Virtual Assistant – THE Blog About Our Industry

About the Virtual Assistant industry for VAs and for clients

Monthly Archives: July 2010

Sub-contracting to another VA? Treat like a client!

I had an email from one of my team recently who’d been sub-contracting to another VA.  Turns out that while the job had been completed there had been some disagreement about how the job should have been handled and therefore billed.  I’ve had similar emails from VAs from time to time.  Sometimes things aren’t that clear.

They came to me for advice and we chatted about the outcome and what might have taken place before the job was secured.

Basically it’s like this (IMO).  If you’re sub-contracting to another VA, doesn’t matter how well you know them, or even if you’ve done work with them before, they should be treated like any other client you would work with. Get everything in writing – don’t assume anything.

If I get clients ringing me to give me instruction, I will either ask them to email me with the same information, or I will send them an email confirming what had been discussed on the phone.  A client asked me why I would do that when we chatted on the phone about this and I explained that it’s an audit paper trail for me. I can print off the instructions and re-read them. It’s hard to replay a conversation exactly in your head but with the written word you can read, re-read, cross off as you complete things and it’s less likely you’ll forget a component of what needs to be done.

Plus you can send back queries as a reply to that email so what had been mentioned or discussed before is there in front of the person reading the email.

Which leads me to another point: Reply with the original email intact if you’re replying to something that has been said or asked. Don’t reply with a blank email – it makes it hard for the recipient to know what you’re referring to without the original email included.

A VA for each thing…

Somewhere along the line the general public (and clients) have been given the idea that you can engage one VA and get everything done! What a neat idea that is.

Trouble is, it’s usually far from the truth.

The reality is that some VAs are generalists, i.e. they can do wordprocessing, database management, website management and even help with social media. I’m one of those VAs. But when it comes to including book-keeping, graphic design, public relations, marketing and even sales, then the reality is the client needs to start thinking in compartments, just as the corporate world does.

In the corporate world an organisation will have a department that manages their staff, another that manages the finance, another for public relations, then graphic design, web design and so on. You get the picture don’t you?

Then it makes sense, surely, that a client could therefore need several VAs to support them as their business grows and develops.

Our industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 14+ years, however it still has quite a way to go yet as it’s important that the public, and potential clients, understand who we are, what we are and what we can do to help them daily in their businesses.

Virtual Assistance – a Real Profession

It’s interesting to watch the commentary in various VA forums.  There are those who have been in the industry a long time (like me), those who have been around between 3-5 years and those who are just learning what the industry is really about.

They come from many different avenues of life and discover the industry in many different ways.  Ultimately many have had the dream of working at home for a long, long time and eventually discover that what they have been doing, or thinking of doing, is in fact a live and active industry.

So why do people still refer to the corporate world as a ‘real job’ when comparing working at home versus working in the corporate world?

I’ve been working at/from home for well over 16 years now. I know when I first started it felt a bit like I was home on a long holiday and playing on my computer, but earning money for what I enjoyed doing – wordprocessing, data entry, and other things (sick, hey?).

However, it’s not been all playtime and fun and the building of a business, any business, is a long slow haul and there are often thankless times.  I, like many others, have often wondered if it’s worth it when things aren’t going the way we hoped or expected, but there have been other times when I’ve been elated and know I’m in the place I’m meant to be.

Despite articles published by those who really do have no idea about our industry, the Virtual Assistant Industry is a real profession and as such, those conducting VA practices are, in most cases, real professionals.

I’m sorry, but if you have basic typing or keyboarding skills and are fresh out of college, you really do not have the experience to become a professional Virtual Assistant.  I’ve always maintained that to be a VA you should have at least 5 years working experience in the workforce before you are suitably experienced or qualified to consider setting up your own VA practice.  After all, when you look at the other industries out there, how many people set up business straight after leaving uni or college? Not many, most will go and pay their dues, put in the time working in a business or practice that will let them hone their skills and learn how to manage the day-to-day complexities of running a business and servicing clients.

I believe that anyone who joins my VA Network must have that as part of the criteria for joining and I know that most other VA networks have adopted a similar criteria.  This was criteria I set late 1996 after having established a membership based network earlier in the year. I could see that if I didn’t set criteria my business and network could be compromised by accepting members who really did not have the skills or experience to fit in with the rest of the team.  Our clients needed to have the confidence that if they selected a member to work with, that that member was able to carry out the work required.

If you are not used to working with the public, or with teams of people, meeting deadlines and working out how to achieve certain things on your computer, then you really do need to get that experience first.  Your client is your client is your client.  You are not their employee and clients often get that idea because of the way some VAs have worded their websites and marketing material or even in the way they themselves speak to others and think of the work they do.

There are many leaders in the VA industry today and if you are new to the industry, then I encourage you to watch the leaders* and learn from them. Do a VA training course if you need to. Definitely join a forum, but better still 2 or 3, as you will learn something different from each one.  And remember to put on that mindset that you are now a business owner in the business world, and no longer an employee of the workforce.  A very different mindset and one that will serve you well.

* I define a leader as someone who has been in the industry for several years and probably provides mentoring or training or even runs a forum or network – which allows them to pass on their knowledge and experience to other VAs.

The importance of reading and comprehension

I’m amazed at how many people apply to join my Virtual Assistant network and then can’t follow simple written guidelines to ensure they get the most out of their membership.

As with joining any forum or network, there are some guidelines and rules – it’s important to read them and then work your membership accordingly. It’s easy to get into hot water otherwise, or go away disillusioned. I know I’ve had my knuckles rapped on a couple of occasions at online forums if I’ve posted a link or done something I shouldn’t have done – because I wasn’ t aware of the rules therein.

Recently I had a (new) member decide to leave our network because she got nothing out of it. She’d only been a member for 3 months and her monthly payments had been dishonoured from the start. That should have been a red flag to me immediately.

I don’t believe she read any of the information I sent to her to help her settle into the membership and get to know other members. She did nothing to join in discussions and in fact, never even joined the discussion group. How are other members going to know she exists let alone get to know her to pass on referrals for work.

She never set up her page profile so clients could find her.

There were other things she didn’t do. Basically she followed none of the instructions sent to her on the very day she joined. So why did she join? I have no idea.

I expect some people join things and expect things to happen magically for them.

  • - The weight is going to fall off if they join Weight Watchers but don’t follow the guidelines.
  • - They’re going to get really fit by joining a fitness club or gym, but not participate.
  • - They’re going to magically make a lot of money by joining some wealth creation program but do nothing that’s required to build the wealth.
  • - And they’re going to get lots of work by joining a VA Network without making the effort for members or clients to get to know they exist.

If you join a VA network or forum (or any other business network or forum) it is most important you follow the guidelines, read and learn about the group and then participate and allow other members to get to know you. How are you going to learn what they already know if you don’t read what they have to say, ask questions or participate in discussions?

When you set up business you cannot just decide to be in business and then do nothing to build it. It just won’t happen.

I should add – not all applicants are like this and most are very proactive in their business building.  But it seems that over the past year or two there have been a few who have been like the outline above and it has to make one wonder how they get on in life.

Who do you listen to? Pt II

I was busy chatting at a different forum this week – not a VA forum but a Work At Home forum which has a mixture of different industries represented there. But it seems that many industries all suffer the same problem – people who join an industry, spend a short time in it and then set themselves up as authorities to those newer than themselves.

Some may well have truly picked up what those industries are about and may have a training or teaching background but many don’t.

All I can say is that (as did others from this forum) when you are looking at receiving training or coaching of any type, for any industry, check carefully not only the course content but also the background of the person providing that training or coaching.  Have they been in the industry a long time – and I’m talking at least 5 years here.  What is their own experience and have they been running a business of their own or just working for someone else?

I believe that not only should that person have the ability to teach or coach (and this might mean they may need to do some courses in coaching or training separately) but they should also have a good command of the industry in which they are providing the teaching or coaching.

So, if you’re a new VA looking to get advice and teaching from someone in the VA industry, why not check in a few places first? How long has their site been up? How long have they been in the industry?  Does anyone at any of the VA forums know them or have they participated in their course?  Check for testimonials or anything else that can give you some confidence in what is being offered.

I wrote about this September last year but feel it’s important to raise the topic again as there are so many newbies entering the industry.   Check the credentials of those offering the training or course before signing up – it may save you some problems further down the track.

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