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Virtual
assistants (VAs) work from their own premises and provide personal and
office support services, such as general administrative tasks; making
customer contacts; writing reports; editing documents; sending out marketing
materials; handling thank-you notes, gifts and follow-up letters; setting up
and maintaining databases; handling billing and bookkeeping; and updating
Web sites.
Some
VAs even help clients manage their personal lives, doing such tasks as
arranging for pet-sitting, calling the plumber, scheduling doctor's
appointments, planning an upcoming family reunion, or coordinating a move.
A
VA may be in your local area or anywhere across the county—after all, he
or she communicates with you via e-mail, phone, fax and IM. By using
software like Symantec's pcAnywhere, you and your VA can even access one
another's computers, or you can jointly coordinate work tasks via software
housed on Web sites.
The
typical background to look for in a VA would include experience as an
administrative or executive assistant, office manager or customer service
rep. But because the kind of work VAs do varies, you also want to look for
someone who has experience in doing the specific tasks you need help with.
Since you'll want a VA with good problem-solving skills who can communicate
well and be counted on to get things done, consider working with someone on
a time-limited project first to see how that goes before entering a
long-term relationship.
VAs
usually charge a higher hourly or daily rate than other office-support
professionals because they do more complex tasks. Expect to pay $30 to $45
per hour or more. Find VAs through two professional organizations: Virtual
Assistance U and the International
Virtual Assistants Association.
If
you can't find an assistant to do the full range of tasks you need, or if a
VA is too pricey, here are a few lower-cost options to consider:
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Use
other business services. While these businesses charge more than
you would pay an employee, using outside services for tasks like
marketing or Web development can still save you money since you pay only
for the service you need when you need it.
-
Try
barter or exchange services. Bartering is the cashless exchange
of services in which you offer your services in return for someone
else's. This is a great way to keep costs down or get assistance you
couldn't otherwise afford. Consider joining a barter club that will link
you with other service people who want to barter. Barter clubs keep a
credit balance for you so when you provide a service to one member, you
get credit to receive services from any other member. There is usually a
startup fee involved. Find these clubs through search engines. The
IRS considers any business service you get through bartering to be
income, but the business services you provide through bartering are
deductible as business expenses. So keep records of your exchanges and
claim values that represent actual market rates.
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Get
help from family members. Asking family members to help with
simple tasks in your home office, like filing and cleaning, can be a
good way for them to be part of your business while keeping your costs
down. You can ask for volunteers or offer a wage. And hiring your
children actually has a tax advantage. Your child's salary is a
deductible business expense, and his or her earnings are taxed at a much
lower rate than yours. Below a certain amount each year, there is no tax
on their earnings.
-
Call
on clients and suppliers. Sometimes you can use or buy the
services of other companies you're working with. These companies may be
happy to let you purchase services from them like mailings, word
processing or duplicating to help offset their overhead. Or they may be
willing to let you use their company services without an additional
charge or as part of your fee.
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