I was having a chat to someone recently about places to seek Virtual Assistant support and elance.com and guru.com were mentioned. I immediately thought ‘oh, oh’ and waited for him to finish speaking before I tackled this aspect of our conversation.
Earlier in the week I’d had another business operator contact me looking for support for their business and because they know I have a network of Virtual Assistants in 15 countries he wanted to know which was the lowest cost country he could get support from.
I get concerned when people start looking in the wrong places or thinking about price only when seeking the support of a VA. First, it is important that clients realise that Virtual Assistants provide specialised support and they are not just (untrained) people sitting at home with a computer and internet connection. It goes much deeper than that.
Many VAs have well over 5 years corporate experience in admin/support areas and lots have more than 20 years’ experience. They are not going to compete price-wise with someone from Elance or Guru who quotes only $5 an hour and their finished work will produce something that is far above the standards of those who do not have the skills for this role.
I’m not saying that there aren’t quality people at Elance or Guru – there are. I sourced an excellent graphic artist to do my book cover through Guru recently and I’ll be using his services again. But I can tell you also that I did not pay bottom dollar for the job. I was amazed at some of the bid responses I got to the project I posted. Some did not provide portfolios or examples of their work – they just told me what they could do. Others obviously did not understand what my project was about and so they were dismissed immediately.
I’d not had experience with posting a project before so was curious as to whether my experience would be successful and it was. However, I’ve heard so many stories about people seeking a Virtual Assistant via this same process and then ending up with people who were not literate with the English language, who had poor typing, spelling and grammatical skills, let alone no knowledge on how to format a document so that it presented well. This then meant they had to pay for someone else to format the document and make it presentable for their business.
I was thinking about this and it occurred to me that no-one would seek an Accountant or similar through Guru or Elance would they? I actually did a search and found there are Accountants listed there, however I honestly could not see myself seeking one via that process – at least not the business people I know. And the list of those there and their earnings seem to indicate that few others do too. So why seek a Virtual Assistant there?
Virtual Assistants are best sourced through the various VA networks that exist online. These networks provide a screening process in most cases and also continued education and certification for the industry. Searching through Google will bring up thousands of references to VAs and you can visit their websites, or their listings via the networks, and get a good idea of their skillset and experience. And have confidence that they could produce the quality work you’re seeking.
Their rates are going to differ – considerably, for many reasons.
- First, there is no legislation for this industry so there are no ‘set prices’ for different services being provided.
- Second, cost of living has to come into it – where the VA lives will have a bearing on the rates they set for the services they provide.
- Third, no two VAs are alike – we all have different background experience and abilities. Some will specialise in one area and others in another. We will all have our own preferences to the type of work we’d like to do, and the types of clients we service. Because of this the rates will also depend on their speed, knowledge, experience, etc. If, for example, you wanted a document typed, someone who types faster will most likely have a higher charge rate, than someone who types slower.
You need to do the sums – will someone typing a document in 2 hours @ 95wpm be cheaper in the long run than someone who does it in 4 hours @ 65wpm? In many cases they will be. And yet often people will only look at the $$ per hour rate assuming that is their best option for the dollars they have to spend.
I want to encourage you to look beyond what might seem to be the ‘cheap’ option and instead look at the professionalism of our industry and seek support from the right places. It will save you time and dollars in the long run. KMT
virtual assistants, elance.com, guru.com, price, admin support
Michelle says
Dear Kathie,
You make a great point about online marketplace sites, but before you give up on them entirely, you should check out oDesk (http://www.odesk.com). With the enhanced search engine on oDesk, you have the option of searching for someone within a specific location, making it easier to find someone with the adequate language skills you are looking for. It’s free to interview as many people as you like on oDesk, so finding the right match doesn’t have to cost you anything. oDesk also offers a great rating system, so you can look for people who’ve already done a great job for someone else.
~Michelle, oDesk
Kathie Thomas says
Thanks for telling us about odesk Michelle. I must admit I’ve never heard of it before and will have a look.
Christine Buffaloe says
As a VA the one thing I always stress is “value”. What is it that I am offering mt client besides my services. Anyone can surf the internet and type. There are things I don’t do, such as pitching the media. I always say, it’s not what I do, but what I can do for you.
Alva Christine says
Well you can gain advantage by working with a Virtual Assistance. A Virtual Assistant is at all times available at your service whenever desired. You only need to pay for the task that is outsourced.
Well, it is interesting to know about them right. Here are some of the dos and don’ts you have to keep in mind while hiring a Virtual Assistant.
Some of the “dos†and “don’ts†are:
1. They must finalize the contract before giving the project work.
2. They must carefully decide as to which work must be outsourced.
3. They must see to that only the function is outsourced and not the accountability.
4. He must check for the hidden cost before outsourcing the work.
5. They must be very clear about the mode of paying service fees.
We have outsourced our service to VServe Solution (www.vservesolution.com) and Diksha research from India which are best at its service and I would gladly recommend these outsourcing companies. The service provided by the company is cost effective and reliable and they make sure to complete the project on time. They provide absolute service to their clients by constantly contacting the clients to get up-to-date information from them. You can outsource any service to these companies and see that the job is done with perfection and dedication.
Kathie Thomas says
Thank you for your information Alva Christine but it is most important for clients to understand that not all VAs work with contracts – only some. I’ve been a VA for over 13 years and have only signed a contract 3 times with clients – all of them associations. Individual clients I have not worked with a contract and some of those clients have been with me in excess of 5 years. But I agree, if there is a contract then it’s important that it is carefully checked.
Stacy Brice says
Virtual Assistance was never designed to be the inexpensive option to hiring an employee, but the convenient, effective, and efficient one.
maying says
As a VA wannabe I am aware of the importance and benefits of getting VA training and certification. What’s keeping me from going ahead and getting them is the high cost of trainings and certification. From where I come from (Philippines), this is not an option that is readily available and affordable for would-be VA’s. Can you suggest on ways on how I can start basic training or certification without having to shell out so much money? I have been thinking about approaching other established VAs who might be able to willing to train me by outsourcing some of their extra work to me , but I really am not too sure about this. What do you think?
Kathie Thomas says
Thanks for you comments Maying – my apologies for the delay. I’ve been away on leave.
If you already have good secretarial and/or administrative skills then the next best thing for you to do is join some of the VA networks available out there – those with chat forums I mean. Most of the forums do not require you to pay a membership fee, but some of the forums are attached to paid membership of networks, if you decide to go that way.
In joining a VA chat forum (I would suggest joining at least 3 different ones to get a variety of views and access to other VAs) you would learn from those already doing it and get great advice. Then when you are ready (and financially able) you can source suitable courses by asking at these forums what others have done. But even before then you might be able to join one or two membership networks for VAs as these will help build your business and put you in front of clients.
Good luck!
Dawn Windsor says
Hello Everyone;
I see that the last post was dated in 2007. Well here it is 2008 and I am just finding “Stumble Upon” and am I ever glad I did.
I am a VA and this is the first of 3 sites that came up with my search – Kudos to all of you who recognize quality and service over quantity and price.
I have built my business solely by word of mouth – it has spoken volumes for the services my company provides. I must say this is my proudest moment thus far by being recommended by one client to another potential client.
On the note of Guru.com Elance.com and oDesk I have heard of and used them ALL – with no success b/c I am continuously outbid by those that charge $5 per hour blechhhhhh! C’mon folks, that just isnt’ realistic by any means and well needless to say; disgusting.
I have left those communities and I focus on building by good old TRUST, DEPENDABILITY, RELIABILITY AND GOOD OLD FASHIONED HARD WORK….It’s getting me there and b/c of it my income will tripple in it’s 2nd year of business.
Go http://www.WindsorVOS.com Go
cheers everyone and happy VA hunting…..
Dawn Windsor
Kathie Thomas says
Dawn, I went and checked the dates of my latest posts as I thought perhaps the calendar date must have been wrong but it definitely has 2008. Perhaps you stumbled upon (pardon the pun) this particular post elsewhere and thought it was the last one on the blog! Unless you meant the last comment? At any rate, so good you found us.