Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Monthly Archives: July 2007

Virtual Assistant Needed

I like to keep watch on various things posted online, as many of us do and it never ceases to amaze me to see someone seeking a ‘virtual assistant’ and then putting the price on what they want to pay. It frequently doesn’t match up – the rate the client wants to pay versus the work they want done. Do they think that VAs are monkeys? Because it seems all they want to pay is peanuts a lot of the time.

I recently saw a job post at DoMyStuff.com where someone was advertising for a VA to assist with projects which requested the following:

web research, authoring documents and presentations, sorting email, etc. There is a mix of personal and business tasks.

Requirements: excellent English skills, good computer and internet skills, fast turnaround, quick response times

Rates: at most $10 / hour, lower rates will receive preference

When I looked at the responses they got it was from a 16 year old (still at school), another who said they were willing to accept that task and a third saying that’s what she does for a living. All of them were quoting $10 or less.

No wonder people get the wrong idea about this role and think that anyone could set up at home. And no wonder new VAs get discouraged or wonder how they can build up a successful business if they’re going to have to bid so low for a client.

The answer is you don’t – at least not through sites like these. That’s where the Virtual Assistant Networks come in – many list Request for Proposals or Job Leads to their members and the networks are easily found on the web. VA members get listings on their websites and when participating in the VA forums, they get to mix and mingle with those already doing it and making a success of their VA businesses. Why go it alone when you can learn from others? There’s something to be said about mixing in the right company so if you’re looking to become a VA, or are already and going it alone, it’s time to start seeking out the VA networks and forums and get involved! KMT

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Do You Skype?

Skype is frequently used by VAs the world over now to have discussions with clients, participate in seminars, partake of coaching and contact distant family members. Recently on one of the VA forums I belong to there was a question about Skype and how easy it was to use. A VA’s family member is going to be overseas for a period of time and they wanted to be assured of making contact regularly, easily and at low cost.

There are costs involved for some of the services but we’ve not as yet made use of them. The free facilities have been more than adequate for our needs. Here is my response at that forum.

We use it too but have never had to buy any time at all. Totally free. We have a daughter in Japan and we are in Melbourne, Australia. We talk regularly every week for up to 2 hours at a time, at no cost. Was really useful 2 days ago. The recent earthquake was very close to where she is living and working and we could not contact her by phone – the lines were either down or congested but thank God we could use Skype and were able to talk to her that way. She’d no idea how bad the quake was until I told her – she then looked online on the news sites and saw for herself all the damage.

9 people killed last time I heard. So, even with the phone system out, the internet was still working and we were able to speak to our daughter and be assured she was safe and ok.

I encourage you to explore it if you haven’t yet. It is a free download and very easy to install and set up. Just a username, password and your email address is all you need. After that you can add people to your contact list and search for others who might be listed with Skype. The thing I like watching is the number online at any given time – always in the millions! KMT

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Virtual Assistants in the Legal World

Some months ago (in 2006 actually) we had a few articles come out in Lawyer’s Weekly in Australia and it was good to see the recognition by the legal industry of how Virtual Assistants can assist them in their daily needs.

A new article has just been published by Law Practice Today titled The Virtual Assistant: Every Lawyer Needs One! and I thought I’d share the article with you – it is a good one and gives great information about the types of things that VAs can do to service their clients in the legal industry.

It was closing day: there were last minute changes to the Asset Purchase Agreement before meeting with the vendor’s team. My secretary was sick. What I thought were simple additions and changes to the Agreement were not so. The text jumped around inexplicably with every revision, and in my frantic attempts to justify the text the fonts switched repeatedly, the numbering changed its sequencing and the alignment shifted back – all seemingly with a mind of its own. I was desperate.

So began my relationship with my VA (Virtual Assistant): a card in my Roladex that I was sure I’d never need. She gave me an instant solution. I noted the changes on the agreement, faxed them, and emailed the troublesome text. As instantaneously as if my secretary had been there, the amended agreement was sitting in my Inbox ready to print in quadruplicate. It was that easy.

To read the rest, click here.

The article mentions searching on Google for VA networks, but I thought I’d save you, the reader, some time and list a few of them here.  KMT

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Coaching Courses For VAs

I was recently approached by an organisation I’d never heard of to promote their new certification for VAs. Their email was not very clear in explaining what they were promoting and when I went to their website, I found their page for the certification for VAs. However, I decided to decline their request to promote to my list of VAs till I received further information. Why?

1. They appeared to not be a member of any coaching or educational organisation.

2. There was no apparent affiliation with the industry field they were providing the certification for.

3. I’d not heard of them before but am not averse to new groups – just careful.

4. It is very easy for people to create new courses based on a perceived need and some research but not necessarily out of real knowledge of the industry.

I did research the organisation and located old websites dating back to 2001/2002 and found they had worked in a different field altogether. But again, nothing that shows they are aligned with a training institute or indeed have the experience and knowledge to train VAs in the particular niche field they are promoting.

I encourage to you look carefully when seeking out coaching programs and check their credentials – are they experienced in the field that they provide the training for? Do they have the relevant background experience? Are they aligned with a coaching organisation or training institute? Do they have testimonials showing? Are there others who have done their courses that you can contact for verification?

The organisation that approached me may well be genuine, but I reserve the right to withhold any decisions until I receive further information. Even if the course is promoted with a heavy discount and short time frame for making a decision, it is worth while doing the homework and research first. Having certification for your industry and chosen field is a good thing to do – you just need to be sure that the organisation or person providing it, are qualified to do so, otherwise the time involved, the expense and the paper at the end of it amounts to very little. KMT

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