Blog Marketing Academy - Latest Comments in Finding a Virtual Assistant

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

creasy kikr — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:18:15 -0000

Excellent Article on VA. I have worked with Ideas Unlimited LLC
http://www.ideasunlimitedon...
They Provide Quality Virtual Assistants

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

WGN Administrative Services — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:07:32 -0000

Excellent post, thank you David. I am new to the VA world but have been an administrative support person for over 20 years. I considered Elance but decided to go with Guru. I also review the all the VA site Serena has mentioned in her comments as well.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Telemarketing Services — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:30:42 -0000

If you really want to save on operational costs (electricity, etc.) hiring a VA is very practical. Although this may have some drawbacks, depending on the business you are in, it also provides many benefits and advantages.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Telemarketing Companies — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 12:17:35 -0000

That's true! There are other factors you should consider before hiring a virtual assistant. Price is an attractive consideration, but you have to make sure that you can still get the quality service you need.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Telemarketing — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:57:28 -0000

Virtual assistants can do a business a lot of good if you have a set idea of what you are looking for in one. A good tip mentioned in the post is to find a VA, or any other type of service you require, in places or sites where they usually go to or "hang out". Great post!

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Lawrence — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:03:21 -0000

Virtual assistance can be a great option for all kinds of companies. The benefits that can be gained from hiring a virtual assistant depends on the kind of VA you are able to hire. You need to make sure that the VA you hire is the right VA for your business. On their own, the VA must have characteristics that make them valuable to your business.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

KPO Companies — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:20:39 -0000

This was a brilliant post. Virtual assistance service is something that can help you best. With an exceptional growth opportunity, virtual assistant service helps you in getting online personal assistance service on a much lower cost. This not only helps you in giving a complete edge to your business but also staying updated in the competitive era. This is the reason, it has become hot choice for every growth seeking entrepreneur.

Best Regards,
Yolanda

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Jeff Demers — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:08:10 -0000

Very cool post. I can't imagine my business or my life without a personal virtual assistant. Talk about incredible efficiency and an incredible value. The site that I have had the best luck finding VA's with has been Guru.com. They publish a ranked list of virtual assistant's. Check it out @ http://www.guru.com/find-fr... - it's nice to get a sense of overall quality before even initiating a conversation

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Simon — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:36:40 -0000

I cannot handle all my business and i am a very busy person.It came to the point that i really needed to hire a virtual assistant or should i say a dedicated assistant who will work exclusively for me.I had a hard time looking for one.I was blessed when i saw on the net My Secret Staff.I tried their service and i am so satisfied.You can catch them on http://www.secretstaff.com.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Rach4 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:12:05 -0000

David - how did you make out with using a VA. Would love to hear a follow-up to this post

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Mark — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:50:09 -0000

Your article came to mind the other day when I had to call Dell technical support. Fred was obviously from India and while he was probably knowledgeable in PC's, I gave up because we just could not communicate with each other. When will Dell and the other big companies figure out that it is not the dollar per hour but what you get for an hours pay....

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Sara Karlsson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:36:12 -0000

Hi David!

Thanks for this posting!

I would also recommend a very good resource for finding Dedicated VA’s is http://www.virtualemployee.... . You can find VA as well as full time Virtual Employees in various fields such as Programming, Law, Accounts, Engineering and Data Entry. You can hire them for $895 a month, I hope this will help other business owners who are looking VA in other fields.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Virtual Miss Friday — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:49:43 -0000

This is interesting, is there a secret on how to keep a blog posts alive for all this time :-)

Choose your VA wisely - You need to find one with all the client care that comes with dealing one on one and the team to back up the VA so your work is always done no matter what.

Great combo!

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Chris Blackerby — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:03:25 -0000

What - no love for the Phillipines?

C'mon David, the Filipinos are where it's at!

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Larry — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:29:37 -0000

Great post! David.

We use BPOVIA. They are simply the best virtual assistant service provider. Their hourly rate is below $10 per hour.

BPOVIA is the only virtual assistant service provider ever won the prestigious "Red Herring 2008 Top 100 Global Company" Awards.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

VA-Naji — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:52:17 -0000

Acquiring a VA is truly can help for your business grow. VA's are knowledgeable for marketing your online businesses.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Serena Carcasole — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:40:09 -0000

Great post!!! I am so happy to see a great quality post on VA's. There are many fantastic associations and forums of VA's out there that can help you find a great VA. I happen to be apart of:

VANA - www.vanetworking.com
IVAA - www.ivaa.org
Virtual Assistant Forum - www.virtualassistantforums.com
CVAC - www.cvac.ca
CVAN - www.canadianva.net
VAClassroom (I am working on my certification as a IMVA) For Internet Marketing VA's and Social Media VA's-www.vaclassroom.com/Profi...

Also there are many great multi VA firms that can provide you with all types of VA's possible. No more sourcing and delegating and spending so many hours on the phone and by email with different VA's. I am a multi VA/Service Shop and love the feeling of helping business owners take their business to success!

Serena Carcasole
VA and Internt Marketing Assistant
www.vbsondemand.com
Your 1STOP Business Service Shop
Outsource your way to success!

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Janine Gregor — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:22:33 -0000

David,

Great post, thanks!

It isn't often that people write about their VA selection in such a well-thought out manner. You really took VA selection as a serious business decision; researching numerous venues and evaluating each experience.

More business owners should view the VA-client partnership as an investment in their own business and not simply as a cost to do business.

VAs often read about the $4.00 bid that has taken the job 'out from under them' and it is disheartening. Your message, though, is uplifting and encouraging...low price does not always ensure high satisfaction.

Kudos to you!

Janine Gregor

Your Virtual Wizard
"Marketing Magic When You Wand It"
Tampa Bay, Florida

www.YourVirtualWizard.com

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

kelly@findvirtual.com — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:43:06 -0000

Hey David, nice design you have here, very easy to navigate through. :)

Anyway, we've started a social network on http://www.findvirtual.com/ where people can join for free and network with virtual assistants.

We think that by opening up the industry and making it more transparent with not only forums and blogs but also videos and networking capabilities the more likely it will be that a virtual assistant is found and hired.

Information is key and we like to provide as much of it as we can. Feel free to check us out, the link is http://www.findvirtual.com/

Kel

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Cheryl Richey — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:20:47 -0000

Thank you for sharing your VA search experinces. So many entrepreneurs and small business owners are just discovering this incredible resource. BTW your little girl is a doll ad form one Floridian to anohter...doesn't it continually surprise you that you are the only one in shorts and sandals at those conferences? It just seems so normal in FL. :)

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Lily Chambers — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:06:16 -0000

In response to Rodney's comment - Yes, you CAN find someone for less than $40/hour and spend your time delegating and working with them to get good results. However, an employee generally expects a minimum amount of weekly hours, their hourly rate jumps 18%+ after matching employer taxes, and it is rare for them to work out of their own office with their own equipment; overhead is expensive!

On the other hand, you can pay $40/hour for a VA who not only already has the skills you need and requires little training in your specific business but also is willing to work 30 minutes at a time if that is all you need and has their own equipment (thus reducing your overhead expense). This is especially useful for home-based entrepreneurs who really don't want a stranger hanging out in their living room all day!

And, professional VAs (who are themselves business owners) know it is in their best interest to promote their client's continued growth. How many employees truly feel that way about their job?

Lily Chambers - aka "The Virtual Office Goddess" :D

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Tammi Metzler - The Write Asso — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:28:07 -0000

One more thing - another great place to find quality VAs is www.virtualassistantforums.com.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Tammi Metzler - The Write Asso — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:25:37 -0000

Hi David,

Congratulations on finding a VA!

As a Virtual Assistant myself, I was thrilled to find your post on the challenges of finding quality work. I'm an active user of Elance.com, but it can be hard to compete with overseas workers charging $5 per hour (or less, in some cases). You really do get what you pay for, though, and I hope your post will help enlighten other business owners who are looking for assistance.

Looking forward to reading about your experiences with your new VA!

Tammi Metzler
The Write Associate
Grow your business the write way!
www.writeassociate.com

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Jennifer Rai — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:28:45 -0000

Great blog, David! I also wanted to add that another great resource for finding qualified VA's is www.IVAA.org They are the International Virtual Assistant's Association. You can submit a RFP and will find many qualified candidates with excellent skills.

Re: Finding a Virtual Assistant

Rodney — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:47:10 -0000

I do not understand why people think they really need to pay 40 bucks an hour for something that can be done for way less. If you take time , delegate and work with them as I have. You can get results soon.