Rescue Desk

Part of my job as a virtual assistant is marketing my business, my experience, and my services. But, the other part of my job is education.

When I tell people I am a virtual assistant, I sometimes find myself on the receiving end of a confused – albeit interested – stare. They think they’ve heard of virtual assistants, but they’ve never actually met one and aren’t exactly sure what it means.  It’s certainly understandable, given that the VA industry is young enough to not quite be mainstream, but old enough that it’s solidified its place and will be around for the long haul.

When I’m asked what I do, I explain that I am an “executive assistant for hire”  helping my clients with just about anything they’d ask a professional executive assistant to do … except I do it from my own fully-loaded, fully-stocked office instead of theirs.

It’s pretty easy to show the value-adds of a Virtual Assistant compared to an on-site/on-staff executive assistant:

On-site employee:

• Cost of wages, taxes, benefits, space, equipment, unproductive time.
• Little flexibility in schedule or hours worked.
• Hiring/firing process time-consuming, costly and requires high-level of commitment.
• Professional development and training  is expensive in time and money.
• Employees depend solely on the employer to provide experience and resources.

Virtual Assistant:

• VAs are independent contractors, so clients only pay for time on task.
• Flexible and accommodating to meet clients’ needs and business hours.
• Clients can find specific VA skill sets to meet needs
• VAs are already experienced and highly efficient, and their practices depend on client satisfaction.
• VAs continuously gain experience, skills and grow their resources thanks to working for several clients and gaining exposure that comes with small-business ownership.

I ran across a white paper written by an industry colleague, who has a successful practice and whose byline can be found on several industry articles. She outlined the cost in dollars and developed a work production scenario comparing the cost of having an on-site employee, a temp agency placement and a Virtual Assistant:

On staff employee:

• Minimum Hours per day: 8
• Actual number of productive hours per day: 6
• Hourly rate: $50
• Daily cost: $400

Temporary staff:

• Minimum Hours per day: 6
• Actual number of productive hours per day: 3
• Hourly rate: $50
• Daily cost: $300

Virtual Assistant:

• Minimum Hours per day: 3
• Actual number of productive hours per day: 3
• Hourly rate: $50
• Daily cost: $150

It’s fairly easy to see how working with a virtual assistant is a cost-effective solution. Is it right for everyone? Of course not. But when you look at the cost and the value-adds, it is undeniabily a viable option for businesses to get the professional support they need.

When you narrow it down, there isn’t much of a difference between what a Virtual Assistant can do and what an on-site professional assistant can do (with the exception of shooting the breeze around the water cooler).  About the only differences you’ll find between a VA and executive (or administrative) assistant is a VA’s area of expertise and the fact that a VA is a small-business owner her/himself. But, again, that is a value-add to having a VA … you can work with someone who has exactly the skills, experience and technology you need, and whose success depends on providing a valuable business service to you.