So, now you know what a virtual assistant is and things are getting busy in your business. You might be wondering what you need to know about working with a virtual assistant. Since I’ve started working in the industry, I’ve found some things that are quite helpful for me and my clients.
Where do I find a virtual assisant?
You can always search online for a virtual assistant. There are a lot of them out there. Depending upon what help you need, you can go to Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other groups online.
If you don’t want to be bombarded by every person who will respond to your inquiries, there are a few associations that virtual assistants are members with and offer Request for Proposal (RFP) Boards. These boards are available only to the members of the associations and only those who feel qualified for the position will respond. You have the freedom of specifying what you need and then narrowing your prospects down from there.
Some Virtual Assistant Associations are:
- International Virtual Assistant Association (IVAA) http://www.ivaa.org
- VA Networking.com http://vanetworking.com
- Global Alliance of Virtual Assistants (GAVA) http://www.globalva.org
Once you have decided where to look and what you need. You can submit your request and then screen your responses to see who is a good fit for your needs. Depending upon what services you are needing the rates for a virtual assistant can range from $20 – 80 per hour, but they vary and depend upon specialties, so don’t be overwhelmed by the price. Remember that you aren’t paying the overhead and additional expenses since your virtual assistant will be under contract and not an hourly employee.
What do I do next?
- Know what you want to delegate and make a list of repeatable tasks you do daily/ weekly/ monthly
- Document the steps you take to complete the task(s) you want to delegate – be specific
- Document them in order of priority
- If the steps are more complicated than can be put into writing, take a video of you doing the task as you talk through the steps (through loom or you can use zoom and screen share to yourself.
- Decide on the qualities/skills you want in your virtual assistant
- Post the details of what you need, and how to contact you in virtual assistant organizations or groups that you decide on.
- You can then sort through the responses to your request to choose a few you can meet with by phone or on a zoom call.
- Once you choose a candidate – be sure that there is a signed agreement (Most virtual assistants will have their own)
- You’ll most likely need to pay at least a portion of the services up front, many virtual assistants use retainers of prepaid hours to work from.
- Then you can hand over the documentation for the work to your new virtual assistant will be doing for you.
I hope that you find the exact match for your needs, but remember we’re all different and we all have our own styles so if you aren’t comfortable with someone, don’t give up on a virtual assistant, you just need to find the right one. Then you can relax knowing that things are being handled!
I’m here to help if you want to discuss solutions for you business. Virtu-Ally On your side. Getting things done.