What is a Virtual Assistant?
Let me start by asking you five questions.
Have you ever been overwhelmed with administrative tasks and wished that someone else would do them for you?
Are you an entrepreneur who needs to be focusing more on your clients and less on your paperwork?
Is your business a busy office that needs more administrative help but cannot afford to hire an administrative assistant?
Do you wish you could have more time in your workday to focus on tasks that generate income?
Have you heard the term “virtual assistant” and want to know what that means?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, this article is for you. The virtual assistance industry is not new, but it has recently moved into the spotlight due to the efficiencies it can offer. However, it can be difficult to find someone to answer the basic questions about what a virtual assistant is, how you work with a virtual assistant, and is a virtual assistant right for my needs. This article will help walk you through some of those questions.
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant (VA) is someone who provides administrative support remotely to a business or entrepreneur. They function as an independent contractor, so you do not have to worry about paying social security, insurance, or all those other fun items that come with hiring an employee.
There are generally two types of VAs, a general VA and a specialized (or technical) VA.
General Virtual Assistant
A general VA performs a wide variety of administrative tasks for their clients. These are usually standard office tasks that do not require any specialized training to perform. This can be receiving phone calls, editing documents, or putting information into a database. Of the two types of VAs, a general VA is usually lower priced because they do not specialize in any field that requires extensive training.
Specialized Virtual Assistant
A specialized VA (also called a technical VA) can perform the duties of a general VA but also has gone through extensive training to be considered specialized in a specific industry. Common areas that VAs become specialized in include web design, social media management, project management, and billing. Specialized VA rates are typically higher than that of a general VA due to the amount of training, knowledge, and certain skill set required to perform tasks associated in their specialized industries.
How do I work with a virtual assistant?
Before you work with a VA, you will want to know and understand three things about yourself and your business:
What tasks you want to delegate to a VA;
What your communication style is; and
What type of support structure do you need.
What tasks can I delegate to a virtual assistant?
There is no hard-fast rule about what you delegate to a VA. It depends on what your business does, who your client base is, your comfort level of someone else completing your work, and the skill set of a VA.
It is highly recommended that, before you enter into a contract with a VA, you have a discovery meeting. A discovery meeting will help you understand the skill set of a VA and help the VA better understand your business and your administrative needs.
To help understand what tasks are commonly delegated to a VA, check out or blog post “53 Ways to Use a Virtual Assistant.”.
Why do I need to know my communication style to work with a virtual assistant?
Knowing what your communication style BEFORE you meet with a potential VA will help you better define your expectations for a remote work process. A VA needs to know and understand how you want to be communicated to, how frequently you wish them to check in, and how you want them to communicate and deliver completed assignments.
Many VAs utilize collaboration software to provide transparency to clients. One popular option is Trello, which you can check out here. (Trello is my personal favorite, so the link is an affiliate link and AK Lean Virtual Assistance may receive compensation for referrals.)
A collaboration tool, whether it is Trello or another like Asana, helps enhance a collaborative relationship between clients and VAs by providing a method to assign projects, communicate about projects, and establish priorities and due dates.
What do you mean what type of support structure I need?
Support structure is referring to the amount of time you need assistance, which is most often dictated by the type of tasks you are wanting to delegate. The type of support structure you need can often drive with VA you choose to hire.
There are four common support structures: hourly, retainer, project, and reaction-based.
Hourly
Hourly is great for spontaneous, infrequent needs. The price is by the hour and there is no minimum or maximum number of hours set per week or month.
Retainer
Retainer is great for regular, reoccurring support needs (like processing billing or answering phone calls). The price is for a block of time either by week or by month. There is a maximum number of hours before an additional block purchase is necessary.
Project
Project is great for long-term tasks or a complex series of tasks. Price is negotiated and determined by the complexity, duration, and level of involvement in the project.
Reaction-Based
Reaction-based is great for responsive, event-triggered tasks. Price is often negotiated for a time period, like a month, to provide responsive support to a triggered event, like participant registration.
Understanding what type of support structure you are looking for will help you find the best qualified VA for your needs. Some VAs do not provide reoccurring services, like scheduling or interfacing with your clients, in which a retainer fee might not be the best utilization for your money or the VA’s time.
Is a virtual assistant a good solution for my needs?
While a VA is a wonderful solution to many administrative struggles, it might not be the best answer for all entrepreneurs and businesses. VAs are a great option if you are comfortable with delegation, confident you can communicate successfully with someone remote, and understand the difference between an independent contractor relationship vs. an employee relationship.
If you are unsure if a VA would meet your needs, do not hesitate to ask the potential VA for a discovery meeting.
If you would like assistance in preparing for a discussion with a potential VA, AK Lean Virtual Assistance offers a one-on-one assistance session. Schedule a session with us and we would be happy to help prepare for your discovery meeting, no matter which VA you are looking to work with!
