From the course: Time Management Tips

Understanding virtual assistants

From the course: Time Management Tips

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Understanding virtual assistants

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- Many people have heard about the idea of having a virtual assistant, yet they don't know quite where to start. I want to make this a little bit easier for you by exploring four levels of having a virtual assistant, and each of these might work for you depending upon your budget. The first option is a one-off situation, in other words, you have one little project, one thing you want help with and you hire out someone to help you with it. For instance, I might want to dictate an article and have someone transcribe it. There are many transcription options to help me with that. Really, any little thing that you need help with, you can go to a freelancer site and they can help you with that. The second level is to have a traditional virtual assistant. This is one person who provides administrative assistance services for many different people, perhaps all around the world. They do a variety of different tasks and their attention is spread out in lots of directions, but as a result, their cost is a little bit lower. It's a great place to start. The third level is having a part-time assistant. This is someone who doesn't necessarily come into your office, but from anywhere in the world, focuses on you for a set amount of time per week, perhaps 20 hours a week where they're handling things like scheduling, research, and so on. The fourth level is having a full-time assistant. This is someone, again, who can work for you anywhere in the world, but focuses 100% on helping you be successful. I refer to this person as the Alfred to your Batman. I personally have an assistant who is full-time and has worked with me for many years, and it's helped me become more successful because of her efforts. I recommend this option for people who have a significant steady income and are very clear about what their most valuable activity is. The idea is to start somewhere. You might be surprised at how easily having a virtual assistant works for you, so test it out. Maybe you take the next step of having a larger project and hire two or three different people to work on it and see how well you like working with them, then if you find a good fit, you can hire them and work on a longer term basis. One last comment, I recommend that you provide accountability to these people. Sometimes when people think of a virtual assistant, they treat them like they would a software program, they're virtual. Instead, I prefer to refer to these people as overseas or outsourced employees, which means I'm going to meet with them on a regular basis, I'm going to give them bonuses, I'm going to talk to them and make them a part of my team. They're really human beings, and they should be treated like that. It's so easy to begin though, just give it a try and find out if having a virtual assistant works for you.

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