Working With Virtual Assistants

I recently came across this video. It includes the amazing stories of a number of entrepreneurs that started up with minimal money (or none at all) and became successes. Although the video is quite long, check it out as it’s surely motivational.

Marcus Kazmierczak, VP of Engineering, MayasMom.com
Marcus Frind, Founder, PlentyofFish.com
James Hong, Co-Founder, HotorNot.com
Dave Lu, CEO, Fanpop.com
Karen Northup, CEO and Founder, CoreFino

Moderator:
Guy Kawasaki, Co-Founder, Truemors

Summary

Ryan is an entrepreneur friend of mine. He has a number of different ventures (website design company, t-shirt printing company, event planning agency, and is even writing/promoting a book). This is a ton of stuff to be doing at once.

Ryan is starting to realize that he’s stressed out, maxed out, and about to have his head explode because everything seems to go wrong at once in all his ventures.

What Ryan needs to do is focus his efforts on one specific business at a time until it’s an efficient and self-sufficient business machine, thus affording him the steady and reliable income he will need while working on his next venture. This posting will show you the error of Ryan’s ways and how you can learn from the hard lessons that he’s learning right now.

What’s The Problem With Running Multiple Ventures at One Time?

I once heard a saying that “a measure of one’s success is not how much he do on his one, but how much he can afford to let alone (have someone else do)”. Ryan is not able to have someone else do all the various responsibilities of his businesses because he has not yet organized them to operate in this fashion: his businesses are in serious need of a business model makeover.

If he doesn’t start to focus his efforts on making one business a self sufficient success at a time, he’s going to be left with

• a number of mediocre businesses
• a stressed out mind
• no time to enjoy the benefits of his hard work

Here is how he can change this downward spiral and come out happier, more relaxed, richer, and freer.

Step 1: Pick Your Poison and Stick With It

The first thing Ryan needs to do is decide which business to make a success. He will then focus his efforts on making this single business a success and will promise himself that he will not start or focus on any other venture until he either makes this business a success or 100% abandons the venture to pursue a different venture. There can be no middle ground…choose one!

Step 2: Analyze the Current Status of Your Business

Once Ryan chooses which business to focus on, then he needs to decide what exact steps to take to make the business a success. For this posting I will use his web design business as an example since it seems to be bringing in the most income compared to his other ventures, it has a global team already in place to manage parts of the business, and is the closest venture to being able to operate passively so that he can pursue his other ideas and still get passive income.

Questions to Analyze What Steps to Take:

1. What is this business’s biggest strength? This could be anything from the ability to complete a project with little to no focus on the part of the business owner (Ryan), the ability to generate a surplus of sales (a weakness related to this is presented below), etc. Start with the positive aspects…identify the biggest strength of this venture
2. What is the biggest weakness? This could be anything from not being able to efficiently complete a project even though I’m able to generate a surplus of sales(many problems arise throughout the project), not being able to generate any sales even though my team can complete the project once the sale is made, etc.
3. What top 3-5 solutions would eliminate this weakness and other weakness of the business? These can be broad steps, such as “coordinate a successful sales team” or maybe “manage the projects better to avoid problems that arise”. We’ll define how to take these 3-5 steps in the next step in this process.

Step 3: What Are My Action Steps, 1 by 1

Look at the solutions that you came up with above. You now need to draft a step by step gameplan of how to make these solutions a reality. For example, if you need to “coordinate a successful sales force”, then your steps might be (1) create a core list of website packages that are well defined (2) set a list of prices for the packages that take into account the costs and overheads (3) create a job manual of what the sales team will be doing. Think of a sales method that you can design to be successful in generating leads, contacting leads, motivating leads to purchase, enabling billing to be completed, etc. You want the selling process to be 100% self sufficient. (4) find applicants that would work well in this sales method via posting online, networking, etc. (5) decide on the best applicant and hire them (6) conduct training so they’re familiar with the sales method (7) start selling (8) evaluate periodically as defined in my sales method.

Step 4: Start Taking The Action Steps for Each Solution

For each solution that Ryan has devised (build a sales team, better manage projects, etc.), start taking the action steps 1 at a time for each. If you can logistically do it separately then that would be absolutely best. For example, if you’re having trouble managing projects then you should figure that out and design a project management method that you will follow before building a sales team that will flood you with new projects (and new headaches if your project management system is flawed).

Step 5: Evaluate Once You’ve Taken the Steps

Is your solution becoming a reality? If not, re-evaluate and re-plan your gameplan to succeed. If you are winning, then it’s time to take this to the next step.

Evaluate what you need to do to 100% remove yourself from the business. In Ryan’s case, if he can remove himself from this particular business (have his team manage it 100%), then he can afford to pursue his other business ventures one at a time, making them the same success that his web design business has now become.

I recently read a posting called “Disadvantages of Outsourcing to Offshore Virtual Assistants”. It was posted by Rita J. Cartwright, a virtual assistant with her own company offering virtual word processing services. While her article was quite interesting, I feel that it was rather flawed in it’s arguments against outsourcing virtual assistant tasks.

Why I Know What I’m Talking About

I’m a serial entrepreneur with a number of small business ventures under my belt. In the area of outsourcing, I would consider myself an expert. Why? I’ve personally worked with various tech providers around the world, and more importantly (as it relates to Mrs. Cartwright), I’ve hired virtual assistants from all over the world to complete various levels of tasks that I will describe in my posting (as well as related postings on this blog).

Specific Statements Where I Disagree With Mrs. Cartwright

*Low Price Must Mean Low Quality….Right?

Mrs. Cartwright claimed the supposedly universal claim that “[with hiring foreign providers] You get what you pay for.”. Mrs. Cartwright, I would have completely agreed with you if you told me this a few years ago. However, given my experience in working with providers around the world, I now totally 100% without a doubt disagree!

Allow me to explain myself:

My greatest experience working with overseas providers was hiring a Project Manager in the Phillipines. This provider now essentially RUNS MY ENTIRE BUSINESS: he talks to clients to plan projects, works with my design team in creating the project, manages customer service questions, closes sales, and so much more. My time spent on the business has decreased by 90% while my income has increased! This awards me the time to do things that I enjoy (travel, surf, spend time with family, etc.)

How much does this great quality cost? $3/hour! YES, $3/hour! Now I need to be clear so that you don’t get mad at me. When I interviewed this guy, I asked him what he wanted hourly. I was ready to pay the guy $10-$15 since he seemed qualified. He replied that “given that I now understand the job position, I think $3/hour is fair”. I was amazed! Long story short, he runs my business, works in 9am-5pm US PST timezone, and costs me $120/week. Since that time, I’ve hired numerous providers at rates between $2.50-$5/hour for various levels of task without a drop in quality. Amazing!

It’s NOT true that you get what you pay for ; )

*Running Into Time Zone Problems

Re-read the story above please. My team around the entire world works in the 9am-5pm US PST timezone without any problems. I pay a little bit higher hourly rate for this, but when you’re paying your team members an average of $3-$10/hour, this doesn’t really matter = )

*Assistants Not Being Familiar With The Culture

Mrs. Cartwright noted that “you are going to encounter virtual assistants who are not familiar with our culture and language [when outsourcing to offshore providers]“. In this day and age, the world is getting smaller and smaller culturally. Instead of saying that the world is getting smaller and smaller, I’ll be rather blunt….the world is getting more American. America is the dominant force economically and the world (at least for now) is following the lead of America.

The virtual assistants that I work with from all over the world understand the business ethics practiced by US small business, understand how to communicate with the US clients of mine, and my clients rarely know that they’re talking to a foreign provider. I have clients that have been amazed when I tell them that their project manager is located in the Phillipines, or that the sales rep that closed their $1000K+ project was located half way around the world. They always ask me “How can I make my business work like yours!”

*Foreigners Dont Care If Your Business Succeeds

She claimed that “[foreign providers} do not have a vested interest in your business other than getting more projects”. I can’t disagree with this more strongly! My team knows that I provide them with a solid and steady income (that is quite good for their economy). They also understand that they are a part of my team and that the team goal is to build the business. In addition, many team members are on a profit sharing plan so it’s in their best interests to grow the business.

It’s all about how you organize your business model to incorporate the global team that determines if the team members will care if you succeed or not. This is no different then being able to inspire your local employees in your own USA office: if you have a flawed business model in regards to your team members then your team will destroy your business, plain and simple.

*virtual assistants can’t operate without access to the Internet

I agree with you on this fact, but have never ever had this problem. In my experience, foreign providers have been just as reliable in regards to being online as US providers.

In conclusion, I’d be curious to hear readers comments on both ends of this argument. Share your experiences and how they apply to this argument (either for or against). And Mrs. Cartwright, please do write to me on the comment board so that you can counter my argument because I’d be curious to see how you came to your positions. I look forward to a good old fashion (and respectable) debate = )

I recently read a post by Elizabeth Weinstein regarding virtual assistants. I took the time to comment on a specific issue in her post regarding the cost of virtual assistants. Her exact word has bee quoted below, with clarification items provided by me in italicized [brackets]

“Yes, they [virtual assistants] cost a bit more than some kid from the local college , but this makes sense — you are saving money by no employee taxes, admin, or benefits costs — and a VA is theoretically more experienced/skilled. [specific skills noted in the article included are bulleted below in MY paraphrased words]

• Answers phone calls, emails
• scheduling appointments
• research
• misc other tasks

Virtual Assistants Do Not Cost More Then College Students

I must specifically disagree with the comment that virtual assistants cost more then college students. I’ve personally hired extremely professional VAs from around the entire world for less then the US minimum wage. Now, before you go and get all angry and think that I’m the worst person in the world for hiring people at what some might call “slave labor” wages, allow me to explain myself.

My First Experience Hiring Quality VAs For Rock Bottom Pricing

I first hired a VA to handle the project management of my web design business (planning client projects via phone, managing the design team, handling customer questions along the way, etc.). I had no idea what price to expect and was expecting to pay around $10-$15/hour, as I decided to outsource the tasks to Phillipines providers after hearing of their lower then normal rates.

After finding a number of applicants via craigslist, I found a guy that I was really interested in working with. His english was awesome in both phone and email conversations, he seemed to have a good business head on his shoulders (I wanted a person that could make decisions without bothering me everyday), and he was ready to begin right away. After explaining all aspects of the job position, including tasks, programs he’d use, hours of operation (9am-5pm USA California Time), etc I asked him how much he wanted to make.

I need to be clear that I put the ball in his court: I never told him anything about pricing that I was willing to pay. I’ve learned from outsourcing web design projects in the past that you should never ever name your price first. His reply my question of “how much do you want to make hourly for this job position” was as noted below.

“Given all the information that we’ve talked about and my understanding of all the details of the position, I think that $3/hour is fair for this work. I can start right away on Monday morning at 9am US time”

I WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZED AT THIS $3/HOUR PRICE!

I was ready to pay this guy $10-$15/hour to run my entire business…I wanted out of the business so that I could attend to other business ventures, enjoy traveling, and enjoy less stress from constant client contacts. I kept my amazement to myself when he said $3/hour and simply said “hmmm. that’s a little more then we were hoping to pay, but you seem qualified so we’ll give it a try and see how things go”.

He’s Been Running My Entire Business for $3/Hour Ever Since

This VA has been running my entire business operations (and I mean everything) ever since I hired him. I gradually gave him more responsibilities and I’ve never found anything he can’t handle. I’ve since given him a few raises, and my team averages about $3-$5/hour. Business is going amazingly smooth, I’m making more money now then I was when I was at the drivers seat of the business, and I’ve since been able to enjoy life much more.

Moral of the Story

VAs are not expensive. If you’re willing to take a leap of faith and learn how to expand your team to people around the entire world, you too can have amazing quality for less then a subway sandwhich would cost you in the US.

I’ll provide more postings in the future regarding my experiences of working with VAs. Until that time, good luck with your VA experiences.

*you can read Elizabeth’s article by clicking here

Related Postings

The Future Is Bleak For Western Virtual Assistants

What Do Virtual Assistants Do Anyway? (Article by Elizabeth Weinsten that originally inspired this posting)