Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Monthly Archives: August 2009

Are you making it complicated?

You may be aware I run a Virtual Assistant training course and in the process, students are required to send me their homework from each week’s lesson.

One thing that has really stood out to me is that sometimes they try to complicate things when in fact it should be kept simple.

What do I mean? Well, for example just creating client files.  Some have thought of some security measure, others have used different filing systems other than alphabetized, some use codes and so on.

What they are used to is systems they used in the corporate world for large organisations that had a lot of staff and even more clients.

BUT, often these systems are not needed in a home based office with one worker (the VA) and one computer and a small filing system.

So, my message and tip for VAs out there is – don’t complicate things! Use the KISS principle – ‘Keep it simple, stupid’ and you’ll be able to set things up quickly, retrieve things quickly and if you do require help in your office at some time, it will be easy to hand over to someone else without long explanations and documentation.

When the work load is low…

… what do you do?

Believe it or not, it has happened to me, just as it has everyone else at some stage.

Why does this happen?  I believe it’s because we get complacent when we are busy and we stop networking, stop marketing and we stop connecting with people.

The momentum is hard to establish at the beginning but once it is going, it’s best not to let it stop.  Because around 3 months later work will start to dry up and things get quiet again. You have to keep feeding the funnel that you often hear marketers talk about.

So, what do you need to do?

  • Keep talking to people
  • Keep networking with people
  • Keep going out and meeting people
  • Keep chatting to people online
  • Stay visible
  • Remain active

And if you get more work than you can handle personally, then those VAs you’ve been making friends with in the VA forums or networks are your best allies for supporting you in your business and assisting you in looking after clients.

All businesses have their ebbs and flows but if you keep doing what works, even when you don’t need it, then there will always be something coming to your business.

Virtual Assistants are NOT employees

It’s hard enough educating the public about this.  But when those who call themselves virtual assistants or VAs start calling themselves employees too, no wonder the clients get confused! This directly relates to a recent comment I saw on a blog about Virtual Assistants by someone who calls themself a Virtual Assistant.

No-one interprets an accountant, lawyer, plumber, financial planner, electrician or other service provider as an employee so why the confusion about Virtual Assistants?

Perhaps it’s because of the type of service provided?  Office based, replacing in-house secretarial and admin support that traditionally was an employee-based role.  But there is a vast difference.

Virtual Assistants look after more than one client.  They invoice the client for the work carried out. They pay their own taxes, insurances, and purchase their own hardware, software and office furniture – they work in their own offices for the most part.  They also decide what rates they are charging.

Employees are engaged at rates set by their boss or employing company, their taxes, insurances and other overheads are usually looked after and they do not invoice the client direct.  They might be sub-contracted out to a few clients of the company, but they are employees and get paid by the agency or company – not directly by the client.

There are several remote virtual staffing agencies out there now but their staff should not be confused with a Virtual Assistant who is a business owner in their own right.

There is room out there for both types of service providers but it’s important for clients to know there is a difference in the way the businesses are run and who provides the services.

Clients Guide to Virtual Assistance

I’ve written a lot here about how clients can use VAs and even given you case studies to learn from.  But I’ve never really shared why a client might want a VA.  Remember that VAs can do your administrative work to keep your business running smoothly. So, here are just a few reasons:

  1. You should be doing what you do best, and delegate the rest.
  2. Why do work you don’t have the skills and abilities for when you’re earning what you earn in your regular work?  If you’re earning good money, you really are throwing your earning potential away by doing what a VA could do for you in the way of admin work.
  3. Give yourself more time to earn more income.
  4. If you don’t have to concern yourself about the admin and everything that goes with it, you’ll free yourself up from stress and worry.
  5. You’ll find yourself far more productive if you don’t have to concentrate on things others can do for you.

Admin is the bain of every business person’s life but if you can outsource that work to those who know best how to handle those jobs, then you’ll find your income earning potential will increase with the increase in time available to you and with your head clear of those other things.

Why not place a request today to our Virtual Assistant Directory to get started?

How to use a VA in your business

I get Google Alert daily which lets me know about new articles being published on the topic of Virtual Assistants.

How refreshing it was to see today a new article that is clear about how to use a VA and is factual in the information.

I particularly liked this paragraph which gave practical advice about affording a VA:

Can I Afford It?

The first thing to consider is whether or not you can afford to hire a virtual assistant. I’m actually starting to believe the advice given to me many years ago: you can’t afford not to hire one. As small business owners, we simply have too much to get done each day, and we’re very prone to overworking and not taking enough time for other aspects of our lives, especially taking time for ourselves.

On top of that, if you charge $100 per hour, as an example, and are doing tasks that can be outsourced for $25, you’re not really making the best use of your time. A good rule of thumb mentioned in a previous WWD post suggests using half your hourly rate as a guide, so if you charge $100 per hour, outsource tasks that can be done for $50 or less.

Read the rest here…

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