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As an online business owner, it can become overwhelming for business owners to find and research the right virtual assistant.
Once you have found the right fit, it’s always encouraging to ask in-depth questions, policies and what a VA will and will not do. Here is a link to the most FAQ questions that have already been asked about hiring your first virtual assistant.
But on the other hand, because you might be familiar with working from the 9-5 and transitioning, you might think that a virtual assistant will have the same mindset and work from the same platform that you were in.
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Here I have summarized some misconceptions of what a virtual assistant will not do:
- Walk your dog
- Be on call when your house is a mess
- Paint your house
- Be your babysitter
I sure hope I got some laughs on some of these things that a VA will not do. But on the serious side of things, I will elaborate some more on some misconceptions in the VA industry and this may spill over into other online industries.
A Virtual Assistant is an employee
So many times, you might think because you are outsourcing for a specific task that you can dictate what is expected and set the hours and payment for the person you are hiring.
This is not the case because a virtual assistant is a home-based, independent contractor, he/she normally sets their prices, their hours to complete a specific task, as well as manage his or her own insurance, as well as taxes.
A Virtual Assistant should provide a Resume’
Now that you are comfortable with finding a VA for your business, you are now at the next stage for hiring and would want a VA to provide his/her Resume.
Remember that because a VA is an independent contractor that the best sorts of reference that a VA will and should always provide are their testimonials from past clients or references.
A Virtual Assistant is a jack-of-all-trades
You have finalized working with a VA and you have explained the tasks that you will need him/her to complete, you have suddenly realized that because your VA is so wonderful they can do this additional task.
There are many VA’s who specialize in many industries, some might be even happy to learn and complete this task for you, but, if not, chances are that a VA will know someone who can complete that task for you.
Please do not ask your VA to do such a task and then penalize him/her with words such as “if you can do this, I will give you additional money” or “testimonial” while this might be great, some VA’s might not specialize in the task that you have outlined so it’s good to find another VA who has the knowledge and expertise of the task that you are outsourcing.
A Virtual Assistant will work on your hours
Although this might be somewhat true in some cases. A virtual assistant might work hourly, set packages and even on retainers, but it’s always best practice to work with those VA’s who can accommodate with working on your schedule.
In some instances, a virtual assistant will set the timeframe for a task to be completed and when to deliver such a task to you.
Now that you have seen some of the misconceptions about the virtual assistant industry, this might be happening in your industry. Feel free to comment on some misconceptions in your industry.
It was nice of you to stop by.
Until then, happy hiring, and best wishes with your business.
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These are so helpful Julian. Thank you for creating this post.
Thank you Nicholette, no problem!
I really like this sensible approach to VA work, both as someone who might want to look into being a VA and as someone who might know people who might need to hire a VA.
Thanks Nicole.
Great post! Love your blog!
Thank you Leslie.
Thanks for those tips. I have a VA and she is the most helpful person that I know.
Have a nice day!
Thank you Emilie.
This is so true! I used to be a VA and from experience clients expect VAs to be a jack of all trades.
Thank you Jackie for passing through.
Loved this!! Thank you 🙂
Thanks Brea!
This post is so good! I am pinning this 🙂
Yes I deliberately did that for readers to get their attention.
A good introduction to virtual assistants job profile
Thanks Moumita!
This is all really good to know. I’d love to have the budget to hire a personal assistant one of these days!
You will Kristin. All the best.
This is too funny! By virtue of the name, a “Virtual” assistant should not be on call to be doing anyone’s housework or taking care of their kids and pets. You would think people would get that!
Amen to that Amy!
Great information! Thanks for busting some myths and sharing the facts ^^.
I will continue to do so Sara, thanks for stopping by.
I have never ventured into the visual assistant industry before now, your post actually opened my eyes to possibilities in this industry and I I have tried joining some organization that will help me be more productive. Thanks for always coming back with helpful information in your blog series of Virtual Assistants.
No problem and thank you!
Awesome article! I’ve heard a lot about VAs and there’s a good deal of misinformation out there. This clears things up.
Thanks Sara!
Thank you for such a resourceful guide. I’ve just started looking into VA’s and had some reach out to me so I appreciate all of the helpful tips.
No problem Angelle!
I’d love to NEED a Virtual assistant someday! In the meantime, I’ll keep at it~
That’s to good to know at some point you will hire out for assistance.
thanks for shedding light upon the common misconception on VA industry….at least things are clear now…..
Your most welcome.
It’s not easy work with VA. I know the pain
What pain is that?
Thanks for the advice! I’ve been thinking about being a virtual assistant for a while so this is some really helpful advice.
All the best to you Ellen!
Love your blog and thanks for sharing
Thank you!
Hi Juli, this one is very helpful. I have a lot of VA friends. What you’ve written is so true and give guidance. Keep it up!
Thank you Chai!
Virtual assistant? I have never engaged oficially with any before. I have some guest posts on my blog.. so I think I can take the matter the same way. But my fellow bloggers who wrote on my blog are not virtual assistants. We help boost our blogs each other..
A VA could help with blog maintenance can you imagine when your blog takes off? You are going to need help.
Thanks for sharing useful information on the misconceptions about VA. Good to know how to go about this space.
Thank you I appreciate it.
This is good information. Your other post is how I found about virtual assistants.
Thank you Vaishali!
These misconceptions made me crack out. VA is an employee and should be treated like that only.
No Sayanti, virtual assistants are not an employee, look up what an employee is because a virtual assistant pays their owns taxes and insurances.
This is great information, I will keep it handy in case we need to outsource work in the future.
Thank you and best wishes.
Its funny because if you changed VA to Au Pair, the same misconceptions would be valid haha.
That’s a good one!
I don’t have a VA but this information can help a lot of duties nice Tips!
Thanks Maysz!
I’m a virtual assistant myself and this is SO true! Loved this!
Nice to meet you Shelby!
Thanks for the informative post about VAs! I never have considered having a VA because I am still a newbie at online business. But if I need one, I will look to your series for advice!
No problem and thank you.
Very insightful post. I heard of va before but this really explained to me what they actually do
Thank you Natalia!
This was genuinely helpful! <3
Thank you.
Wow, I never thought misconceptions like these exist about VAs. Thank you for this post! I learned something new today.
I am so appreciative that you did.
Do people really think a Virtual Assistant will walk their dog? Really? But they are virtual!
Hahah you wouldn’t believe some of the things that they ask you to do.