Ever wish you had a Virtual Assistant?
I first heard about Virtual Assistants from the Timothy Ferris bestseller – The Four Hour Work Week. Although I haven’t been lucky enough to actually have one, I often think it would be pretty neat. Today I found out that Elance – the huge job portal – is giving away $5,000 to be spent on hiring a Virtual Assistant in 2008.
The competition is pretty simple to enter and you have just over three weeks to send in an entry. So if you feel like making 2008 the year you became a high flying executive freelancer with their own personal assistant, head over to Elance’s Competition Page and enter.
And if you do win, make sure to write an article about how Virtual Assistants can help freelancers and email it to us!
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I am currenty working as a Virtual Assistant for a real estate developer in Las Vegas. It has been wonderful for me to work remotely, as current technology truly allows for a great client experience. It’s good to see some buzz going on in the industry.
Also, I am always looking for more clients that need office work done…
jobs [at] foster2 [dot] com
Getting a virtual assistant is very smart and targeted 80/20. It allows for better focus and better niche development. Coldplay, We are Scientists, and Jack Johnson wouldn’t be half the musicians if they had to do all their PR and legal work too.
The idea of a virtual assistant is one that I’m kinda unsure about. I’m still not sure if I agree with the recommended practice of outsourcing to poorer countries where you can pay an assistant below their real value ($4 — $10 an hour for an Indian virtual assistant according to an article on TF’s site). I say that I’m ‘not sure’ about it rather than firmly against it because there’s an argument to be made, I’m sure, that $4 US translates to a decent wage in other places… though someone in the know would have to tell me if that’s the case.
I think there’s a counter-argument to be made that we should pay people in the same way that we value ourselves. For example: what would I expect to be paid if I were doing the same job? Certainly more than $4 – $10 an hour.
Just some thoughts running through my head. I’m not really strongly for or against, so I don’t mean to be playing Devil’s Advocate.
I have a VA – in fact I’ve tried a few – but the one I have now is absolutely excellent.
Skellie – I was like you…I had initial concerns about the low wages and outsourcing to poorer countries too but now that I work and travel permanently and have spent time this year in countries with far lower costs of living than the US/UK, people who earn $10 per hour in some of these countries are making an excellent salary. There are plenty of VAs in the US/UK who charge much higher rates so there are plenty of options – the challenge is finding a good one.
I agree – if you’re paying somebody below their ‘real value’ then there’s a problem but it’s a question of how you define value…if someone can buy a full week’s worth of shopping with $30 then after a three hours of work as a VA they’re sorted. Equally $30 doesn’t get you much in somewhere like London or New York so if a VA who lives in one of these places charges $10/hour, you’d naturally be suspicious and wonder just why it’s so low.
If you base pay rates on how much you’d be expected to be paid, then your qualifications, skills/knowledge, the fact that you’d do the job quickly etc. etc. are likely to factor in – your assistant may have fewer skills/qualifications/experience. I guess it also depends upon the kind of tasks you’re talking about.
Outsourcing to poorer countries has been going on for years and years (altho of course that doesn’t make it right) – and it has helped some of these developing countries create new industries and millions more jobs through international trade than they would otherwise have developed themselves.
I think the internet has opened up a massive opportunity for people in poorer, less developed countries to generate an income they otherwise may never have had – for me, this can only be a good thing.
Thank you for posting this article about Virtual Assistants. I work as a virtual executive / virtual assistant, managing all sorts of projects for entrepreneurs and corporate careerists located around the world. I love the work I do and I love the people I work with. What I most enjoy is that I can offer services that allow others to free up time to pursue their most important projects and passions. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs I know have virtual assistants. I believe we’ll see more and more work for VAs in the future. One day, I think everyone will have an assistant of some sort — whether that person is a personal or business coach, virtual assistant, or career agent. We all know that two heads are better than one for accomplishing anything. If you haven’t tried working with a VA, give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised with the results.
The closest I’ve come to a VA is IWantSandy.com. You’d be surprised how many of my clients think she’s a real person when I cc “her” and they get emails from “her.” It’s pretty cool.
Regarding outsourcing of VA jobs from US/Britain (et.al.) to the third world:
The basic assumption here is that it’s a “global economy”, and the *job* competition is fair, if not the *wage* competition.
The reality is the *job* competition isn’t fair, either. Bottom line: India, Philippines, etc. are taking our jobs (American, British, European), *but not providing any*. Their economies don’t provide jobs for anyone, let alone us. That’s why their people are taking ours (it’s basically parasitical. Call ‘em as you see ‘em).
It would be different if I, an Indian, and a Filipino VA were competing for jobs here, in India and the Philippines. But we’re not. We’re only competing for jobs *here* (in the first world).
And it’s all well and good to talk about how, if $10 a day can buy a week’s groceries in India, then $10 a day is a fair wage for them. But we all know $10 a day can’t even buy a *day’s* worth of groceries here in the U.S. So, how can I compete with that? *And why should I have to? This is my economy – I have to live in it and pay its prices, not my Indian competitor* — who lives in an economy that DOES NOT provide for ME anything but a COMPETITOR, while MY economy provides her a LIVING! That’s “global”? How?!
And the real culprit is the capitalist who does an end-run around the system and hires these folks, permitting them to make a living from OUR system, while denying US the ability to do the same – make a living from OUR own system. Lord knows, *their* economic system isn’t going to provide US a living. It can’t even provide for its own, it can only take from others. BTW – that’s pretty much the definition of a parasite.
Think about this:
As Virtual Assistants, we’re small American (or Canadian, British, Australian, European – first world economy) business people. For the most part, we work for other small business people. Let’s say I work for John down the street. John makes widgets. He sells them for $125 USD a piece. John wants to focus on making and marketing his widgets from his shop/garage, so he hires me to do all that boring paperwork, answer his emails, etc. He pays me $35/hr. One day, surfing the ‘net, he discovers he can hire an Indian VA for $4.35/hr. So he fires me and hires her.
Let me ask all of you something: is John going to sell his widgets for less, now that’s he saving “all that” money he used to spend on me? OH NO! His widgets are worth $125 bucks a piece, and not one penny less! He’s gotta make a living, doesn’t he? Screw me, as I lose my home and have to declare bankruptcy when all of John’s business colleagues – and my former clients — jump on John’s outsourcing bandwagon. Guess I DON’T have to make a living! But that girl in India, she’s doing just swell – working for AMERICAN companies, helping them sell their AMERICAN products to AMERICANS . . . who will eventually no longer have jobs to pay for the products, because all the jobs are in INDIA (Mexico, China, Taiwan . . .)!!!! Who’s John going to sell his widgets to, then? The Mexicans? Chinese? Indians? Filipinos? Why don’t I think so? NOW *THAT’S* THE “GLOBAL” ECONOMY, FOLKS!
cyb3rassistant@gmail.com
I agree with Kay in the last comment. I prefer USassistant.com–they employ skilled, educated American homemakers who work from home as assistants for clients–these former profressionals understand the culture better and are situated in the same community as their clients, making it possible to run local errands as well as office work. They even guarantee the work.
Hello, I am interested in becoming a VA, what are the best companies out there whom hire virtual assistants where I can apply?
Hi folks! I’m a virtual assistant in an outsourcing company here in the Philippines. And it’s great to hear that that there are an affirmative feedback in the industry in general. It’s so tiring but t’was fun though!
Dear Sir or Madam,
How do I go about searching for a Virtual Assistant? How do I know if we are compatible. If they are trustworthy. How does the difference in time zones impact our ability to work to work together. How much to Virtual Assistants cost? I am located in the United States.
I strongly disagree with folks in the earlier post about third world countries and stuff, the main issue with people getting scared about the third world countries etc is the pricing $3- $ 10 for a job done by a virtual assistant at $ 30 – $35 in U.S.or U.K..
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The main difference would be not the price but the people from other countries are more dedicated and they give the best deal for the money, that is the reason why almost 75% of the work is being outsourced to 3rd world countries, so please dont underestimate your virtual assistants in other countries
Isaac, you are able to give the “best deal for the money” because your economy’s cost of living is so low. Third world countries do no better work than the U.S. or U.K. workers. You would have a different opinion if you lived in the U.S. and had to pay $2000 a month to live a “simple” lifestyle.
Bottom-line is GREEDY U.S. companies who are outsourcing to third world countries should be ashamed, but I know they are not because…well…they are GREEDY. If a company hires a virtual employee, then they should be bound to pay that person the MINIMUM WAGE required by law in the country that their company resides.
By the way, if the third world VA’s would quit accepting such low pay they could really be living quite a better lifestyle. Imagine instead of you accepting $.25-$2 an hour, you were actually paid the minimum wage of $5.85 an hour. NOW THAT WOULD BE SMART!
By the way, here is a website for VA’s who do not allow the companies to treat human beings like dogs. They require them to pay their assistants a minimum of $8 an hour. Guru.com
Mmmm. Let’s see now. I’m an American living in the USA. Single mom. Two kids. We live in a 1 bedroom apt. Kids sleep in beds in the living room. Rent is $625/month. Utilities $200/month utilities. Groceries $400/month. I am self-employed netting barely $15,000 per year. My work includes internet research locating underpriced items that I sell to a willing buyer. I’d like to outsource the internet research. My own hourly wage is far below $10/hour — with no health insurance benefits, etc. Somehow I don’t think I have a moral obligation to pay my fellow American citizens an hourly wage that is more than my own. Call it greed if you wish. I call it survival.
HI. I know many of you are VAs on this site. Yesterday, I bought Timothy Ferris bestseller – The Four Hour Work Week and learned how he uses VAs. So, I want to find a service.
I am an employee making only a living. I don’t have lots of money and I have even less time available to do things. So I want a very inexpensive VA to help me save time and have a higher quality of life.
However, I am not willing to buy a block of time at hundreds of dollars to just try a service. I want to dip my toes in the water and see if I like it. If so, I will give more business to the VA.
Please give me your advice on how to proceed.
Thanks
Hi Don,
Before you engage the services of a virtual assistant, please make sure that you do a background check first. As cliche as it sounds, Google is your best friend
. Check for references, as this is very important; you will want to work with someone who has actually done work with others, and those others can be contacted to attest the quality of the VA’s work.
You have to clearly define beforehand what particular tasks you would like to delegate, your expectations on what the end result should be, and the timeline you have for the project. You have to relay these facts to the prospective VA at the onset, so that both of you will have a clear picture of what needs to be done and how.
Obviously there is the matter of what your budget is, but as VAs differ from how much they charge, make a note of how much value you will get out of working with a particular provider. It is often said that “you get what you pay for”, and nothing could be further from the truth, but then again you will be pleased to know that there some VAs who exist out there who can surprise you with how much they can do for the amount you pay.
Once you’ve determined through your communications with a prospective VA that he/she/they are the perfect fit for you, go for it! Know their terms, sign on the dotted line, and start delegating. You can perhaps start with a test project, then proceed with bigger projects once they’ve proven themselves to you.
Being an employee as you stated, in the economy we’re in, it is a good idea to utilize your VA to do more than just help you out with your work. Why not come up with a business idea and use your VA to make it work for you! Market research? Business plan preparation? Creating your website/online sales page/marketing paraphernalias? Handle your customer support? VAs can do that for you, depending on what their capabilities are. As the saying goes, success starts with an idea.
Happy VA-hunting!
Virtual Assistant for your business there are a big help they help me a lot, posting some ads especially on my twitter, facebook, creating some SEO for my business and guess what my business with minimal cost.