Glad to hear about your positive experiences with overseas virtual assistants… especially when there seems to be a lot of uncertainty and doubt cast around.

Can I ask where you found the virtual assistants you’ve been working with to your satisfaction?

I’m a budding entrepreneur, and it would help me greatly if you can share you knowledge and experience.

Best,

JP

Thanks for your thoughts. Allow me to take a second to counter what you said in your posting, as a little blog debate are always good to show differing points of view = )

I feel that at the end of the day, everything comes down to economics. If I were to try and hire onshore workers for the tasks my offshore team handles, I would simply not be able to maintain the level of business that I’ve had…I’d likely not be in business at all. Because I’m able to get such low cost tech labor, I’m able to provide competitive rates to my clients who can then afford to build their own USA business through my internet marketing services. If I chose to stay with US providers then there would be a snowball effect of higher costs and ultimately financial problems all the way down the line from my company to my clients.

It’s not an issue of being “loyal to america”…I think it’s an issue that the world is truly getting ’smaller’ and we (as americans) need to change the way we do business in order to come out ahead of this trend, instead of be destroyed by it.

Thanks for your thoughts. Allow me to take a second to counter what you said in your posting, as a little blog debate are always good to show differing points of view = )

In regards to ‘taking advantage’ of workers at these rates, I feel that this is not understood. I asked my VA to name his price after fully explaining the job. He said that “given what we’ve talked about I think that $3/hr is fair”. I was ready to pay him $10/hr at least, but he *asked* for $3/hr…I think that shows that I’m not taking advantage of him at all. The same situation exemplifies that this is not an issue of being morally right (”is it right?”). He *asked* for $3/hr and that’s what I’m paying him. The reality is he would have likely accepted (and been totally financially fine) with less, but I didn’t try to negotiate with an already awesome price.

After seeing the many comments on this post with differing view points, I wanted to respond to some comments (see threaded comments above) and also suggest something to all readers of this blog.

I suggest you read “a whole new mind” by Daniel Pink. It suggests an interest concept that a brain (i.e. thinking) cannot be outsourced as easily as a process (such as how to design a website, conduct internet marketing processes, etc.). The Americans I hire are hired for their creative thinking, understanding of American attitudes, etc. The foreign people I hire are to conduct defined processes that require little creative thinking at all. That is why they can be hired for such low rates…I’m paying for their time (which is cheap in their particular economy), *not* their creative thinking.

Daniel Pink brings up an interesting point that I truly feel is inevitable. Anything…and I mean ANYTHING….that can be formed into a set of instructions or a defined process (such as steps to creating a website, how your want software to function, sales campaign management, email responses, and tons more) WILL be outsourced. It’s only a matter of time.

I’m not taking a stand for or against outsourcing *current* American jobs overseas…I’m young and am simply preparing myself to not get destroyed by the trend that I’m convinced is coming. The entire US working population needs to realize that technology will and is abolishing the feasibility of our “US Economy”…we’re now a world economy with a global employee pool. That’s simply the reality…it’s not my decision.

Americans need to change the ways in which we work, think, and live in order to come out on top of this trend. We’ve faced challenges before and come out ahead…lets do it again.

It’s great to see so many new viewpoints on this board = )

It’s just reality that Americans cannot compete with $2.00 an hour, less than what some Americans pay to ride a bus! And every time I see a posting from an American company looking to pay someone this type of rate for all of the work that they are doing it angers me. And one of the reasons is, not only do I feel that there is no loyalty to America and the sustainability of Americans and America’s economic outlook, but Americans businesses KNOW that they are taking advantage of the individuals who are doing this work at these rates. They know the true value of this labor.

So, while it may be great for business, operations are running smoothly, and you are getting more than you’ve paid for in many instances (and in some instances you do find that you got what you paid for) is it right? As a business owner, I could subcontract to an offshore VA and still make a good rate, but could I feel good about doing this? No, I couldn’t. And I”m not passing judgment on those that do hire offshore workers. I’m simply saying that it is my opinion and saying what is right for me.

I am glad for the opportunity to have respectful dialog on the subject and wish everyone, on both sides, good luck, prosperity, peace and blessings!

Evelyn Mack
Emackulate Assistants
http://www.emackulate.wordpresss.com

Good for you that you’ve had such success. Maybe we could all be as successful if businesses in the US kept their business HERE and we took care of each other. Just my humble opinion! Thanks for making us all think.

Congratulations on establishing a team of offshore experts. I’m curious as to why you didn’t consider using onshore virtual assistants. Was it the cost? As an American, do you feel that onshore virtual assistants can afford to work for $3.00/hr? You also didn’t address the language barrier. Since English is not offshore virtual assistants first language, has that ever been a problem for you? It’s great that you have had success with offshore assistants. I recently read a blog post where a virtual assistant was fired because of language barrier. You can read it here: http://www.stephanspencer.com/email/i-just-fired-my-virtual-assistant

By the way, I’m Ms. Cartwright but you can call me Rita. Thank you for the respect.