Comments on: Here’s Why I Don’t Have a Full-Time Virtual Assistant

By: imran

imran — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:46:44 +0000

Having read this post, i hovered the mouse pointer over and went to odesk.com!

There, i have been hiring a full time VA, but like you said, I cannot keep up with what they are doing and as such find the relationship deeply unfocused in terms of accomplished work.

Great post!!

By: Rebecca Thompson

Rebecca Thompson — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 19:17:59 +0000

@Vangelis-As a VA, I can tell you one of the most important choices you will make will be whether to hire a VA or not. In doing so, here are some points to remember.

1.Once you decide to place the RFP, be clear in what you are looking for and the skills you need the person to have.
2. When you get responses, make a time to talk to the VA on the phone, to make sure that both work styles work together.
3. Ask about their work habits and check out their site. You can get to know someone by their site (if they are personable, friendly, creative, etc).
4. Remember that you and the VA enter a relationship and the communication should reflect that. You are both business owners and the partnership should be a mutually beneficial one.

Also, most VAs will be helpful in a wide range of topics. We like to help! I hope you have a great search!

Rebecca

By: Lily Chambers

Lily Chambers — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:07:01 +0000

Try placing an rfp on sites like http://www.virtualassistantforums.com. This is a great way to locate a VA that is the right fit w/out using a ‘middle man’ between you and the VA(s).

By: Vangelis

Vangelis — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:29:17 +0000

Hello Pat. First of all thank you for this great blog. Your posts have helped a lot of people including me in a more fulfilling freelancing career. Can you recommend a way of hiring a VA other than the VA companies that come up on the first places of google results ? I’m in need of a helping hand but I feel VA companies act as an unnecessary intermediate between me and the VA.

By: Here’s Why I Don’t Have a Full-Time Virtual Assistant « Attorney Don Hecker Announcement

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:00:31 +0000

[...] Here’s Why I Don’t Have a Full-Time Virtual Assistant [...]

By: Alok

Alok — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:25:03 +0000

I would suggest that you give rentacoder.com a chance also. In my experience, the RAC workflow is the best out there though it may seem like a old web 1.0 site. Hopefully we will also bid on your project.

By: Dianne

Dianne — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:11:18 +0000

I hire VA’s as needed although I do have 2 VA’s who only do SEO related tasks for me or a total of 10 hours each week. I’ve thought about hiring one full time person, but recognized that I wouldn’t have enough to keep them busy. Figuring out things for them to do on a full time basis will just add to my stress level, and my goal is to keep my business as low stress as possible.

By: Chris Guthrie

Chris Guthrie — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:12:28 +0000

I’d be interested in reading more about what type of work they have VA’s do personally. I still think I’d struggle with figuring out what to make them do all the time.

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:57:05 +0000

Pat, I love this post. I’ll be speaking on something similar to this very soon. I use VA’s often, but in use with workflows for specific projects, much more manageable! Awesome, wish we chatted about this!

By: Weekend Reading: Lets Get Passive | Feint

Weekend Reading: Lets Get Passive | Feint — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:40:11 +0000

[...] Here’s Why I don’t Have a Full Time Virtual Assistant – There are a number of schools of thought when it comes to hiring a VA. Pat explains why he doesn’t use a full-time assistant. I don’t either and use a similar setup to Pat. [...]