Everybody wants an assistant. Not only is a mark of status and rank, but it’s essential for any working professional who has any management responsibilities whatsoever. But what the economy being what it is, the number of people who can afford assistants are few and far between.
Increasingly, professionals and entrepreneurs are turning towards virtual assistants to help them manage their workloads. Depending on the service you select, most virtual assistants are able to assist you with tasks as varied as tracking your expenses, ordering your lunch, or assisting with your PR needs…and almost all charge rates that are a mere fraction of what you would pay an on-site assistant.
But how effective are virtual personal assistants? And how much can they really boost your productivity (or your bottom line)? Like with any business practice, there are pros and cons. So, are virtual assistants worth it? Here’s how it breaks down…
Pro: Low cost.
Con: You get what you pay for.
The great thing about virtual personal assistants is that many companies offering these services have workers based overseas, meaning that the prices they charge for a full day of work are equivalent to what you drop at Starbucks on your way to the office each morning. Obviously the prices will vary based on location and services rendered, but some workers will help you with your workload for as little as $1-$3 per hour.
That being said, you get what you pay for. So, while you might not be shelling out big bucks to your VPA, you will have to put up with lost-in-translation issues, foreign holidays, and occasional breakdowns in communication.
Pro: The work gets done in your sleep.
Con: Staying in contact can be tricky.
It’s really hard to communicate effectively with someone who works three time zones away from you, let alone eight or twelve time zones away. If you’re working with a team of VPAs, this is less of an issue, but it can still take a bit of getting used to.
All that being said, there’s nothing quite like writing up a to-do list at the end of the day, emailing it off, and coming in the next morning to find everything has been taken care of in your sleep.
Pro: Free trial periods are fairly common.
Con: Fees and quality can vary widely by company/person.
Services like TimeSvr will offer you a free trial period to assess the quality and fit of their services. That’s great for people who are on the fence about whether they can really benefit from a virtual personal assistant.
That being said, you need to make sure you’ve budgeted accordingly. For example, ihabilis.com charges a base rate of $10 for five tasks, but charges up to $1,000 for 160 hours of work a month.
Pro: Some services offer you an entire team of assistants.
Con: It’s hard to track who’s accountable for your needs at any given time.
You basically have two options to consider when selecting what virtual personal assistant is best suited to your individual needs. You can put all your eggs in one basket and throw in with a single assistant, or you can work with a service that puts several people at your disposal, such as GetFriday. You generally have one person who is your “primary”, along with 2 or three other secondary assistants that are available during off-peak hours.
But while having a team available to you 24 hours a day sounds great, it can be a little confusing knowing who has been assigned to which task in the event that you have last-minute changes to make to your instructions.
Closing Thoughts
So, there are a lot of things to consider when selecting a virtual personal assistant. Ultimately, you are the only one who can decide if this kind of service is worth it. If you would like to do some further reading, you might want to check out some other reviews. For example, the Wall Street Journal has a detailed chart that breaks down the price and features of four popular virtual assistant companies, including GetFriday.com and RedButler.com
If any of you lovely readers has an opinion about virtual personal assistants, or has a past experience with one of these services that they’d like to share in the comments below, please share with the rest of us! I’m curious to hear what you all think about the perks and pains of virtual assistants.
I would love to hear from more readers who have used VAs. Was it worth it? What did they do for you? How much did it cost? Can you recommend someone? I fantasize about doing less admin grunt work, but fear the loss of control.
Dave Kaiser
Executive Coach and CEO
http://www.DarkMatterConsulting.com
Hi Dave,
If you are looking for a Virtual Assistant, I would welcome you to check out my website. I would also welcome a discussion as to how I could help you. I am from Canada.
A Virtual Assistant is a small business owner providing that service. A Virtual Assistant is a more engaged professional because the success of her client is directly related to her own business success. You should have no worries about being out of control of your projects.
For further information, please check out my website: http://collaborativecreations.ca
Regards,
Carole Miller
Owner & Virtual Assistant
I found a great VA via elance.com a while back, but she was trying to make a go of it after she got laid off from a regular job. So it worked well for me, but she wasn’t able to generate enough work so she got another job. Now she still helps out some, but her availability limits my ability to take more on. If you’re work requires much training or a familiarity with the products/projects you might find your self retraining a lot.
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Hi,
I’ve been using a VPA service for a while now. It’s called Rent A Smile – I’m surprised you guys have not mentioned them in your article as I believe it is the biggest. In any case, I have been most happy with the service I have received. In my opinion, they are more professional and easy to work with than an onsite assistant primarily because they are flexible and will do just about anything to make me happy.
Thanks,
Mike
I think it’s important to clarify that you’re talking specifically about international VAs. I have two VAs, both of whom are established professionals here in the States. They’re not cheap, but I don’t experience any of the other drawbacks you mention. Instead, I have two very competent women who could essentially run my business without me, although one is over 2 hours away and the other is halfway across the country.
I agree with Mandi. When people used to think of Virtual Assistants they thought about Tim’s 4 Hour Workweek book. Today, the industry has developed and changed in magnificent ways. There are VA’s today that specialize in things such as product launches, social media or business management. Multi VA companies are much more prominent today than they were just a few short years ago. While there could be drawbacks like you’ve described, the ability to draw on a variety of skills can be worth it’s weight in gold. In my company, for example, we use an online project management system that allows our clients to see exactly who has been assigned to the particular task at hand, and there is always one point of contact within the company.
As with any other acquisition of skills within a company, it’s important to do your research. Most entrepreneurs and business people have finely attuned intuition – which makes having an intro call very important. It gives you a chance to talk about your business, your needs and most importantly, your expectations and it gives the VA a chance to answer any questions you may have about the process, to talk about their business and to decide whether or not your project will be a match for the company.
I also agree with Mandi. We need to clarify that International Virtual Assistants’ work ethic and challenges should not reflect on US or Canadian Virtual Assisants.
I am from Canada. I am a Business Administration graduate and have 15 years experience of being an assistant in the normal working environment. I decided to open my own company because I believe that Virtual Assistants are at the cutting edge of a new way to provide a service to Executives who have a lot on their plate. Technology allows us to access many tools. I provide flexibility, integrity and commitment to my clients. My commitment to focus on your business with excellence positively reflects on the client as well as my business. It is an excellent way to team together.
I don’t believe that people can generalize that all Virtual Assistant’s are the same. You do get what you pay for. There are many benefits and it might take a few conversations to find the right business partner; but once you find the right match, the possibilities of success are endless!
Carole Miller
Owner and Virtual Assistant
Collaborative Creations Virtual Assistant Services
CANADA
The bottom line is that there are some benifits to using virtual assistants, but they will never have the reliability of an actual persoanl assistant.
Sue Smith, http://www.FindCelebrityJobs.com
A great article – worth it – yes indeed, as regards why does one need an assistant, here are 101 reasons why do we need a personal assistant.. http://www.mybantu.com/blog/2011/02/10/mybantu-101-reasons-why-you-need-a-personal-assistant/
I’m a virtual assistant myself and I’ve been connected with a web design studio for more than a year now. I’ve been asked to manage some sites but I’m no web designer, though I’m still striving harder to contribute something good and worthy. I admit my start was pretty tough cos I used to be a barking dog from a corporate world, but all the abundant resources I found online help a lot. I know I need to improve and I swear to myself I’ll never leave the virtual world especially my work to a boss who’s been like my mentor and showed the path to understand the entrepreneur world not that complicated. I’m so grateful for his patience and generosity of his knowledge.
101 reasons for having a personal assistant – http://www.mybantu.com/blog/2011/02/10/mybantu-101-reasons-why-you-need-a-personal-assistant/
check out http://www.remsource.com a VA is great, a remote office team is a whole new ballgame!
[...] Virtual Assistants: Worth It? (lifehack.org) [...]
A lot of it has to do with how you work with your VA too… My company (which is a virtual assistant finder service) actually spends a lot of time sending out educational materials and walking through the “best practices” with our customers before we turn over virtual assistants to them – because so often a great VA and a great person won’t work well together from simple lack of understanding.
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[...] Solution: A virtual personal assistant. Your employer would definitely frown on you outsourcing your job to a virtual assistant, but if [...]
Great article! I am a virtual assistant myself and I can say that we are doing a great job since our clients always tell us that their job got easier since the day they delegated their work to us. :)
Awesome article! My clients tells me that their job is much more easier because I’m doing some of their tasks which gives them more time with their family and friends. I am also a virtual assistant and its really heartwarming to know that you are helping other people in many ways :-)
Nice pro-contra discussion. My point on this: VA’s from overseas, even for 1-3$/hour, can be worth your while.
Hire one smart guy, ideally with good English, that does not need to know any skill. Teach him one skill after the other. After some time, he will be a really good asset to your business, at a price others could only dream about.
Of course, pay enough that your VA can afford to live well.
As for accountability, I found it helpful to ask for a daily bullet-point update email with the tasks done and questions that were open.