Once you have made the decision that you need some help with various office related tasks that come with running your business, where do you go from there?

Do you put an ad in the paper; wait weeks for resumes to come in; read over all of them; and then interview those that sound like they have at least some of the skills you need? Do you call a temporary agency and then spend valuable time training the person they send and then look for things to keep the constantly busy? Do you give up working on your computer or get extra equipment for someone to work on in your office?

In short, the answer to all of these questions is NO. All you need to do is find a Virtual Assistant. But, why would you hire a Virtual Assistant instead of hiring an employee or bringing a temp?

What is a VA and how will they help me?

A Virtual Assistant (also known as a VA) is an entrepreneur who is in business to help small businesses with their overflow. VAs work from their own fully equipped offices, usually a home-based office, and offer a full range of services to help you with any task that is usually handled by an in-house employee.

VAs are professionals that take pride in building relationships with their clients so they can provide input and foresee how to best help the client and keep their businesses successful. Most come from the corporate world with years of experience in office assistance and/or have taken training in the most common services required but their clients.

Services offered by Virtual Assistants include, but are not limited to, all aspects of administrative support; bookkeeping; web design; event planning; desktop publishing; marketing support plus so much more. And, if your VA doesn’t offer the service that you need help with, they can usually find someone who can. Many VAs have a team of contractors they can turn to for help or they belong to VA organizations with hundreds of members that they can a call upon.

What do VAs usually charge?

As with many service industries, rates vary depending on services offered and levels of experience. Generally, VA rates for administrative tasks range from $20 per hour to about $50 per hour. For more complex and technical services, the rates usually range from $30 to $75 per hour or more.

This may seem rather high when you think about the fact that you can get an in-house assistant for $10-$15 per hour. However, there are numerous reasons why VAs charge the rates that they do.

• VAs have fully equipped offices and take care of all of their own business related expenses so you don’t need to worry about paying for

• additional office space for them to work in
• additional equipment
• government related source deductions, taxes, etc.
• down time, vacation pay, etc.

• VAs have years of experience to offer so there is no need for you train
• VAs are professionals and offer exceptional customer service
• VAs work “with” you to keep things running smoothly
• VAs build relationships with their clients making the transition uneventful
• VAs are available on an “as-needed” basis so you can get their help when you need it and not worry about finding enough for them to do 8 hours a day
• VAs are only a phone call or email away

Virtual Assistants run businesses and become a virtual partner to their clients. As a result they have a vested interest in the success of a client’s business and will work as diligently as if they were “the boss”. VAs are worth every penny that they charge.

How do I choose the VA that is right for me?

Handing over some of your tasks to someone else is hard enough but choosing who that someone else will be doesn’t have to be all that hard.

A simple search on the Internet using the term “virtual assistant” can produce a multitude of results. You can narrow down the search by including a phrase of the service that you need help with (i.e. web design) with the term virtual assistant. Read through the websites that are listed in the search results to see if they offer the services you need and if the message on their site appeals to you.

Word of mouth is another way to find the right VA for you. If you know of someone who is currently outsourcing some of their tasks, ask them if their VA would be the right fit for you.

VA organizations are another great way to find the right VA for you. Many of the organizations have a directory of their members that you can look through. They also usually have a Request for Proposal system that you can use to submit your requirements to and then the members of the organization who have the skills you need will approach you.

The following are just some of the Virtual Assistant organizations that have an abundance of members who can help you:

Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection – http://www.cvac.ca/

Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection – http://www.cvac.ca
Australian Virtual Business Network – http://www.avbn.com.au/
VA Directory – http://www.asecretary.com.au/
Canadian Virtual Assistant Network – http://www.canadianva.net/
International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) – http://www.ivaa.org/
International Association of Virtual Assistants (IAVA) – http://www.iava.org.uk/

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About the author
Janice Byer, owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (http://www.docutype.net) provides professional, creative and affordable virtual office assistance and small business website design. She is a Certified Canadian Virtual Assistant (CCVA) and Master Virtual Assistant (MVA). She is the co-author of “How to Build a Successful Virtual Assistant Business” and author of a library of Business Building Ebooks. Visit her website for more information.

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