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Does anyone have any personal experience of hiring an Australia Va versus an offshore VA? Are there any advantages of hiring an Australian VA?
1.64K views
Hatty Bell, Executive Assistant at Country Road Group
I agree with @Jane Jones @Kathie Thomas , there are some amazing offshore VA's but it's disappointing to see business owners choose VA's based purely on price. I often find that longer-term clients will pay more for the right fit.
What value and/or benefits can a virtual assistant offer your business in both the short and long term?
840 views
Cliona Elliott, SEO Copywriter at Intrepid Travel
Virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular for small businesses due to increased flexibility and working arrangements for both parties. For many businesses, a VA is just like all other permanent employees - the only difference being they are based remotely.
In terms of short term benefits, a VA is a great option if you need extra hands on board for project work or if you need to delegate tasks to free up time to meet deadlines. In the long-term, a VA is someone who will enable you to be more productive across the board. Hiring a VA may also help you to reduce your overhead costs.
Every business owner hires a VA for different reasons, so it's difficult to pinpoint the short/long term value as this will look slightly different for everyone.
How can I find a VA that 'clicks'? On a side note, what circumstances/services would you consider enough of a value-add to pay a higher hourly rate for a VA?
1.22K views
Hatty Bell, Executive Assistant at Country Road Group
Would love to hear your thoughts on this @Kathie Thomas !
Does anyone have any personal experience of hiring an Australia Va versus an offshore VA? Are there any advantages of hiring an Australian VA?
1.64K views
Hatty Bell, Executive Assistant at Country Road Group
I agree with @Jane Jones @Kathie Thomas , there are some amazing offshore VA's but it's disappointing to see business owners choose VA's based purely on price. I often find that longer-term clients will pay more for the right fit.
Hi Savvies, I'm asking my first question here today, I would love to know more about what businesses think and want from a virtual assistant. All comments welcome! How would you and your...
2.03K views
Jane Jones, Marketing Consultant at Global Compliance Institute
If you include your VA and treat them as a part of the team - they are more likely to be invested in your company, your vision and what it is you're trying to achieve. You have to build trust and prove that you're reliable. I agree with @Iain Dooley that having a clearly defined role helps. @Lisa Ormenyessy definitely sharing the company goals and vision with the VA will help them feel a part of the team.
How do you know if a virtual assistant is a good fit for your small business? Does anyone have any tips on how to hire a good VA?
1.54K views
Stephanie Gobraiel at Virtual Associate Services
I agree with what was said by the other ladies logistically speaking but I also think it's important that both parties values aligned and that it's someone that you think you'd work well with.
This can be achieved by having an interview process with more than one Virtual Assistant and soon enough you'll know which ones tick your boxes (and hopefully vice versa)..
Knowing what you want from a VA will help with this guiadance or you can have a discovery call with a few to help find out what that is... Having this conversation with VAs can also help you identify who you want to work with..
There is also an option of a trial basis to see if this can work. What's going to help make this relationship work? Open communicaton, honesty, time, respect and being able to let go (slowly) so the VA can show you whether or not she can complete what's requested.
Hatty Bell , Executive Assistant at Country Road Group
Great perspective @Stephanie Gobraiel ! Communication is so key
As busy business owners, have you hired personal assistants to help you out from AirTasker, UpWork, Freelancer.com, etc? What do you use them for and how did it go?
844 views
Cliona Elliott, SEO Copywriter at Intrepid Travel
I've used UpWork and Fiverr several times to find web developers and designers. I found these sites to be excellent in terms of finding people for the job. Like Ingrid, I also took my time when reviewing proposals and made sure that my instructions were as clear and objective as possible. I do find that these sites offer great value for money as long as you choose someone well-matched for the job description.
Are there any specific skills or requirements to become a virtual assistant in Australia? What skills does a successful VA need?
632 views
Kathie Thomas, Owner at VA Directory
I think I've shared about the offshore vs Australian based above but if you want me to take it further - perhaps a new question specific to that I can answer? Or do you want to keep it in this thread? I have done presentations on this in the past.
Re marketing - there are VAs with marketing experience. It really depends on the client and what they want. So probably needs to be more specific what you're asking perhaps?
Hatty Bell , Executive Assistant at Country Road Group
Good idea! Just seems to something that I've read a number of times recently.
It sounds like it's very specific to the person and the requirements of the client. Thanks for answering @Kathie Thomas !
I've been seeing 'personal concierge' being mentioned online recently. I personally use VAs to support my business, but I'm not sure how a VA is different from a personal concierge service.
2.02K views
Abbie Allen, Personal Concierge at Lifestyle Elements
Thanks for your question Nick - I run Lifestyle Elements in Adelaide, Australia (and also work with Adrian who is mentioned below!). A personal concierge is like a personal assistant for your life - we tick off your 'to do' list. Most of us have a huge list of things to do that we just never get around to. It doesn't matter if we are perfectly capable of doing it, these things just don't get done because they aren't urgent, but they are still consistently hanging over your head. Alternatively, there may be an urgent situation that crops up - say you lose your luggage and urgently need to get a new suit delivered to a hotel - who on earth do you ring? Why, your personal concierge of course! We are the extra pair of hands, the back up person, and the person with an array of contacts and suppliers at our fingertips to help you - plus we have people on the ground to get stuff done. If you'd like to find out more you can visit the Lifestyle Elements website. We can assist you with services throughout Australia and internationally - and if you just have a question, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Thanks for your contributions below Rowland - I work regularly with Adrian and can also highly recommend him :)
Hi, I have had a couple of bad experiences with telemarketers and I was wondering whether a possible solution is to use a virtual assistant who would do other administrative tasks as well, as so get...
3.5K views
Sandra Wright, Director & Virtual Admin Assistant at AdminWorthy
Appreciate your comments Tim. However there are a lot of VA's in Australia that represent busiensses very well, virtually, really no different to an employee, except you don't have the overheads that come with employing a part timer - i.e. superannuation, tax, leave entitlements and also you have to make sure you always have enough work for them to keep them employed. One of the big advantages of having a VA for your business is that you can use them for as little or as much as you want or can afford without the extra overheads. If you partner with the right Australian VA, they will represent your business very well, undertaking a lot of the tasks that a business onwer doesn't need to do.
Do you use a personal virtual assistant? What tasks do you outsource to make your day more productive? What has been the cost-benefit so far?
1.04K views
Business Development Manager at Virtual Coworker
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Director & Virtual Admin Assistant at AdminWorthy
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Executive Assistant at Country Road Group
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