Virtual Assistance

Been a very busy few days for me. I’m looking at a few Virtual Assistants to do some subcontracting on projects that I’d like to charge less for, so I need to find someone to do it for less. What I’m noticing though, is that it is somewhat difficult to find someone that I don’t have to really double check all of their work. Don’t get me wrong, as much as I’d like 100% accuracy, this is probably not going to happen. But I’m noticing what should take someone 5-10 hours depending on their rate of speed, is taking 17-30 hours. In the long run this doesn’t really help me out, I could do it in the 5 hours, charge my normal rates, and still be ahead of the game.

If you’re a VA and perusing this blog from a link from VANA or some such, take heart. Are you being fair to your client? Are you giving your best effort, or “eh, it’s enough” effort?

If you’ve perhaps looked at Virtual Assistants and weren’t wowed – keep in mind, in some ways it’s just like hiring an assistant, there are some you gel with better. If you’re not happy and the issue has been addressed, keep looking. We can do so much to get your organization back and your administration flowing better off site.

Ask for referrals from happy companies, but ask about a situation where a client wasn’t happy with the work – listen to the answer. (And “oh all my customers are always happy with me” may or may not be true, but ask for at least a frustrating experience to see what the issue was at what you may have to look at going forward.” )

Recruiting Thoughts

One of the hats I wear is recruiting. Mostly, I recruit for a Furniture Licensor–they have opportunities nationwide for people who want to buy their own dealership.

One of the things I’m surprised by is how passionate people are – they either absolutely want to own their own business, either right now, or a perhaps little down the road; or they absolutely don’t want to own their own business.

A comment I hear over and over again is “well, I’d rather it be someone else’s money to see if it works, and then if it is I may be interested in buying, but I’m not going to put my savings into it until I know for sure. ” I think this may be a useful question asked even of people that are applying for work in a regular company. Are they a go-getter who trusts their judgment; or is it someone who just wants to get by.

Now, I understand that not everyone wants to own their own business, and there’s a lot of good reasons to not want to, and many good reasons to work for someone else. But as employers do you create an environment where the employee can own something? Or do you want people to just do the work and not be passionate about it?

I always look for that person that is passionate about something. Younger employees may need to be taught how to harness that passion while at work, but it’s terribly sad to see the experienced employee who has no passion left in their eyes.

If you’re a small business starting out…do you remember why and what your dreams were with starting your own business?

Don’t forget we can’t all do it on our own, there are many qualified VA’s that can help. If you need help with recruiting or other Human Resources headaches functions, let us know and we can provide you simple, easy and effective answers for your growing business and your employee capital.

And by the way, if you’re reading this and want some information on the furniture dealership opportunities, send an email to info@totalresourceconnection.com

Saving big bucks in business expenses each year -

One of the best resources I’ve found for Virtual Assistants is the Virtual Assistant Networking Forum. There are lots of opinions, suggestions, questions and everything in between. I came across this comparison analysis and thought it was interesting enough that I wanted to share it.

Full-time Employee vs a Virtual Assistant Cost Comparison

Want to SAVE over $60,000 in business expenses this year?
If you answered yes, read on …

A cost comparison for a full-time employee
versus a Virtual Assistant

COST COMPARISON	Full-time Employee	Virtual Assistant
Hourly Rate of Pay	$20.00	$35.00
Fringe Benefits @ 35%(Health/Dental/Life Insurance, Retirement Plans)	7.00	None
Overhead Rate @ 50%(Office Space, Equipment & Office Supply expense, UI Insurance, Worker’s Compensation, Overtime Pay, Administration Costs)	$10.00	None
Total Effective Rate of Pay	$37.00	$35.00
**Hours Per Year	2,080 hrs.	480 hrs.
TOTAL Annual Labor Cost	$76,960.00	$16,800.00

Difference = $60,160.00 per year

By hiring a Virtual Assistant…You SAVE over $60,000.00 per year!

Although the Virtual Assistant’s hourly rate
is more than the employee’s rate in the first place, you save the cost of benefits
and overhead that would have to be applied to the new employee’s wage. And,
because Virtual Assistant’s are usually more experienced, more efficient, and
better connected than the employee, you’ll need to devote far less time to the
project to get the same results, only 480 hours a year versus 2,080 for the
new employee.

**Remember,
with a Virtual Assistant, you only pay for the time on task by the minute! No
more paying for socializing, hour long lunches or frequent trips to the washroom.

Your employee’s 8 hour day can be
crunched into 3-4 hours with a Virtual Assistant.

Simply put, you should contract with a Virtual
Assistant because it’s more cost-effective and Virtual Assistants go above and
beyond the normal assistant’s duties to impact your own productivity. No task
is too big or small for a Virtual Assistant to handle. Even if you only have
1 hour of work a month for a Virtual Assistant to do, a VA can (and will) do
it.

For more information – email info@totalresourceconnection.com

*Souce: Virtual
Assistant Networking Association (VANA) Cost Comparison

The Largest Global Network Online for Successful and Aspiring Virtual Assistants