Virtual assistants are business owners who provide professional administrative services in their area(s) of expertise to clients, instead of working as someone else's employee.  VAs work from their own offices, often in their homes, delivering services and work product to clients using the internet, fax and telephone.  A successful virtual assistant typically gains many years of experience working for someone else in a particular field (e.g., law, real estate, accounting), before deciding to hang out their own VA shingle.  I am happy to occasionally meet or work with clients at their offices, but I charge extra for this, since I much prefer to avoid commuting and work from home. 

Like other professional service providers, in addition to billing clients based on knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as market demand, a VA's billing rates also must help cover business overhead expenses.  Because clients are most likely paying premium rates for their VA's (hopefully) vast experience, a terrific job for every client every time has to be the norm.  A "satisfactory" or "meets expectations" performance rating just won't suffice.  Nobody can say honestly that they are perfect, but you may rest assured that perfection in my work is what I strive for and come very close to achieving. 

Why Should You Hire a VA?

If things don't work out with a VA, it is usually easier to extricate yourself from this type of work arrangement than from an employer/employee scenario.  (My agreements with clients for whom I do ongoing work are written so that either party may terminate the arrangement at any time, for any reason.)  You don't have to pay your VA for personal, sick or vacation days.  If you hire a VA, the only government reporting you will need to do in connection with that hiring will be to send your VA a 1099 at the end of each year in which you pay them more than $600, and file a related Form 1096 with the IRS - or your VA can take care of these things for you. 

If you want to spend more time on generating income, or you just want more time for yourself or your family, and you're wondering whether hiring a VA makes sense for you,  please click here to read an interesting article written by Sandra Martini, The Automatic Business Coach and Mentor. 

I type very accurately at approximately 140 words per minute.  Please read about my background and some of my clients' and a former boss's remarks about me, and contact me to see if we can work together to make your life easier.  (Pardon my web site's appearance while I finish redoing it.  My "services" page and some reformatting will be completed soon.)

 

IVAA EthicsCheck™ Verification No. 03-08-00125.  To view IVAA's EthicsCheck™ Directory page, click here.  To visit the International Virtual Assistants Association on the web, click here.