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How do I find a virtual assistant?

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This week I’ve been posting about what a virtual assistant is and the cost of a virtual assistant.  Your next question may be, “How do I go about finding a virtual assistant for my business?”

There are several resources for finding a VA to partner with to help you grow your business. Since virtual assistants are, well, virtual, odds are you will not find a VA in your local yellow pages. Also, because they are virtual, that means you are not limited to a VA in your local area. Other than doing a web search and wading through the thousands of VA web sites, you can turn to virtual assistant associations. All VA associations have a section of their web site dedicated for potential clients to submit a request for proposal (RFP). Once the RFP has been posted to the private, members’ only portion of their web site, individual VAs then respond directly to the business owner who has requested VA services. It is then up to the individual business owner to screen the proposals and begin a conversation with who they believe would be the best fit for them and their business needs.

So, what VA associations are there? There are hundreds of VA associations (local, regional, national, and international). Two good places to start are VAnetworking and the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA). Both are international organizations, but the majority of their members are in North America.

Don’t be shocked by the cost of a Virtual Assistant

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Earlier this week I wrote about what a virtual assistant is.  Some people are initially surprised to see the hourly charge for a virtual assistant. VA fees for generalists can range from $25 to $50 per hour and specialized VAs can charge $75 per hour or more. That can seem a lot at first glance, but compared to the actual cost of an hourly employee, VAs are right in line with, and sometimes less than, the cost of an on-site employee. But remember, a virtual assistant is not an employee – VAs are business owners like you, who are responsible for all their own expenses related to running a business such as taxes, software, computers, electricity, Internet connection, health insurance, retirement, etc. The median wage for an entry level administrative assistant in my local area (South Carolina) is $16 per hour, not counting bonuses and benefits. Factoring in bonuses and benefits, the actual cost to the employer is over $24 per hour. Add in the cost of employment taxes, an extra computer, telephone, electricity, work space, unproductive time such as breaks, etc. and the actual cost of an administrative assistant can easily top $30 per hour – that’s just for an entry level assistant. The cost goes up significantly with experience, increased responsibilities and location.

Here is another VA vs. Employee cost comparison at VAnetworking.com.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

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“A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a highly-trained independent entrepreneur who provides a myriad of business support services virtually via phone, fax and internet based technology to support and meet the growing needs of businesses worldwide.” – VAnetworking.com

Although the virtual assistant industry has been around for many years and has been utilized by speakers, business/life coaches and real estate professionals, it has only recently been brought into mainstream business world. Entrepreneurs often find they need assistance with business related tasks but often do not have the space, resources or budget for an employee. Enter the VA.

A VA can help with virtually any aspect of your business. Although many virtual assistants are generalists, many VAs offer specialized or niche services. Services range from general administrative services such as data entry, calendar management, email management, transcription and proofreading to specialized services like bookkeeping, email marketing campaign management, desktop publishing and website design and maintenance. Partnering with a VA can significantly free up your time to focus on the money making aspect of your business.

“Why wouldn’t I just hire an employee?”

  • If you run your business from home you may not want someone else inside your home.
  • You don’t have the budget or space for an extra work station (desk, computer, printer telephone, etc.).
  • You don’t want to deal with employment taxes.

“Why wouldn’t I just hire a temp from an agency?”

  • Temp employees do not have a vested interest in seeing your business succeed.
  • Temp employees are just that – temporary!
  • Employment taxes are included in the fee you pay to the temp agency, but you still need the extra work station, have the issue of having someone inside your home (if you’re home based), and many times temps have only basic office skills and are limited in the scope of the work they can perform.

Outsourcing Doesn’t Have to be a Dirty Word

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When the topic turns to outsourcing, many times thoughts immediately turn to outsourcing “overseas” and immediately dismiss the thought, thinking it takes jobs away from your country – forgetting about the option to outsource locally. The definition of outsource according to Merriam-Webster.com is:

to procure (as some goods or services needed by a business or organization) under contract with an outside supplier <decided to outsource some back-office operations>

Virtual Assistants do not need to be in the same geographic location as their clients, but sometimes clients like that little extra security of knowing their VA is close. So where do you find a Virtual Assistant that is “close to home”? Most VA’s do not advertise in the Yellow Pages, but there are still ways you can find a local VA. You can visit the directories for VAnetworking.com or the International Virtual Assistant Association and search your state (or province, country, etc.), or you could submit a request for proposal (RFP) on either of those two sites requesting your VA be in a particular geographic region.

But, again, it is not necessary for a VA to be in the same town, state, or time zone for the VA/Client relationship to work. Although I am in South Carolina, I have clients in Massachusetts, Maryland and California.

So, the next time you hear the term “outsource”, don’t immediately think it’s a dirty word – you can outsource locally!

More about VAnetworking 5th Anniversary Bash

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What happens when you are part of the largest on-line network for Virtual Assistants and that network celebrates its 5 year anniversary? You get the opportunity to party “virtually” every night for the next not 5, not 10, not 15 but 20 WEEKS! Talk about the network that never sleeps!

As an active member of VAnetworking.com, the largest on-line network for Virtual Assistants I was excited when Tawnya Sutherland, founder of VAnetworking.com announced a 20 week virtual bash to celebrate their fifth anniversary.

I got my family all set (i.e. something to keep the kids quiet) and off I went to join the festivities of the opening ceremony. 3 hours later I emerged with two, yes TWO door prizes. I guess I shouldn’t really call them door prizes because the competition for them was FIERCE (but friendly)! I came out with a one year classified ad at cwahm.com and a CD-Rom copy of the Virtual Assistants Guide to the Multi-VA business by Michelle Jamison. Other VAs won things like coaching sessions, VA courses, VAdalas (man, I wanted to win one of those), and several different ebooks.

Leave it to Tawnya and the volunteers at VAnetworking to put on one heck of a party! I can hardly wait to see what the rest of the 20 weeks has in store!

VAnetworking.com Birthday Bash!

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VAnetworking.com is throwing a Never Ending 5 Year Birthday Bash! Tawnya and the gang at VAnetworking have been working hard at getting this wonderful party set up for all the wonderful virtual assistants who support the VAnetworking forum.

It’s going on from September 3rd until the end of the year! That’s one heck of a party! Be sure to RSVP for the party! (Yes, RSVPs are required.)