From the WHY Vault*

10 Tasks You Can Farm Out to a Virtual Assistant Right Now

If you run a business from home, it’s hard to bring in an assistant. It’s not just a matter of the expense and paperwork of employing a helper, but the idea of bringing someone into your home, even for work. On top of that, you have to worry about whether you have enough work for an assistant: no matter how many hours you agree on initially, you don’t want to run the risk of paying someone just to sit around.

There is an option that addresses these problems, however: the virtual assistant.

Virtual assistants, or VAs, aren’t employees — they’re contractors. By working with a VA, you don’t have to worry about any of the costs of employment such as taxes and insurance. Furthermore, VAs work as many or as few hours as you agree on, and you only pay for the time you actually use. There are a few drawbacks to working with a virtual assistant: because they don’t actually visit your office or home, there are some limitations on the tasks that a VA can take on. Also, prices can vary significantly. You can work with a VA based in India or another country for just $6 an hour, but most U.S.-based VAs charge at least $30 per hour. Taking that into account, there are still a wide variety of tasks that a VA can handle for you.

1. Newsletters: Many VAs offer newsletter writing services and are also willing to handle the logistics for sending a newsletter out over email or arranging for printing and mailing. You can also arrange to have a VA update a blog or handle other marketing communications.
2. Travel Arrangements: If you need to book a flight, it can take time to find an inexpensive ticket at a time that works for you. A VA can handle these details, along with finding a hotel, making arrangements for a rental car and more.
3. Research: Need to find concrete numbers on a target demographic or find a phone number for a contact? VAs take on research projects both big and small. In most cases, it’s just a matter of telling a VA what you’re looking for.
4. Customer Service: While most customer service matters are routine, you still have to see to them. That means answering emails or phone calls — or having someone else see to them. A VA can handle everyday matters, allowing you to focus on bigger things.
5. Bookkeeping: While you have to find a VA who specializes in bookkeeping to outsource this particular task, it is a fast way to eliminate an administrative chore many people dread.
6. Writing Services: Many VAs provide a wide variety of writing services, from editing and proofreading to creating press releases, articles and other materials for your business.
7. Website Design: Just as many VAs specialize in written projects, others have a wide variety of design skills. Many can create at least a simple website, as well as handle updating and maintenance. VAs also offer print design services, such as creating brochures.
8. Personal Tasks: Need to order flowers for Mom? What about scheduling an oil change for the car? VAs don’t have to handle just business tasks. Many are happy to help with personal matters — and often at prices far below those of concierge services.
9. Payroll: A VA can handle the details of payroll for your other employees. There are even a few employees that outsource filling out their own timesheets to a VA — although that’s usually as part of a larger batch of tasks.
10. Anything Else That Can Be Done Via Computer or Telephone: If you need to outsource a task not listed above, it’s still worthwhile to contact a virtual assistant. Even if you’re looking for a service not normally offered, if a VA can handle the task, he or she will. If not, that person might be able to find you someone who can.

Finding a VA is relatively simple: there are hundreds of agencies that will connect you to a VA as well as many independent VAs. All of them have websites. You can even find VAs through bid sites, such as Elance or oDesk. However, finding a reliable VA who works well with your business can be a little harder. When considering working with a particular VA, think about asking for references. References provide a simple way to weed out potential problems before you pay any money. Even with a VA with excellent references, though, it’s worthwhile to start out with a few probationary tasks — especially if you plan to have your VA handle sensitive information in the future.

Also, keep in mind that you’re not limited to working with one virtual assistant if you find that outsourcing certain tasks works well for your business. You could work with one VA for your bookkeeping needs and another who can handle your online marketing — it’s a matter of what work you need to get done and how much time you want to spend on it. The crucial skill to managing the outsourcing of tasks, though, is clear communication. No matter how good a VA is, he or she will struggle with tasks that aren’t clearly defined — requiring more time and money.

If you’re ready to start looking for a VA, the first step you should take is creating a list of tasks you want your VA to handle. Having such a list will help you narrow your search for a VA — not every VA offers every possible remote service. Instead, you’ll probably have to prioritize the tasks you need taken care of and start with a VA who can help you with those key items. From there, you can branch out as necessary — maybe even hand over the search for additional help to your virtual assistant.

--this article, written by Thursday Bram, ran in the january/february 2009 issue of WHY magazine, sponsored by the The Web Servant.

*From time to time, I'll present info from past WHY articles or WHY Xtras in case you missed them the first time around. :)

WHY Xtra: 5 Twitter No-Nos

1. Retweeting without attribution. Think of it as plagiarism in 140 characters or fewer.
2. Having every link you post be for your own website. Nobody likes someone who only talks about himself.
3. Tweeting constantly. The general rule is to contain yourself to no more than 10 tweets a day.
4. Not including a link or photo when making a compliment or recommendation. That is such a tease.
5. Not thinking before you tweet. Remember, as fun and casual as Twitter seems, this is a social networking site used by many for business, employers as well as employees, so keep your comments filtered and fair.

HARO Rocks

I'm researching a story about working at home with the kids for the next issue of WHY magazine. I've been using HARO over the past six months or so to find experts for stories I'm writing -- for WHY as well as other freelance projects. HARO has always come through with good and plentiful leads. This time, however, I was overwhelmed by the response I received. Since my query was sent out yesterday morning, I've received more than 100 (and counting!) responses. Amazing! And it's FREE! HARO rocks.

I Heart Twitter

There has been so much media hype about Twitter over the past week, with Ashton Kutcher and CNN vying for the 1 million follower mark and Oprah tweeting for the first time on Friday. Non-Tweeters seemed more outspoken than usual about their dislike (or is it the inability to realize the potential?) of the social networking site, and those who were the first to jump on the Twitter bandwagon began complaining that Twitter had jumped the shark with all this new, rather mainstream attention. For me, Twitter remains a fantastic way to market a home venture, such as WHY magazine, or any small or large business. Networking has never been so financially feasible and fun! I've "met" a bunch of amazing entrepreneurs and telecommuters and have learned a lot from all of them. Shark or no shark, I'm here to stay.

WHY Xtra: 5 Telecommuting Myths Debunked

1. "No schedules!" Au contraire! At-home workers may not have to punch a clock, but the onus is on them to chisel out blocks of their day for work or they risk getting nothing done.
2. "Too isolating!" Social media has helped take the lonely out of working from home, but successful telecommuters schedule regular face-to-faces with colleagues, clients and friends.
3. "No office politics!" Because they’re not at “an office,” telecommuters can have a hard time staying on their boss’ radar. Make periodic visits to your company office if you can, or schedule monthly conference calls with your boss or team leaders so that you can stay in the loop.
4. "I’ll gain so much weight!" Yes, the fridge is just a few steps away, but just as working from home is all about discipline, so is meal planning. Find ways to fight those cravings – make a bagged lunch, if that helps, and drink lots of water.
5. "No child care needed!" Whoever said this never experienced the stress of a conference call with a screaming child in the background. Although full-time daycare may not be necessary when you work from home, hiring a mother’s helper for an hour or two, and scheduling all your calls for that time period, is helpful when a SpongeBob DVD or box of cookies won’t do the trick.

Sign up for WHY magazine today, and we'll send our WHY Xtras directly to your inbox every Monday!

Staying in Constant Contact

I've been using Constant Contact for my WHY magazine emailers for more than a year. You probably know that already, because I'm so happy with the level of service I receive from the company that I gush about it to just about anyone who'll listen.

Earlier this month, there was an issue that came up with my account, and in the process of remedying things, I had a run-in with a poor customer service rep -- I mean, REALLY poor, the kind that makes your mouth hang open in utter shock. I was so infuriated with him that after I hung up the phone, I took to Twitter with some heated ramblings. Within minutes, I received a DM from a vice president of Constant Contact who assured me that he would help me solve my problem and get to the bottom of what had gone wrong with my communications with his sales rep. He was patient, he listened, he tried to crack jokes -- he did all the right things to make the customer (me) feel appreciated and understood.

Within minutes, my account was back in working order, and all was well.

Over the past year, I've read about varying degrees of customer service issues that have been resolved with the help of social media. It wasn't until now, though, that I personally have been able to experience its power in helping customers get their voices heard.

Although no company should be judged by one poor customer service rep, I do believe that companies SHOULD be judged by their responses to those inevitable glitches that pop up in long-term (or short-term) business relationships.

Props go to Constant Contact for its speedy attention to my glitch. Let the gushing continue!

WHYing Solo

For those who have not yet heard, my business partner Lucille has left our little company to pursue other interests, and it will be just me, myself and WHY going forward. I'm excited, motivated, determined and scared to death -- just the way I like it.