Sean’s Rant

Hiring & Managing a Virtual Assistant (VA)

Why hire a VA? Simply because someone else can do what you can do for cheaper, when considering what your time is worth, and what it is worth when considering the fact that if you don’t have the time to do certain things you might miss out on opportunities all together. For example, if you don’t have the time to research the best priced option for a purchase in your local area, but instead have to go to the first or second place that you call because you simply just don’t have the time to cal around, the $7 you spend on a VA researching for an hour the options and selecting the best, could save you $100. This is different than the standard example Tim Ferriss gives of compare your usual charge rate versus the VA’s and see the benefit, this has potential for actual direct monetary savings. Not to mention the peace of mind and freedom that comes with having a VA, which is priceless. Here are the steps on hiring and managing a VA:

1. Read Tim Ferriss’ Four Hour Work Week. Also watch his video presentation on using Elance here.
2. When posting on a site like Elance.com, be very specific with the tasks you will need, and with the requirements of the VA. If you want a native English speaking VA, be willing to pay more. I personally recommend an English Speaking VA because you will save loads of time and frustration from not having to try and explain what you want. I always ask for a US phone number that I can call, and ensure that they are fluent in English. Don’t always go for the lowest bidder, but probably the 2^nd or 3^rd lowest. Also make sure that their schedule works for you. If they only work 12-2pm M-W, this won’t do a lot of good. You want someone who is available when you need them. The more you pay, the more you will get in this scenario, but it’s not always the case that the lowest bidder is bad and the highest is good, its all about sampling. Ask as many questions as you can before awarding the project.
3. Set time limits initially once you decide on a VA. When you are first getting to know your VA, try a half hour or an hour at a time for each project, ask for estimates, and set limits. Once you know that you can trust your VA, let go of the reigns. At $7/hr you can afford to let them work for 2-3hrs at a time worry free on larger projects, plus it will cost more in the long run and you will frustrate your VA if you continue the half our time limits forever. Also, you will spend more time managing your VA, and everything will take much longer to complete, which defeats the whole purpose of having a VA, which is freedom.
4. Keep any financial information close, and if you are going to use your VA for purchases, pay them in advance using PayPal, or give them the CC information for a low limit credit card ($500 or less). Nowadays a pre-paid reloadable Visa or MC ‘gift card’ might be the way to go for transactions like this. If your VA trusts you enough, they may make smaller purchases and bill you, but this can be sketchy for them.
5. When requesting tasks, be very specific and provide all information that you have available to you at the time; you will save yourself question later when you do this, and billable time. Define any technical terms, or point the VA where to go to see what you mean. If you have a complex research question, it might be easier to call and explain it, which is why I like the option of doing so.
6. The sky is the limit! Don’t think of what your VA can do, think of what you ‘have to do’ and give up the rest. I still haven’t given up maintenance of my blog, and that’s just a personal thing. I like tinkering with it, and if I had someone do work for me I would probably have them create the theme and send it to me for me to upload. It just depends on your interests. If you absolutely hate the thought of web design or maintenance then don’t force yourself to do it. This is the reason for having a VA, is to do the stuff that we don’t want to do or don’t have the time for but that they will gladly do for a sum. This is the same as any employee in any company. They are paid to do a service that the company doesn’t want to do or doesn’t already have time for. 
7. A VA allows you to let the VA research miscellaneous ideas so that you have room in your head for new, fresh ideas. This allows you to increase your personal creative potential.

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