Virtual Assistants

[Stocks]

I did some searching for virtual assistants, but I seem to keep coming up with individual VAs who are in the US. Has anyone had any luck with ELANS.com that Tim mentions in his book? I did not.

I'm looking for someone to take care of my personal stuff. Work is already taken care of by two employees.

Thank you.

[Talon]

Anyone here have a VA? I to would be interested in hearing about your experience along with If so where and what is the cost?:p

[AdamTeece]

The cost of the VA is going to be dependant on what you want them to do. I have been doing some research on b2kcorp.com and it looks like those will cost me about $15 an hour, but they are very very professional and provide extreme quality. elance.com is good for programmers and technical work mostly, there are some VAs on there but most that I could find are individuals.

[Martini]

I have some research projects that need to be done. Where might I find a VA to help me do this at a great price? Mr. Ferriss mentions in the book finding a VA for as little $4. Is this feasible?

[Drewkerr]

Yes $4 is possible. I can't remeber the couple sites I found. But to get down to that amount you need to have a monthly plan with a guarented minimum hours and give them a commitment for serveral months.

I think the $4 an hour was at the 30 hours a week mark of work for a VA.

What I found for an average user looking for a couple hours a month you are going to be paying $10 plus range.

Again, keep in mind what you make now per hour, and then what outsourcing will cost, if you are in the positive go for it. You time is more valuable spent else where.

[Talon]

At present I have at the most 10 hours of work a month.
Accounting put the numbers in the spreadsheet
Combine 4 locations into one spreadsheet-5 hours a month
Review and update presentations
85 percent of the work is accomplished I just need someone elses eyes to ensure everything is good.. -5 hours a month
Anyone have another 20 hours to get a good rate?
thanks:cool:

[Feumet]

We have some,
Cheers!

[jetpacklife]

vservesolution said their rates are $3 - $6 / hour depending on complexity. I'm guessing $3 is just data entry and it's more like $6 for a VA.

I haven't used them yet. I'm trying to work on elimination and automation first.

[KJCB]

To those of you who are serious -- I would encourage you to go ahead and post your job description on one of the major marketplaces mentioned in the book. I found that the VA rates many times vary (quite a bit lower) from the bids you see publicly. To my surprise, I received several private messages from different firms stating "the real" bid. I'm being purposely vague about who and where, to keep any of the providers from getting in trouble -- but the good rates are out there!

[Feumet]

We actually have some available at $774 per month, during US biz hours. This is for up to 176 hours. And you are right, the quality and pricing varies a whole bunch!

[smitty]

With regards to your question about finding va's on elance I have had some positive success.

One VA that I am working with is at $2.00 an hour, I only assign simple tasks and the instructions must be crystal clear and at a 2nd Grade reading level like Tim recommends on page 133 of his book.

I have assigned specific internet research on financial planning related topics (moderate degree of success due to the fact that the va is not 100% familiar with financial planning but I was happy with the work and found some articles that were worth the money spent for the services)

The next task I assigned was a personal task to research and customize a speech that I was to give at my sisters wedding reception regarding what is called a unity sand ceremony. I was very happy with the results and so was my sister her husband and their children. This was a task that was well executed at a low cost and at the end of the day I spent absolutely no time preparing the speech which was great because I had no time to. This was a good experience with minimal cost.

One word of caution though is to leave no room for misinterpretation in your instructions and include a link to an example of what you are looking for in terms of results on research oriented tasks.

It is a good experience and allows you to use the comfort challenge on page 137 ( The Criticism Sandwich ). By using the criticism sandwich the VA learns more about what you expect for results and what part of the task you deemed to be the quality that you were looking for.

I also had a very good experience in applying for a trademark in the USA (I live in Canada). The agent I used was very knowledgeable and cost much much less and had more knowledge than agents I had contacted in Canada. The agent / lawyer was based in the USA and was a co-founder of mp3.com and is highly regarded in the industry. Therefore the quality of work and his reputation is fantastic.

In the past I have also used elance for graphic artists (creating a logo) and was happy with the results.

I am also trying out another va from elance who is charging 3.70 an hour. The work I assign is minor work and personal tasks because I want to find a good provider and develop a relationship with them while I try to find a muse that will be worthwhile following through on.

Hope this helps!

[KMO]

vservesolution said their rates are $3 - $6 / hour depending on complexity. I'm guessing $3 is just data entry and it's more like $6 for a VA.

I haven't used them yet. I'm trying to work on elimination and automation first.

Hi Jetpacklife,

Thanks for the tip. I just checked out Vservesolution's website, and I sent them the following query:

___________________________________
My name is Kevin M. O'Connor, but please call me KMO. I produce a weekly podcast called the C-Realm Podcast. You can find it here:

http://www.c-realm.com

or

http://c-realmpodcast.podomatic.com

I'm looking for some help running and expanding the operation. Specifically, I'm looking to automate a process by which a transcript and/or an audio CD of each episode is made available for purchase on the website. I'd need to outsource the transcription, CD production, packaging, fulfillment and website alterations. I read the description of your services on your website, and I notice that it didn't mention website work or graphic design. Are these services that you can provide or subcontract?

Thank you, and stay well.

-KMO

___________________________________

Can you (or anyone reading this) provide me with any advise on avoiding costly rookie mistakes or any advice generally about creating Muses using the raw material generated by my ever-expanding archive of interview material?

Thanks, all.

Stay well.

[OceeMom]

I am trying out a couple now. Instead of going thru a service, I decided to do some networking. I'm not looking at $2/hr but I'm okay with that. It depends on the task, but I do expect it to be under $10/hr for most things.

OM