(Photo: fotosipsak / iStockphoto)

By now, you’re familiar with the benefits of outsourcing your tasks and projects to virtual assistants. Previously, Smartlife wrote about how to choose a VA and how to choose which tasks to delegate. Actually finding a reliable VA to handle your to-dos, however, is easier said than done.

One reliable source you can turn to is a company like TaskUs that can manage the delegation of tasks to virtual assistants for you. Another way is to go directly to the VAs themselves. To help you in your search, Smartlife has compiled a list of 20+ virtual assistants whom you can outsource your tasks to. Be sure to conduct some mini-trials before committing a lot of time and money into one VA!

1. Gerry Hyde
Specialties: PA/administration, event planning, data processing, and more
Hourly rate: Available on request

2. Taryn Merrick
Specialties: Range of virtual assistance services for Mac users
Hourly rate: Available on request

3. Charmaine Simpson
Specialties: Presentations, spreadsheets, reporting, and more
Hourly rate: Available on request

4. Creme Va
Specialties: Admin, diary management, event coordination, travel and lifestyle management
Hourly rate: £25-£35

5. Kylie Short
Specialties: Admin, marketing support, and more
Hourly rate: $45-$85 (AUD) depending on the type of work involved

6. Rebekah Harriman
Specialties: Desktop publishing, research, social media, admin, and more
Hourly rate: £20 (other payment plans available)

7. Anita Kilkenny
Specialties: Desktop publishing, database management, presentations, admin, and more
Hourly rate: Starting at $35 (AUD)

8. Lisa Beavan
Specialties: Word processing, presentations, transcription
Hourly rate: $30

9. Janine Gregor
Specialties: Social media, editorial, admin
Hourly rate: Starting at $35

10. Michelle Mangen
Specialties: Internet marketing, accounting & bookeeping, property management & admin
Hourly rate: Available upon request

11. Joanne Burgess
Specialties: Social media, marketing, event management, editorial
Hourly rate: starting at $25

12. Michelle Wolverton
Specialties: Social media, digital project management, WordPress, legal services
Hourly rate: Available upon request

13. Kathy Colaiacovo
Specialties: Social media and marketing, office admin, and more
Hourly rate: Available on request

14. Dawn Riley
Specialties: Social media and business support
Hourly rate: $35

15. Crystal Coleman
Specialties: Entreprenurial support
Hourly rate: $25

16. Shelly Halpain
Specialties: Analysis & research, HR, sales assistance, and more
Hourly rate: Available on request

17. Amy McIntosh
Specialties: Entreprenurial support
Hourly rate: $380 for 10 hours (package) and additional packages

18. Alicia Cowan
Specialties: PA support, business development, event & project management, and more
Hourly rate: £22.50

19. Anne-Marie Mittleman
Specialties: PA support, admin, project management, and more
Hourly rate: £20

20. Tracy Collins
Specialties: Bookkeeping, calendar management, data entry, and more
Hourly rate: $30

21. Danielle Kubus
Specialties: Social media management, admin, and more
Hourly rate: $30-$60

###

"A problem well stated is a problem half solved." ~ John Dewey (photo: fotosipsak / iStockphoto)

I thought the first task that I outsourced made perfect sense. Despite my assumption, it took half a dozen back-and-forth emails for my virtual assistant to figure out just what I was talking about. Outsourcing, when you first start, might be a little bumpy. You may need to get used to the pattern of back-and-forth communications and troubleshooting your outsourcing setup if you run into problems.

Troubleshooting by the checklist

When I run into problems with my outsourced tasks, I look for how the problem occurred. From there, it becomes a matter of figuring out how to prevent a repeat of the same problem. I have a few standard questions that seem to find the majority of problems:

1. What was the original assignment? Could my instructions have been misunderstood?
2. Did the virtual assistant get all the details of the assignment?
3. Was there any sort of extenuating circumstances?
4. Did the virtual assistant actually make a mistake?

As you work with a virtual assistant, you’ll be surprised how many problems are directly attributable to communication problems. While on the surface, a virtual assistant may seem to be at fault, it’s always worth double-checking your past communications. More often than not, you’ll find that something was imperfectly communicated.

Ask questions

Outsourcing is a skill that you need to learn, and asking questions is an effective way to clarify task requirements and to solve any issues that crop up. Your virtual assistant has an interest in helping you — ask her questions about your concerns, the mechanics of outsourcing, and any problems you run into.

Make it easy for your virtual assistant to ask you questions, as well. Clarifying the details of a task can make the difference between a completed task both you and your virtual assistant are happy with and a task that you’ll have to pay to have redone. You may need to train your virtual assistant to know how you operate. If you have a particular method for completing a task that you want your assistant to follow, you’ll need to educate her on that method. Virtual assistants, as a rule, have their own ways of doing things. Unless you ask for your virtual assistant to take another approach, she’ll probably stick with what she’s used to doing.

Resolving conflicts

If simple questions aren’t getting to the heart of the problem, it’s time to have a real discussion with your virtual assistant. Whether you use a phone, Skype, or another method of communication, make sure that you’re ready to talk calmly about a situation — you’re going to be effectively critiquing someone’s work and sometimes tempers can get a little hot. Take a moment to prepare for the discussion and make some notes about what you want to go over. From there, it’s a matter of actually going over your concerns with your virtual assistant. Suggest solutions and make sure you’re both comfortable with the resolution.

If you still have problems

I’ve seen some people struggle with their outsourcing — they fix problems, but more keep cropping up. It’s not that these people don’t get the details of working with a virtual assistant, either. Instead, there are often issues in their relationship with their virtual assistant.

Not every virtual assistant will be perfect for the projects you need to have done. If you find that you’re running into a lot of problems with your virtual assistant and you’ve tried fixing everything else, consider finding another assistant. If you’re working with a company, you can just request one — many companies will simply switch your account over to another virtual assistant that they contract with. If you’re working with an individual, you’ll have to go hunting for another virtual assistant.

Ending your relationship with a virtual assistant should be treated like any other business relationship (don’t burn any bridges), especially if you plan to use virtual assistants in the future. Just like other professionals, virtual assistants talk to other members of their profession.

###

"This is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time." ~ Jim Rohn (photo: kaczka / iStockphoto)

One of the more confusing aspects of outsourcing personal tasks is the number of ways you can structure payments. Are you expected to pay a virtual assistant hourly? By the task? Some combination? And what is the typical price charged?

By the hour

Many virtual assistants work on an hourly basis — I think this arrangement is the easiest option for both those doing the outsourcing and those doing the work. It’s easier to track work and payments on an hourly basis.

The price per hour can vary dramatically, though. Companies based in India and other countries with lower costs of living can provide virtual assistant services as low as $7 per hour. Most American virtual assistants charge closer to $35, with some going as high as $100 for specialized services.

Package deals

Rather than selling time by the hour, many companies and individual virtual assistants offer blocks of time. You can purchase a block of 20 hours in a month, for instance — typically, you can find a better deal by committing to an ongoing plan.

Concierge services and other local outsourcing

If you’re looking to outsource tasks to someone local in your area, you’ll need to be prepared to pay more than you’d pay for a virtual assistant. Errand and concierge services’ prices can vary greatly, depending on the area you’re located in. In Cincinnati, Ohio, you might pay $420 per month, but in New York City, you might pay $2,500 for the same time period. Some local outsourcing options do offer a la carte pricing on per hour or per day rate.

Setting milestones

No matter the payment plan you choose, you want to make sure that you’re getting your money’s worth. You need to set tasks for your virtual assistants that have clear steps. With clear milestones, a virtual assistant is better able to finish a task to your satisfaction.

###

(Image: DNY59 / iStockphoto)

Some virtual assistants are more than happy to handle tasks for you that require personal information. But is it really necessary to go around handing out information like the password to your email or your credit card number?

How personal is too personal?

You may want your virtual assistant to purchase something on your behalf. Most assistants will want your credit card to make the purchase. Perhaps you want your virtual assistant to respond to emails for you — but she’ll need to get into your email account to do it. Most of us aren’t comfortable handing out that sort of information, for good reasons.

Now, there are a couple of different approaches you can take to protect your information. First, you can outsource only tasks that don’t require giving out private information. Second, you can choose a virtual assistant whom you feel you can trust with such information. Third, you can create limited accounts — such as a secondary email address — that prevents your virtual assistant from having unfettered access to all your personal email. If you’re willing to trust your assistant with personal information, you can often get quite a bit more done, but you also run the risk of someone using your information inappropriately. Most virtual assistants are professionals, but it only takes one problem.

One factor to keep in mind is that certain pieces of information act as gateways: if someone has the password to your email account, he may be able to get access to your bank account by requesting a new password or other information.

Ask your virtual assistant

If you’re willing to trust your virtual assistant with even some of your private information, you have every right to ask your assistant what precautions she’ll take to protect your information. Many outsourcing organizations are secure operations, but it doesn’t hurt to ask for details.

Check on your accounts

If you do give out personal information, make a point of checking your account activity that corresponds with that information. Has anything unusual been charged to the credit card number you provided to your personal assistant? You don’t need to be vigilant, but you do need to pay just as much attention as if you had an employee in your office that you provided with personal information. Changing your passwords and other information is always an option if you’re worried about the way your personal information is being used.

While you’re checking on your financial accounts, consider checking your credit report. You can obtain a free copy of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com and all three major credit monitoring agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) offer additional copies. Many people also recommend credit monitoring systems or identity theft protection services, such as LifeLock. You can actually take most of the actions these services offer on your own and for free — LifeLock, for instance, simply puts fraud alerts on your credit history, requiring credit agencies to tell anyone offering you new credit that there is a potential for fraud on your account. Fraud alerts do not, however, actually prevent anyone from using your information. The best option is generally to just check your credit report on a regular basis if you have any concerns about how your personal information may be used.

###

"Be concise in your writing and talking, especially when giving instructions to others." ~ Epictetus (photo: sykono / iStockphoto)

The key to successfully outsourcing tasks is effective communication: if you aren’t able to clearly describe the tasks you want completed, it’s only a matter of time before a virtual assistant can’t complete a task to your satisfaction.

Talking about tasks

When you’re laying out a new task or project for your virtual assistant, it’s important to be specific. Say that you want estimates on a new fence for your home. Rather than telling your virtual assistant that you just want a new fence, tell her the type of fence, criteria for companies to do the installation — location, testimonials, etc. — and other details. If you give your virtual assistant enough information to work with, she can move forward quickly — those estimates might be in your inbox before the end of the day.

For some tasks, information may not be enough. For open-ended tasks, you’re going to need to set some limits for your virtual assistant. Perhaps you want to outsource research. On some topics, a person could do forty hours of research and still have many lines of inquiry to pursue. Rather than letting your virtual assistant spend all week on research instead of completing tasks, you should put a limit on that research: maybe you need only an hour’s worth of information on a topic or perhaps you just need an answer to a very specific question.

Communication tools

Your virtual assistant may not be in your time zone — let alone in your city — so calling her up via the telephone to discuss a small change in plans may not be possible. Given such a communication constraint, this is where virtual tools come in handy. Email and instant messages are standard communication tools for virtual assistants. Many also use Skype, in lieu of phone calls. There are benefits to using Skype, just as there are benefits to using email. With Skype, you can get more of a face-to-face conversation, and can often pick up on nuances that show your virtual assistant knows exactly what you want, or that show she’s a little confused. With email and instant messages, however, you have a record of your communications — you can easily go back and see exactly what you told your virtual assistant.

Depending on the types of tasks you need to outsource, you might want to consider ways to share documents such as task lists. There are hundreds of ways to share documents and other files. Such web applications as Dropbox, Google Docs, and wikis can provide easy options. You’ll want to consider how easy you find a particular application to use, as well as security, when choosing a method to share files.

No matter which method of communication you find works best for you and your virtual assistant, it’s important to stick with one method as much as possible. If your personal assistant is expecting you to email tasks, she may not notice an update to a shared document.

Make yourself available

Clearly describing your tasks is good, but the virtual assistant you’re outsourcing work to will have occasional questions. In order to handle those questions — and to make sure that your tasks are completed to your satisfaction — you should make sure your virtual assistant knows how to get in touch with you. Make sure she has your email address, Skype screen name, or phone number, of course, but you should also tell your assistant when the best times to reach you are and your preferred method of contact. It’s up to you to ask for the same information from your assistant, as well: if an issue comes up on your end, you’ll need to know the easiest and fastest ways to get in touch with your personal assistant.

Communication is a two-way street. If you don’t feel that your virtual assistant is communicating effectively, there’s nothing wrong with finding a new assistant.

###

(Photo: MarsBars / iStockphoto)

When you work with a personal assistant, you have to choose which tasks you’ll delegate and which you’ll choose to tackle yourself. On the surface, it may seem like an obvious decision — surely you’re vital to getting the majority of your work done. But when you look at the wide variety of services different virtual assistants offer, you’ll realize that there are plenty of others who can get things done for you. The challenge becomes figuring out which tasks to delegate.

What can you easily outsource?

Many virtual assistants focus on administrative tasks, working with small business owners to handle the needs of their companies — these virtual assistants take on tasks ranging from bookkeeping to booking speaking engagements. Other virtual assistants focus on personal tasks, like scheduling you an appointment with a local mechanic. You can easily outsource pretty much anything that doesn’t require a personal presence to a virtual assistant and there are companies that offer on-site, local assistants that can handle tasks that require a personal touch — like walking the dog.

How do you choose?

I’ve known a few people to outsource tasks like sending a birthday card to a relative. Personally, I tend to avoid delegating tasks that involve my personal relationships. But you can choose to outsource pretty much anything you want. Making the decision is a matter of prioritizing — what do you want to spend your time on and what gets in the way?

While it doesn’t take cost or time into account, I’ve always started by outsourcing the tasks I really hate doing. While it’s not necessarily a time-consuming task, I really don’t enjoy calling and making appointments. But as long as a virtual assistant has access to my calendar, she can set appointments for me. With small tasks like making a few phone calls, though, it’s important to remember to batch your tasks together — give your virtual assistant a whole list and see how much she can take care of in an hour. Small tasks can add up to quite a bit of time quickly.

Other people choose which tasks they’ll delegate based on other criteria: maybe you want to clear a certain number of hours in your day and you just want to delegate your most time-consuming tasks. Or, perhaps, you want to choose tasks to delegate based on cost. No matter which method you choose, there are a few questions you should keep in mind:

• Is this an open-ended task? Do I need to limit it to get the results I want?
• What information will my virtual assistant need to get the job done? Is it information I’m comfortable giving out?
• When does this task need to be done by?

Part of delegating a task, after all, has to be making sure that it can get done. If you’re outsourcing an open-ended task, your virtual assistant may end up spending hours on a project that you thought she would only work on for a few minutes. Think about the difference between “find the best mechanic in my city” and “spend 15 minutes researching who the best mechanic in my city is.” It’s also worth your while to consider other factors, like time and personal information, when choosing tasks to delegate.

Getting used to delegating

In the end, you may not know whether you can outsource a given task until you try it. If you’re careful about choosing which tasks you delegate, you can minimize problems, but it’s possible that a particular virtual assistant may not be able to handle some of the more difficult tasks in your day. If that happens, consider it a learning experience. We each have to smooth out the bumps in our outsourcing plan ourselves — pretty soon you’ll have a good idea about which of your tasks you can easily delegate.

###