ENTREPRENEURS | Have Your People Call My People: Personal Remote Assistants 101

As a businessperson, your time is best spent doing what you do best and allowing an assistant to do all of the boring, time-consuming administrative tasks like making phone calls, filing paperwork and doing research. Hiring an assistant may seem like a big step, but there’s a way to get around providing an office, computer, phone and other business necessities: you can pay a ‘virtual’ personal assistant to get tasks done for you without ever stepping foot in your office. Hiring a remote personal assistant will bring order to your day and free you up to manage your time wisely.

What exactly is a virtual assistant, or remote personal assistant? First off, an important thing to understand is that VAs, as they’re often called, aren’t employees – they’re entrepreneurs themselves. They’re independent contractors who pay their own self-employment taxes. That means you won’t have to deal with payroll taxes, worker’s comp, benefits or any other technical aspects of having an employee. You simply hire them as you would anyone else who provides a service, to complete everyday tasks related to running your business.

There are a few different ways you can go about finding a remote personal assistant. First, there are agencies that can match you up with an assistant based on skill sets and your needs. Many of these agencies are located overseas, but oftentimes you’ll find that you can’t even tell the difference. There are quite a few remote personal assistant agencies located in the U.S., also. These agencies pre-screen candidates based on their skill levels, so they can find someone you’ll mesh with. A few to start with are Assistu.com, HireVirtualAssistants.com, TelAssistant.com and IVAA.org, the official International Virtual Assistants Association.

You can also post an ad on Craigslist or one of the many online virtual job databases that are browsed by thousands of people looking for work-at-home jobs every day. Since these people are not pre-screened, it’s important to check their credentials and references before hiring them. Some places to post ads include Elance.com, HomeJobStop.com and VirtualVocations.com.

Before hiring a remote personal assistant, be sure to spell out exactly what kinds of tasks you’re looking to outsource, and find out how they set their fees. Some virtual assistants will charge to take your calls or read your emails. A few might itemize every task they complete, while others work by the hour. Figure out the arrangement that will work best for you and get it in writing before you begin assigning tasks. Don’t be overwhelmed at the prospect of figuring out which tasks to assign - they’re professionals, in most cases they’ve been doing it for years and they’ll know exactly how to help you get started.

One thing that’s important to remember is that virtual assistants mainly do administrative tasks. Don’t expect them to do copywriting, graphic design, web design and bookkeeping. These are separate professional services that require specialized skillsets. Virtual assistants aren’t receptionists, nor will they run errands for you. Since they provide a professional service and aren’t your employee, you can’t expect them to be available 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. That’s why it’s important to discuss your needs up front with all prospective VAs – to make sure you’re on the same page.

For detailed information about how to hire a remote personal assistant, check out the guide at the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce website.

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