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Danielle and EliteVAs,
Thank you both for your feedback. Danielle, I`ll read your article and research more into this virtual VA option. I appreciate it.
Cheers,
Tammy
Hi Everyone, just popping in here quickly before I start my day. Here are over 200 articles all surrounding the career of virtual assistance at my website:
http://www.VAnetworking.com/articles/
Feel free to email me if you have any questions as I`ve been a VA since 97.
Hello everyone,
Virtual assistants look like an interesting possibility, could someone please answer the following:
What are typical fees for a virtual assistant?
Do VA`s juggle several businesses at once? If so how would they know which customer the incoming telephone call is for?
Thanks
The fees you charge will be relevent to your overhead costs but typically are $35-$100/hr dependent on their specialties. Here is a great spreadsheet (Services Pricing Sheet) you can utilize to figure this out. http://www.mediamage.com/cvaforum/index.php?showtopic=5858&a mp;a mp;a mp;a mp;hl=services (FREE TO JOIN) or here is a direct link to Naomi`s template: http://www.topshelfva.com/shareforms/Services-Pricing-Worksh eet.xls
As for juggling several clients, yes we are very good multi-taskers. What I do to manage my clients is that I will book hours into each day for individual clients. My clients pay upfront retainer packages so I typically know exactly how many hours I will have to work that month. This allows me to setup my calendar hours for each week of the month thereby giving me a block frame of hours/time I will work on each client`s work which I relate to them. Although I am available to them within a 24hour notice for emergencies, my clients I align with respect my time and keep to the scheduling for that month.
What are typical fees for a virtual assistant? This depends on what the project entails. A VA usually charges `roughly` $35 to $65 per hour -- again, depending on the project. Please keep in mind that you would only being paying for time worked. A VA tracks his/her time utilizing time tracking software and only charges you for actual time worked. Things such as employee benefits, taxes, office space, lunch, breaks, office equipment, health insurance and many other employee costs would never be included in a VA`s rate. I`m sure another VA can elaborate more on what I`ve just stated.
Do VA`s juggle several businesses at once? If so how would they know which customer the incoming telephone call is for? Yes, we do juggle many other clients at once -- just as you would. In my business, I do not handle a client`s incoming telephone lines. Usually, it`s set up where I only have to manage a client`s customer service e-mails and Web site transactions. I can`t answer for other VAs, so they will have to elaborate.
Wow - I`ve been gone the last few days on a long weekend and appears we have some real VA pros hanging out here giving some great advice. Keep it up - I know others will appreciate the sharing of your knowledge and experience.
R@
A key compenent when seeking at Virtual Assisstant is finding someone who fits your work style and is focused on assisting you achieve your priorities. So while the hourly rate is certainly a consideration when looking to work with a Virtual Assistant, it`s certainly not the end of it. There are so many other elements when seeking out a working relationship with another independent professional.
Danielle posted a response earlier with a link to her article about what to look for when hiring a Virtual Assistant. If you are considering hiring one, it`s definately worth a read, and of course I along with the other VAs would be happy to answer any other questions you may have.
I am a graduate of AssistU. I love being a virtual assistant. For someone who has been an administrative assistant for over 26 years in different venues, it was difficult for me to conceive the idea of being an independent contractor; moving out of the corporate box.
If anyone needs information regarding virtual assistance, check out the AssistU`s website, it is the most comprehensive information on virtual assistance. www.assistu.com.
I hope to be doing this for the rest of my life!
With an inhouse person, you would also have to pay overhead costs. Although the Virtual Assistant`s hourly rate is more than the employee`s rate, 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 your projects to get the same results, only 480 hours a year versus 2,080 for the new employee. See this proof in the cost comparison chart below for a full-time employee versus a Virtual Assistant:
Hourly Rate of Pay:
Full-time employee: $20
Virtual Assistant: $35
Fringe Benefits (like Health/Dental/Life Insurance, Retirement Plans @ 35%):
Full-time employee: $7
Virtual Assistant: $0
Overhead costs @ 50% like Office Space, Equipment & Office Supply expense, UI Insurance, Worker`s Compensation, Overtime Pay, Administration Costs:
Full-time employee: $10
Virtual Assistant: $0
Total pay now:
Full-time employee: $37
Virtual Assistant: $35
***Hours per year:
Full-time employee: 2.080 hours
Virtual Assistant: 480 hours
TOTAL Annual Labor Costs:
Full-time employee: $76,960
Virtual Assistant: $16,800
A savings of $60,160.00 per year by hiring a Virtual Assistant.
**Remember, with a Virtual Assistant, you only pay for the time on task by the minute! No more paying for internet surfing, 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.
But what if you want to talk to your VA on the fly? Save yourself time and communicate virtually by picking up the phone, emailing them or messaging them via text chat for an instant response. It’s that simple!
Simply put, you should contract with a Virtual Assistant because it`s more cost-effective and time effective. 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.
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