Virtual Assistant or Personal Assistant? What do you think?
The other day I received a question in my group:
I'd like to consider virtual assistants or maybe a personal assistant. Who has had luck with these…are some better than others?
Thanks,
Carol from Nebraska
Knowing how to build your team is a critical choice. The other day, I shared some thoughts on different types of people that you could bring into your powerhouse, kick-butt team.
I'm going to share a few more thoughts today on virtual assistants and personal assistants, but my hope is that you'll chime in on the comments and share your thoughts too.
Virtual Assistant vs. Personal Assistant
I have worked with Virtual Assistants (VAs) for many years. A personal assistant and a VA may or may not be the same service provider depending on what you want.
If you are looking for someone to be your “girl Friday” and pick up dry cleaning, do shopping, take care of the filing, as well as help with email newsletters and scheduling appointments, then a personal assistant is really a better choice. Personal assistants are usually located in the same community that you live in.
A VA does not have to be in the same community or even the same country! Maybe you need someone to triage your email, send out newsletters or keep your shopping cart current. If the list of things you want/need to have completed does not depend on physical location, then a VA is a great consideration.
Of Course, Some Are Better than Others
Like all industries, there are going to be people that are excellent at what they do and others that deliver poorly. As with all employment relationships, the real key is to understand and set expectations. Once you have that down, then you hire a VA in a very similar way that you would hire an employee. Never just pick the first person that comes along.
Each VA has his/her own set of skills and specialties. Identify your specific needs and then start the hiring process. Become familiar with the skills of the individuals you are talking to.
Interview prospects and talk with references. As you are checking references, ask specifics about the work that the person did. Just because someone did a fantastic job for your friend updating WordPress does not mean that they would be awesome at transcription.
People that work with VAs have to be able to communicate clearly. You are working virtually. If you are the type of person that wants someone to read their mind, then a VA will not be the right choice.
What have you done?
To your easy and joyful success!
Stephanie
P.S. Let this settle and notice what is true for you. Every moment offers the opportunity to create the life you want with grace, ease, and joy. Let me know when you’re ready to explore possible next steps.
Connect with Stephanie
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS POST DOES NOT CONSTITUTE BUSINESS ADVICE. NO RELATIONSHIP, INCLUDING ADVISOR/CLIENT, HAS BEEN FORMED AS A RESULT OF THIS POST.
Ask Stephanie – Tips, Tricks, and Strategy for
Enjoying a Profitable, Life-loving Business of Impact and Meaning without Sacrificing What’s Most Important to YOU!
This is a no-cost program that is open to everyone! As questions come in, I'll select and respond to one question received that I believe will help the most people. (You can choose to remain anonymous if you wish with my full support.) If you have a question, it is certain that 100s of other people do too, so don't be shy.
Hi! I’m joining the conversation from twitter! Stephanie and I were discussing another option over tweets. Its also possible to find VA that also offer personal services on site (I’m one of them :D). I find that clients that hire me for personal services are often not familiar with VAs. The benefit in having someone who can do both is that they can do continuous projects for you sometimes for lower fees than it would cost to have them travel to your location. This is especially useful if you need shorter research tasks, correspondence help, and other admin support some days but on site services perhaps only once per week. The great thing about VAs is that there are as many types are there are fish in the sea. It is definitely doable to find someone that can meet both those needs or two people that will fit your budget and schedule. 🙂
Hi Luz – Thanks for sharing how things work for you and your clients. I agree, there are many different configurations of how work can get done and just as many professionals that deliver services in all of those different ways. Identifying what you need is the first step because then it is much easier to find a person to help you get it all done.
Being a Va is very challenging work. Each VA has his/her own set of skills and specialties. Identify your specific needs and then start the hiring process. Become familiar with the skills of the individuals you are talking to.