TOP V.A. 4U

A Virtual Assistant is NOT an Employee

2009-08-24T18:03:00.003-05:00

While I was surfing through some blogs recently, I came across a topic of particular interest to me and I thought I would share the article here. Taryn Merrick does a great job of describing the differences between hiring an employee vs. a virtual assistant. Read on below:

Virtual Assistant’s Are Highly Skilled Business Professionals

Many people think that a virtual assistant is an “off site” or “virtual” equivalent to an employee. Something akin to a secretary sitting outside a manager’s office, only “remotely”. That is simply not true.

Yes, there are people who “telecommute” from home. This means they work for an employer, and need clearance for time off for vacation, sick days, personal days, etc. They need to “check in”, so to speak. They are expected to provide “on demand” work and instant turnaround. These people are most definitely not virtual assistants!

So many times on Twitter, I see people seeking a virtual assistant when what they truly are seeking is an employee. Yes, virtual assistance may be a great solution to an entrepreneur who cannot afford to hire staff. However, if this sounds like you, you need to be able to forego some of the features of having an employee. For instance, virtual assistants are not available “at the snap of a finger” to their clients. They do not “check in”. They can structure their office hours and time away whenever they want. They don’t provide “on demand” or “I need it NOW” service (rush services do exist but they are almost always at a high premium fee and are subject to the VA’s schedule). You will not be able to directly supervise a virtual assistant like you would an employee. There is a certain level of professional trust and partnership involved when working virtually with a professional. This scenario is because a virtual assistant/client relationship mirrors the relationship of any two independent business people collaborating together on any project or task.

If you are the kind of person who wants to maintain a certain level of control over someone who is providing you with assistance, then you should be looking to hire an employee. If you don’t have the budget for this, you may want to check out your local college and inquire about their student work/study program. Many students will work for free to get experience in the business world.

If you are the kind of person who needs immediate turnaround, and someone to wait around during the day should you need anything, again, you need to hire an employee.

If you are at the level in your business where you have a steady flow of projects, duties and tasks that can be metered out over time, and are not a micro-manager, then partnering with a Virtual Assistant is the best move you could make! Check out this article I wrote for more reasons why using a Virtual Assistant makes good business sense. The Virtual Assistant retains authority over the methods, policies and procedures with which the work is administered, to assure it is delivered to you with excellence and in a timely fashion. Most Virtual Assistants have spent years honing their business skills, and are masters of their trade. Many of them have worked as employees and know how to best support an executive, entrepreneur or business owner.

If someone is looking for a Virtual Assistant, there is really a match for everyone. You should be as careful about what VA you contract with as most Virtual Assistants are about what clients they accept. A reputable and skilled Virtual Assistant will do/should do their due diligence with any potential client. This assures that the VA’s policies, procedures and business practices mesh with the potential clients needs and expectations and that both sides know clearly what they are getting from the other.

To read more articles by Taryn Merrick, click here: Taryn Merrick - A Virtual Assistant Is Not An Employee

Starting Your Own Virtual Assistant Business

2009-08-21T14:44:00.006-05:00

Starting your own virtual assistant business has many advantages for those people who consider themselves the entrepreneurial type. It is a very appealing option for stay at home moms, moms wanting to stay home with their children or people looking to get out of the corporate rat race etc. It has been indicated by those people who are veterans in the virtual assistant industry that a minimum of five (5) years experience in your field of expertise is a must for your potential clients to have confidence in you. An administrative assistant course or VA certificate program are not required to get into the industry but through my research, it is recommended that you should have something to help boost the confidence in your clients.

Here are a few links for VA certification courses or Real Estate VA course

VA Classroom
Red Deer College, Alberta Canada
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Institute
Virtual Business Start Up System

One of the major benefits of starting your own virtual assistant business is that you have the freedom of flexibility. Flexibility means so much to me and many people who work(ed) in the corporate jungle. There is flexibility on so many levels such as the type of clients you chose, the type of work that you take on, the amount of work you take on, the hours you keep, the amount of days you work per week and the amount of money you bring in.

There is flexibility in the type of clients you chose is entirely up to you and the skills you bring to the table. Your business might just offer bookkeeping, or administrative assistant, or web design etc or a combination of services. If you get requests from potential clients where the work is not of interest to you, you have the option to pass the work to another VA (if you know any) who may do that kind of work, or let the client know that it is not something you typically do, or if it is something that you can do but don’t like to do but need some dollars coming in the door, you can bite the bullet and take the project on.

There is flexibility with respect to the type of work you take on and amount services you offer. It is best not to offer everything under the sun. Pick some key skills that you are good at and go from there. As you go along in your business you can develop other skills and add them to your list of services. Defining what you can do to start with is important and you can build on your virtual assistant business from there. The great thing is, that all clients are different. Even if you do bookkeeping or administrative work, your clients’ business is unique to them and although the work may be similar, the circumstances to each business is different. It brings a variety into your day.

There is flexibility with respect to the amount of work you take on is entirely up to you; not dictated to you by an employer (as you see those stacks on your desk get higher & you inbox is overflowing & your boss wants something he just gave you to do, yesterday! Yikes!! It is all up to you whether your client base is five (5) or twenty (20), whether you are part-time or full-time, whether you are available 24/7 or work within office hours YOU set for yourself.

There is flexibility with respect to the hours you keep & the days off you take. You may for example, set your business hours from 8am – 5pm, Mon – Fri, however, if you need to set an appointment for during the week, within those hours, you do not need to request from anyone (except yourself) that you require time off. You may feel like working outside of the hours you set or on the weekend. Maybe you only want to work part-time and only take on a few clients that takes only a few days out of the week.

The part I love the most about being a virtual assistant is the flexibility!

I was inspired to write about starting your own virtual assistant business from an article I read by Denise Willms in her Virtual Assistant Business Can Be A Dream

What VA's Do?

2009-08-18T23:50:00.005-05:00

To sum up my previous post of “What is a V.A.?”:

Virtual Assistants (VAs) are independent entrepreneurs providing professional administrative, managerial, technical, and/or office support services. VAs typically use the most advanced means of communication & technology, the most efficient time saving office products and means of delivery; regardless of geographic boundaries. Virtual Assistants work from their own offices, on a contractual basis, and abide by an established Code of Ethics requiring integrity, honesty and due diligence."

Instead of walking paper files into the next office, you can simply attach those same electronic files to an email and hit send. Your assistant will work on those files according to your instructions and return them, mail them, or do whatever else you request with them.

In short, a VA can do just about anything a regular office employee can do. Except you just won't see his or her face every day and the manner in which you send tasks to him or her will vary slightly.

Now onto "What can a virtual assistant do?"

The list is "virtually" endless (VA humour). There are so many ways that virtual assistants can assist their clients. VAs typically hone in on specific areas and do not offer absolutely every skill under the sun. It would be "Virtually" impossible to offer so much & very tiring as well! (more VA humour)

Here is a list of the many varieties of skills and services VAs offer to clients:

· Full Cycle Bookkeeping Services
· Research
· Project Management
· Operations Support
· Event Planning
· Virtual Note Taking
· General Administrative Support (Word Processing, Data Entry, Proofreading, Editing, Formatting Documents)
· Preparation of Manuals (Health & Safety, Employee, Training)
· Reminder Services & Client Follow Up
· Mass Mail Outs (For Promotions, Customer Appreciation, Thank You's, Etc.)
· Travel Arrangements
· Website Maintenance
· General & Enhanced Word Processing
· Office Management
· Desktop Publishing
· Database Development
· PowerPoint Presentations
· Web Page Design, including Ongoing Maintenance
· Flash Design
· Design Consultation
· Graphic & Photo Web Enhancement
· Animated Banners
· Call contractors
· Set/cancel appointments
· Work with Excel spreadsheets
· Work with MS Word
· Answer incoming calls
· Return phone calls
· Call for quotes
· Order services
· Document scanning
· Transcription
· Marketing
· Concierge services
· Human resources

This list is by no means exhaustive. The key to a great virtual assistant business is to pick the areas that you are skilled in and offer those services to clients. The pitfall is trying to offer too much, especially if you are not skilled in certain areas. Clients will soon pick up on that if you are trying to offer too many services & not particularly skilled at a task you have been given. If you want to keep you client happy, you can brush up on the skill yourself or sub-contract the service to someone more qualified. Your client would rather have someone qualified doing the work rather than a VA saying they can do something & not produce top quality results.

Feel free to add to the list in the comment section if there is a service that I have missed that should be included.

WHAT IS A VA?

2009-08-17T18:48:00.009-05:00

The first time I heard about the virtual assistant industry was in January of 2008. I completed a huge amount of research and found out that the people within this industry have been around for well over a decade. However, it has only become popular over the last few years and the amount of virtual assistants entering the industry has grown considerably since I started my own business.

I figured that even though I have been in the virtual assistant industry for over a year, I still have to explain what a virtual assistant . Not everyone seems to understand what a virtual assistant is or what we do so I guess it is pertinent to explain this first and go on from there.

What is a Virtual Assistant (VA)?
A virtual assistant is an independent contractor that works in collaboration with your business. We are entrepreneurs or small business owners who work remotely; usually from our own home.

What services are offered by VA's?
A virtual assistant may offer a variety of services such as: administrative support, full cycle bookkeeping, project management just to name a few.

Why would you use a VA instead of a Temp Agency?
The temp agency acts as a middle man between the employer and employee. The temp personnel are employed by the staffing agency. The temp personnel work on-site and are the responsibility of you as an employer for direction and supervision. The payment of this temp employee is the responsibility of the staffing agency. With a virtual assistant, there is no middle man and we are committed to the success of your business.

What are the benefits of hiring a VA as opposed to an employee?
The benefits of working with a VA are numerous. The VA works as an independent contractor to assist you with the growth of your business. An employee is usually in your employ for the salary, company benefits, vacation, sick days as well as climb the corporate ladder. If there is no ladder to climb, they are going to move on to another company with all the training you have invested in them to reach their goals. As a virtual assistant, our goal is to have a collaborative long term relationship, whereby as you become more successful, so do we.

Who can benefit from using a VA?
Everyone who has an open mind to their future can benefit from using a VA. Whether you are a corporate client who is overrun with work and need to offload the pressure, or a small one person operation who has no time or interest in administrative, bookkeeping, project management etc aspects of the business. Pretty much anyone, in almost every sector of industry can benefit from a virtual assistant.

How does this save you money?
You save huge dollars, as you do not have to go through the hiring, recruiting, training process, or pay a salary, benefits, vacation, sick time, or worry about idle employee time if you do not have quite enough work to keep them busy. You are billed for hours actually worked or on a cost of completion of a project or on a monthly retainer fee for a set amount of work per month.

I currently do everything myself. Why would I consider working with a VA?
Working with a VA means that you are free to concentrate on what matters most about your business. You need to let go of doing everything yourself and TRUST the right virtual assistant to step in and take some of the tasks off your shoulders. Remember: You don't have to do it alone; virtual assistants are here to help you.

That is a virtual assistant in a real nutshell! If you have questions or comments, please provide them in the comment section or contact TOP V.A. 4U by email in the box at the bottom of the page.