Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant is an entrepreneur and an independent contractor - a talented professional with strong administrative and organizational skills who partners with other business owners and individuals to provide high quality administrative support.  VA's work closely with their clients, using state of the art technology such as the internet, email, voice mail, online collaboration tools and fax to perform the tasks that a client doesn't have time for or simply doesn't want to do.  

VA's are dedicated, driven, highly skilled administrative professionals who genuinely want to powerfully impact your life!

How is a Virtual Assistant different from a secretary or administrative assistant?

The most important difference is that a Virtual Assistant is not an employee of a client.  A VA is a partner in their client's success, someone who has chosen to work with the client to help them achieve their personal and professional goals.  A VA is a small business owner who understands how tight a business can be in resources and time so they work from their own office which keeps clients from having to create a physical workspace for them.  Additionally, most small business owners don't need someone 40 hours a week but may find it difficult to attract part-time personnel with the level of expertise they need, which a VA can provide.   Working with a VA also provides a great monetary advantage over hiring an employee because the client is paying a fraction of what they would spend on a full time employee (consider  benefits, taxes and equipment in addition to salary) while still getting expert help.

Why would I want to work with a Virtual Assistant?

Sooner or later you find out that, while you may want to, you simply can't do everything yourself.  You spend so much time taking care of the little administrative things that you don't have any time left over for the things you need, want and like to do - things like growing your business, spending time with friends and family, traveling, creating a balance between work and home life.  A VA can help you free up time to do what's most important to you by taking care of all the things you don't personally need or want to do.

Who can benefit from working with a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant's job is to make life easier and who can't benefit from that?  VA's work with smart, successful people from all walks of life.  Entrepreneurs, consultants, speakers, authors, personal or professional coaches, real estate professionals, insurance agents, mortgage brokers, architects, attorneys, busy individuals and families who need someone to help organize their lives are all examples of people who can benefit from the assistance of a VA.

Does Virtual Assistance work better for any particular type of person or professional?

Almost anyone who's busy and needs support can benefit from working with a VA. 

However, through experience we have learned that there are some people who really aren't in a good position to work with a VA:

  v    People who aren't online and who can't understand how or why this would work.

v    People who live in the urgent.  If everything you do is last minute, if you tend to procrastinate and then rush to deadline, if you're not organized, if you're in a high pressure field where things run you, if you want someone at your beck and call, then you probably need an in-person employee, not a VA.

v     People who don’t understand the power that is created in a relationship with a fantastic assistant.

v     People who aren’t open to learning new ways of working and communicating.

v   People who aren’t billing their own time at considerably more than $40/hour – if you aren’t, then paying a VA could create a hardship for you.  But if you are billing at a much higher rate, or if you work on commission and your time is valued in large chunks of cash earned that way, then every hour you spend doing work that takes you off course, is work for which you are paying yourself, in essence, your hourly fee.  It doesn’t take much to see the smart thinking behind paying someone to handle administrative work so that you can be out earning more and more!

v   People who can’t see working with a VA as an equal – if you’re stuck in the traditional boss/ assistant paradigm, or if you need to be the boss, you need an employee, not a VA.

Isn't hiring a Virtual Assistant more expensive than hiring an employee?

At first glance, you might think a VA's hourly rate is more expensive, but when you factor in the cost of hiring an employee - payroll and employer taxes, benefits administration, office space and equipment, and the additional worker's compensation and liability insurance costs - on top of the salary or hourly wage - you will find that a working with a VA will actually save you money. 

VA's work from their own home offices, own their own equipment, pay their own taxes, and provide their own benefits. You are not responsible for any of these expenses.  And the best part - you only pay for the actual time they spend working for you.  Your VA's time is 100% productive time - you don't pay for a single second of downtime or breaks.

Why wouldn't I just give my administrative work to a local secretarial company?

If what you want and need is the most basic office support, then you might.  The problem with that is the people who work there don't really know you, or your business, or your customers.  You have to do a lot of upfront work yourself before giving them the work, so they know what you want.  And, even then, you sometimes need to speak with them several times before your documents, faxes, messages, etc., represent you in your voice.

A VA is your partner in success and, as such, spends the necessary time to get to know you and your business.  A VA can speak for you and write in your voice.  Because they've taken the time to get to know you, A VA can listen to you speak just a few words about what you want done and make it happen - sometimes even better than you could have done it yourself.  The more a VA knows about your needs, the less time it will take him or her to do your work.  

So, ask yourself this - even with the most basic administrative work, where do you think you would get the most value?

What work should I give to a Virtual Assistant?

The great thing about working with a VA is that the only things they cannot handle for you are the things that actually need to be physically touched at your location.  Things such as physically greeting clients, paper filing or signing for deliveries would be impossible to handle virtually.  The list of services is only limited by our creativity and willingness to find a virtual solution. 

Here's something you can try. For the next week, keep a pen and pad of paper handy.  Every single time you do something, think to yourself, "Did I really have to be the one to do this?"  Be thorough - remember, the goal is to find as much "stuff" to get off your plate as possible.  Everything you don't personally need to deal with gets added to your list.  At the end of the week, you'll have a terrific idea of just how much you do that keeps you away from what you should be doing and these are exactly the kinds of things you can turn over to your VA.

When you interview with a VA, share the list with them.  It will help them understand better how to support you.

How do VA's communicate with their clients?

Open, honest and consistent communication is critical and the key to a successful VA/Client partnership. With the wonders of today's technology - email, telephone, fax, overnight delivery, internet, instant messaging and file transfer protocol (FTP) - communication is easy. 

How long would I work with a VA?

That is entirely up to you and your VA.  Just as there are assistants who work with the same person in the corporate world for many years, it's possible the same thing will happen with your VA.  Spencer's Virtual Solutions does not require a minimum term, knowing that it is best that the relationship develop naturally. A large part of the power of the relationship is the trust and synergy that happens between people working together.  The ease of working with the right VA can turn days into weeks, weeks into months and months into years long before you even realize it.