| What is a Virtual Assistant?
Virtual Assistant is an independent contractor who
provides professional quality administrative services
and other specialized services. Tasks or projects are
communicated to the virtual assistant via email, Internet,
phone, fax or courier.
VAs, like many of their clients, are business owners
themselves; they own and operate their virtual company.
Often, a VA will become a behind-the-scenes partner
with their clients, handling such tasks as administrative
support, bookkeeping, scheduling etc.
No need to provide office space, equipment or software
- we have our own! Work is carried out 'virtually' from
our offices, no matter where you are!
A Virtual Assistant is convenient! A VA is available
when you have work that needs to be done yesterday.
A VA can ensure that business people working in a home
office have access to all of the support benefits enjoyed
by a business person in the corner office of a major
corporation -- without having to hire any employees!
What are the benefits of hiring a Virtual
Assistant (VA) as opposed to an employee?
There are numerous benefits:
- Access to a professional and highly trained Executive
Assistant
- No need to provide office equipment and space
- No need for ongoing training of administration staff
- No need to advertise for and interview administration
staff
- Less costs associated to projects - pay for time
used only!
- Fresh ideas and perspectives on administration management
for your organisation.
- No employment requirements such as holiday pay,
sick pay, workers compensation, insurance, lunch and
coffee breaks, overtime, uniforms, superannuation,
training, benefits, payroll issues or office space
- Exploit time differences - i.e. if you are based
in the US, an Australian-based VA can work on your
projects while you sleep
- VAs can be available outside of normal office hours,
for urgent and last minute jobs
- Weekend and evening assistance
- Working relationship is tailored to fit your needs
- You don't need to be in your office all the time,
or near your phone
- You don't need to learn new software or programs
- leave that to your VA
Why use a Virtual Assistant instead
of a temp?
When you hire a Virtual Assistant, you only pay for
the time and services you require. Whereas, with a temp,
not only do you have to pay the agency, but you also
have to pay for the temp regardless of whether or not
they are fully occupied.
Unlike temporary employees, Virtual Assistants take
the time to learn your business and form a working partnership.
VAs have a vested interest in your company's success:
when you succeed, so does your VA.
Also, every time you hire a temp, you will almost
certainly get a different person. The time and money
spent training this new person can be saved by hiring
a VA. As VAs are highly skilled and experienced, you
can use them for all your office needs.
Furthermore, when you hire a Virtual Assistant, you
don't need to worry about extra space, furniture, equipment,
overtime, superannuation, coffee breaks, sick leave,
holidays, bonuses, training or insurance cover as you
would for temporary staff.
Who can use Virtual Assistants?
Almost any type of business industry can benefit from
working with a VA. Some industries have embraced the
concept and are widely using VAs while others are bound
by "tradition". Industries or businesses that
truly work well with VAs are:
- A large company - for any overflow work or when
staff members take holidays or call in sick
- A medium-sized company - for occasional projects
that require immediate and experienced attention,
and if they don't have equipment or space available
to bring in a temp
- A small company - for occasional assistance rather
than bringing in a temp, which is more expensive.
Small business owners can also use VAs for their marketing,
data entry, administration, presentation preparation
and general office support
- Real Estate Agents - to organise mail outs, 'new
home' baskets, website development & management,
business cards and contact database management
- A busy individual or entrepreneur - for help planning
an event, launch or business meeting
- Travelling business people - as a point of contact
while away
- Families - assistance with event planning such as
weddings or birthday parties
- Students - help with typing and proofreading assignments
- Sporting clubs and associations - to design and
publish a club website or produce club flyers
- Anyone who wants a more balanced life with more
time for the things that are important to them
How do you work with a Virtual Assistant?
Communicating with Virtual Assistants is easy. Work
is exchanged via email, fax, phone, mail and courier.
If you have an event you would arranged? Simply email,
fax or phone through the specifications and your VA
will do the rest. Do you have a tape that needs transcribed?
Just send it via mail or courier and your VA will email
or fax the document to you. Virtual Assistants are highly
skilled and experienced professionals and can hit the
ground running on your projects
How can I be assured of confidentiality?
Your Business Assistant understands that confidentiality
is very important for clients. As such, we are happy
to sign any confidentiality agreement you may require.
How do I ensure the work I send you
will get done?
When you decide to accept the quoted price, that Your
Business Assistant has provided, you will need to complete
and sign a Job Request Agreement. This will set out
the specifics of the project/tasks ie: details of work
to be completed, agreed quote price, completion/delivery
date etc. This is a contract, which will ensure your
work gets completed to your satisfaction and as per
agreement.
Can I put a specific time frame for
the completion of work?
Of course you can. When a quote is established, your
required deadline can be specified and at that time
we advise you as to the feasibility of whether or not
we can complete the project/tasks within the required
time frame. When a completion time frame or date is
agreed on then this will be noted on the Job Request
Agreement which is signed by you (see previous question)
How do I pay you?
Payment can be made directly into our bank account,
by PayPal, or by cheque or money order - cheques will
need to be cleared prior to delivery of finalised work.
A deposit of 30% will be required for jobs estimated
at $100 or more with the balance of monies paid prior
to delivery.
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