It is a challenge for me when I’m asked to explain what it is I do and why it is best to hire a Virtual Assistant. Not that I can’t explain it and not that I don’t believe that hiring a VA is the most cost-effective action a business owner can take, it’s trying to break the mindset that owners have about working with someone from a distance.
I’m pretty good at knowing if I like someone from the moment we speak. For most of my life though, this has been in face-to-face conversation. Whenever I met someone new there was body language, facial expressions, and those little nuances we get from the first handshake.
Now that I am a VA, the first meeting is usually an email. From my experiences with online introductions, you really don’t know what a person is like from an email message. Words are hard to ”read” sometimes as meanings can be different for different people.
So then we move on to a phone introduction.
Now we move into a learning to trust relationship.
1. Communication in the age of technological innovation
VAs by nature, thrive in a virtual environment. We are used to long-distance business partnerships. The technology, resources and information available to conduct this type of service is what keeps us excited and striving for success. The Clients, on the other hand, often times find themselves at a loss when it comes to a virtual partnership. It is not a common practice for most. Many business owners find comfort in having a warm body in the chair to answer phones, file papers, and simply be there in case they “need” something. Computers, the internet, email and all the other technology innovations are on the back-burner for them. It’s hard for them to truly understand just what it is their assistants are doing for them when it comes to this side of the business. Helping business owners understand these tasks that are necessary to conduct business could just as easily, and more cost-effectively, be carried out from a Virtual Assistant’s remote location continues to challenge the education process for Virtual Assistants.
Trusting that a Virtual Assistant is skilled and capable enough to handle the technical distances in a VA/Client relationship is a paramount point to solidify in the minds of business owners.
2. Learning to trust and give up some control
Here is a tremendous barrier to cross. Most business owners are used to a process when it comes to working with an assistant. They place an ad and the applicant’s interview for the position. The owner makes a judgment call by what they see and hear in the interview. They take a resume and sum up a person by their experience, education and references. They then proceed to make a substantial investment in this person and hope that they will be with them for the long-haul. It is easy to overlook a key specific point however, when carrying out this process.
The Cost Difference – This is quite substantial when comparing an in-house employee with a VA. It is quite possible the investment made in hiring a full-time employee could be money down the drain. It may turn out that the business owner and the assistants’ personalities are not compatible. The employee may feel that they are not being paid enough to carry out the tasks they were hired to do. The employer may feel that they are not getting their money’s worth in the work carried out by their new employee. There are other scenarios, but they all lead to the same outcome - either firing the assistant or the assistant quits. In either case the employer is out a large amount of money and time. The Return On Investment (ROI) does not balance out. And then they’re at it again - placing the ad, interviewing, and hoping for the best.
There is also the cost difference of lost time due to PTO, Sick Days, Various Break Times - Lunch, Smoke and 15-Min. Breaks, holidays, etc. With a Virtual Assistant a business owner only pays for the time actually worked to complete tasks and projects. Most VAs charge by 15 minute increments, and some charge to the minute.
Then there are the other expenses of Payroll Tax, Benefits - Health, Dental, Vision, 401k’s, bonuses, commissions, etc. Any taxes, benefits, or other costs of this type are handled by the VA. As Virtual Assistants are also business owners, they manage any costs of this nature.
Why the Fear?
What many business owners fear is losing the control they feel they have over the person sitting in their assistant’s chair. Not focusing on the differences in cost is due, in part, to their inability to realize that their assistant’s are very capable and skilled and do not need to be micro-managed.
When I took my last office position, I was perfectly clear about my intentions on pursuing my VA business full-time and the part-time position being offered was the perfect catalyst for me to make this a reality. My employer said he understood, appreciated my desire to be a successful business owner and thought being a Virtual Assistant was a great idea. I assured him I would keep him posted on my status and would give him plenty of time to replace me. It turned out that his needs did not fit my agenda and the tasks I was completing could just have well been completed in a virtual manner.
Sadly, when it came time for us to part ways, I could see a VA/Client partnership was not possible for us. Even though we had worked together for over 6 months, the obstacles of technological differences, trusting in my skills as a VA/business owner and giving up control were issues I could not help him overcome.
It was this juncture in my VA life that I came to understand the dynamics underneath these giant barriers. The physical presence of an assistant is no longer necessary and helping business owners to understand this fact remains a constant struggle for Virtual Assistants.
This is where it is incumbent upon us - the Virtual Assistants - to educate the community - online, local, etc. - about what it is we do. Education is the key. Positioning ourselves as experts in our chosen skills and services starts to create a foundation on which to build a strong bond of trust between Virtual Assistants and the business community at large. Getting out there and helping to build this atmosphere of trust will help propel our industry to the forefront of the business world.
I would like to report that my former client that was having trouble paying me, finally came through today. I’m very happy about this because I truly believed it was a communciation barrier - you know, Africa to the US can be quite a leap. She was a very nice person though and I am usually one to give the benefit of the doubt.
Of course, as I stated in the previous post regarding this partnership, I will not be crossing the boundaries I’ve set for myself in regards to anything in my VA business. Boundaries are too important to overlook.
This is what I have to tell myself if I don’t want to go insane!
Ever since starting my VA business I have heard so many say that you just don’t want to go outside of your boundaries. It’s kind of like “give a inch, and they’ll take a mile”.
Boundaries are there for a reason. I’ve worked hard to find my boundaries and I’ve tried to make them as reasonable as possible.
- Stick to my office hours
- Insist on retainer payments in advance of the start date
- Keep the work within the constraints of the original contract
- Don’t accept client calls or rush work outside of the normal scope of the contract
- And there are others of course…
Well, holding to my boundaries is something I will be sure to stick to from here on out.
I accepted work with a new client on a retainer basis and I afforded the client the opportunity to submit payment by the end of the first week of the month that we started our partnership. We were starting out quickly so as to get the marketing campaign underway before the holidays.
Here we are now at the end of that month and still no payment. I fulfilled half of the retainer and held off on the remaining hours until the payment was made. I now have to end our partnership and try to recoup the payment for the services I’ve already rendered.
And, to top it all off, I had to make a phone call to the client (in Africa), and phone calls are the responbility of the client. Well, I now have a $102 phone call for 15 mintues of conversation that I will also have to try and recoup from my client.
Live and Learn, Live and Learn - this is my sanity mantra! I will say it every day so I won’t be condemned to repeat the past!