple as “hire and forget.” A VA can only work effectively if you’ve defined clear, repeatable systems for them to follow. Tasks like responding to customer emails, managing marketing content, or updating your online storefront need step-by-step processes spelled out in detail. Without them, your VA won’t know what’s expected, and you’ll spend more time micromanaging than focusing on growth. 

Ask yourself:

• Do you have documented workflows?
• Can you clearly communicate what “success” looks like for tasks you want to delegate? 

If not, hiring a VA too early can lead to miscommunication, inefficiencies, and a lot of frustration on both sides.

2. VAs Can’t Help with Production Challenges

Handmade businesses are unique in that production often demands as much time and effort as operational and marketing tasks. A remote VA can’t help you keep up with a surge in orders or assist in physically creating your products.

If you find yourself drowning in production tasks, delegating admin work to a VA may still not alleviate the bottleneck that’s holding your business back. By freeing up your time for operational growth, an in-person hire might be a smarter approach.

What to Do Instead? Hire an On-Site Employee to Help with Making 

If hiring a VA isn’t the best first step, what is?

For handmade businesses, one of the most impactful decisions you can make is hiring an in-person team member to help with production. By delegating the physical work of creating your products to someone locally, you can reclaim time to focus on the bigger picture. This also tends to be more affordable than hiring a virtual assistant, since VAs typically have a higher hourly rate to cover their own taxes and expenses as business owners.

Here’s why this approach works:

1. Free Yourself to Work ON Your Business, Not IN It

When you’re caught up hand-stamping leather goods or packing orders, there’s little room left for strategic growth. Hiring an employee to assist with production allows you to step out of the day-to-day grind and focus on building systems, creating repeatable processes, and scaling operations. 

Once those workflows are in place, you’ll not only improve efficiency but also prepare for future hires—whether that’s another production assistant or a VA. 

2. Eliminate Production Bottlenecks & Provide Top-Notch Service

If you’re struggling to fulfill orders on time, this can negatively impact your business. Late deliveries can disappoint your customers and hurt your reputation, which leads to fewer repeat purchases and referrals. An in-person employee can alleviate this stress by helping you produce faster without sacrificing quality.

3. Gain Flexibility in Growing Your Business

Employees who work on-site can assist with packaging, inventory management, and other all-hands-on-deck tasks that arise in a fast-growing handmade business. One of the many benefits of having in-person help is that if you need to take a sick day, your entire business won’t completely shut down.

When you search to hire an employee look for someone who’s enthusiastic about your brand and eager to learn, as they can grow alongside your business and take on more responsibilities over time.

When Is the Right Time to Hire a VA?

Once you have solid systems in place and your production process no longer consumes all your energy, you’ll be in a much better position to leverage the benefits of a VA. At this point, you’ll have documentation for repeatable tasks, which will allow your VA to work efficiently and deliver real value.

Not sure if it’s time to hire your first production employee? Grab my free guide 5 Signs You’re Ready to Hire Your First Employee. It tells you the exact things to look for to ensure, it’s time for you to take that next big step in your handmade business!

Get Honest About Your Hiring Needs

Running a handmade business is no small feat, and hiring the right help is a crucial decision that can make or break your long-term success. 

While VAs offer flexibility and support for admin tasks, they’re not the best first hire for most handmade entrepreneurs. By prioritizing on-site help for production, you’ll set your business on a path for growth by freeing yourself up to build systems, strategize, and create a scalable foundation.

Do you have questions about hiring your first employee, or need guidance on taking your handmade business to the next level? Get on the list for my best advice for growing and scaling your handmade business.