I came across an article a few weeks ago at SBInformer about someone who had read Tim Ferriss’ book and he thought he’d try it out and get a VA of his own. Trouble with this is the majority of people who read this book don’t do the research – they just read the book and go to the sources quoted without really understanding our industry or even realising that if they Googled ‘Virtual Assistants’ they would come across our industry associations and learn what a true VA is. They would also get a much better idea of the true value, both in monetary form and in support.
My response to the article is below.
Mr Ferriss neglected to mention all the Virtual Assistant networks that are available for sourcing VAs – true professional VAs. A Virtual Assistant is someone who has previous corporate experience and usually was a PA or similar, i.e. they have good business experience and are equipped to carry out PA roles for their clients. Generally they do not charge the rates he quoted in his book and this has been quite misleading for the industry in general and has proven to be a challenge or perhaps a disappointment to many who thought they were going to get cheap labour to run their businesses.
The Virtual Assistant industry grew out of corporate secretaries and PAs bringing their skills back home in the mid 1990s and using the Internet and other technologies to provide quality and professional support to their client base.
If you’re seeking a VA that is based in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and other similar countries then you need to expect to pay rates commensurate with the services you are receiving. After all, would you seek an Accountant, Lawyer, Business Coach, etc via the same sources as you tried out? I expect you’d want to seek a professional through their professional groups or via qualified referrals and it should be the same for Virtual Assistants. More details about our industry can be found at http://www.vadirectory.net/blog.
Teri says
I am not familiar with Tom Ferris’ book but you raise some interesting points and one I think you could explore is the whole idea of what do we mean by ‘professional’.
I think this is such a misunderstood word. In most professions being ‘professional’ means being adequately tertiary qualified – e.g. doctor, lawyer, accountant. An accountant, doctor or lawyer is considered ‘professional’ from day one of his qualifications. But in our industry the perception of ‘professional’ is so much more than being technically proficient. A professional VA has to be versatile, conscientious, think outside the square, value adding, ready to go the extra mile, highly adaptive, qualified in software, an expert in grammar, spelling and above all relational. If you ask anyone who employs a PA what are the key qualities they look for – they are that the PA ‘does my thinking for me’. Although VAs may be stretched across many different clients, all the same qualities are expected and any VA who doesn’t fulfil her role in this way would be deemed to be ‘unprofessional’ no matter what their qualifications.
The huge advantage a VA has is that we can cross-fertilise our knowledge between clients. What I learn from this client, I can apply to the next. This is helpful not only for us as it gives us more confidence, but it is helpful to our clients, who are benefiting from our wider experience. As we are generally paid by the hour or the contract there is a great incentive to be efficient because the faster and better we work, the quicker we are available for the next job. Our independence gives us flexibility but also creativity. We are not stuck in a corporate mould and having to deal with office politics, so we can give ourselves wholeheartedly to the task at hand. We have a vested interest in doing the best possible job because repeat business depends on it.
So I see a Professional VA as a kaleidescope of treasures, to be highly valued and appreciated. So let’s do it!
Richard McLaughlin says
Not taking away from hiring a virtual assistant, my partner has said that I can be replaced by one, but anyone who wants to try and break free from the things that hold them back should try James D. Brausch’s FBS. http://www.FreedomBusinessSystem.com this will not make life perfect, just help automate a lot of things.
In his book Ferris talks about moving to a dream spot and hiring a VA to replace you at work. His idea of outsourcing his life may run the risk for anyone trying to do this, because once management sees that you are not doing the job but someone in a low cost labor market, your job will be gone and that person in the LCLM will have the same job but a different employer.
Sorry, I feel myself running into a rant, if a person hires a VA it should be to make themselves more productive in the tasks that can not be accomplished by a person with less training. If you see a General Manager deciding on vacation requests, you are seeing a GM that is wasting his time and his employers money.
Jeff Yablon says
I second that.
This has become the Wild West, and associations/certifications notwithstanding you almost never really know who you’re hiring and whether/how it will work out.
But we’re all plugging away, huh?
Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Virtual VIP
http://virtual.answerguy.com
Kathie Thomas says
Jeff, you can still check the credentials of VAs. Ask about clients they’ve serviced before, ask for examples, contact previous clients for references, etc. And many VAs gain new clients through word-of-mouth referrals (recommendations). Testimonials can go a long way – especially if they are verifiabl.e
Beverly says
Good for you Kathie! I think some people are always looking for the “easy way out.” But to his credit, Ferris got LOADS of media attention and his book became a best seller for selling a “notion” without really gathering the accurate facts.
Kathie Thomas says
… and in not gathering accurate facts he’s damaged an industry he knows absolutely nothing about, and that is a real shame. Which is why it’s important for professional VAs everywhere to work all the harder at putting the right information out there.
Our industry is still young – I wonder what kind of result he would have gotten if he chose to write about an industry that’s been around a lot longer and that the general public had reasonable knowledge of?
Thanks for dropping by Beverly!
Jennifer says
I agree with you Kathie. I had a potential client approach me about doing some admin work for him after reading this book, and he was shocked to find out I wouldn’t work for $10/hr! He had utilized an VA in India and was unsatisfied with the communication and productivity level for a similar rate. Yet he expected me to do a more professional and efficient job for peanuts. He told me after reading that book he was surprised to find that the VAs in India would not work for $4 an hour! I think this book has done a great disservice to the VA industry.
Ann White says
In Tim Ferriss’s defense, he does say that you get very cheap labor if you use services from people in India and Korea, and that you must pay more for assistants in North America, Europe and Australia because of the higher standard of living.
He also says that the assistant must be tested with a very short, 15-minute assignment to see if there is good communication between the client and the assistant. As mentioned above, James Brausch’s Freedom Business System helps a client develop the system processes so that the client knows what is wanted, and can communiate more clearly to the VA. I suspect, like in many businesses, the VA must train the client to get the best return on invest ment for both of them.
Kathie Thomas says
Thank you Ann. Unfortunately it seems that a number of ‘vocal’ people have picked up on the ‘very cheap labor’ and haven’t gone through the process of testing a VA or even allowing a VA to train the client (just as a new PA needs to train his/her boss).
By ‘vocal’ I mean the number out there blogging or chatting on forums about the $3-4 an hour VA they’ve got to do their work. And then the number who come back and complain about the lack of ability in the VAs they’ve secured.
Seeking a VA through one of the industry networks will assist clients in finding the right VA, who in turn will assist the client in developing system processes.
The reality is that many of these service providers aren’t really VAs at all and it’s an education process for all, all round.
A Virtual Assistant says
I believe that all VAs are not created equal. Some VAs are better at doing certain tasks while they are non-performers on other tasks. You can get cheap but very good VAs based in India, China or the Philippines (there, $5 goes a long way) or you can get the worst. You can say the same thing for VAs based in North America. A VA that charges $40 doesn’t necessarily mean that he/she is much better than one that only charges $25.
I guess for the client, it’s a matter of trial and error. Choose a VA for what he/she is truly worth and true value is not only measured by the per hour rate. Good rapport, trust and experience are key. Thinking that you can get the best VA for $5 is foolish.