An assistant helps with time and daily management, scheduling of meetings, correspondence, and note-taking. The role of a personal assistant can vary from answering phone calls, taking notes, scheduling meetings, emailing, texts, etc. Without the help of an assistant, you’d be doomed!  It’s vital for a RealSuccess student to consider investing in a  virtual assistant to focus their energy on more important tasks at hand.

Hands up!  Who wants an assistant to help them with the bill paying, basic word processing, answering phones, appointment scheduling, and calendar maintenance? You can even train this assistant to go beyond administrative support to client development and marketing support. Some can even design webpages for your business. 

Does it sound a little far-fetched? Well, it is the latest service now at your fingertips via the computer screen. Yes, you can now hire a virtual assistant; you can hire professional assistance at the click of a mouse. It sounds like the perfect solution for the busy entrepreneur. 

One of the problems with a real human personal assistant is making sure you have enough tasks to keep them busy for the duration of their commitment. Another issue is the minute you really need them,  they request off for a few days. This is not a problem with this system!

You may have many reasons, as well as financing, that prevent you from hiring a personal assistant, even though it’s obvious you need one. Wouldn’t it be great if you had an assistant that was always ready to work for you, but only when you need him or her? Meet the virtual assistant, a creative new labor force that provides practical solutions for small businesses, busy people, and job growth potential for outsourcers.

Think of it as hiring a temp from the employment agency. The virtual assistant is self-employed, bills only for the hours worked or by tasks completed, and is dependent on referrals and steady workflow from existing clients. It sounds like the perfect solution for a busy lifestyle.

Hiring an assistant is cheap, with no coffee expenses, and no vacation pay or sick leave! The virtual assistant is already computer literate so there will be no need to train! If you have a small office you will not need to worry about purchasing extra furniture or loss of privacy.

Your workplace can still be your private domain, but the workload will be easier. There’s no need for you and the virtual assistant to even live in the same city. Work assignments are communicated through email, phone, fax, “snail mail,” or diskette. 

You can take advantage of Web-based tools such as instant messengers, like ICQ, and online calendars and planners are often used as a means of communicating. Schedule changes, project reports, or customer-service alerts can be performed immediately. The virtual assistant can lend “size” to your company, which will impress potential clients. 

There are several effective ways to find a virtual assistant. Simply enter “virtual assistant” into the Google search engine. Another solution is to search the directory at Staffcentrix.

Staffcentrix is a resource/support company for virtual assistants. You can manually check the pool of virtual assistants, or use the free referral service to search the database for those who most matches your needs. 

The directory provides you with the experience level of potential virtual assistants and the services provided, computer capabilities, email, the URL address, and other contact information. There is also an international association of virtual assistants who have a comprehensive directory. 

Once you have chosen the V.A. that matches your needs,  you may contact them via email. Most virtual assistants will try to prove themselves by completing small projects in an hour or two. They should be paid for their time if work extends beyond that.

You can set up payment arrangements by time or task. The charge could be anything from $15.00 per hour to $35.00 per hour. Hiring a virtual assistant also gives a new excuse for forgetting things; “Oh my virtual assistant must have overlooked that.” may leave a few people speechless!