I think one of the most commonly asked questions about virtual assistance, particularly virtual legal assistance, is when is the time right for a business owner to start partnering with the VA. There is no wrong answer to this question, as ultimately the time is right when you are ready to start alleviating the administrative burden.

Still, I would say the earlier you are able to start the relationship the better. You may not need a lot of help early on in running your business, or at least you may feel like it’s an expense you aren’t ready to take on. Really though, a virtual assistant can cost a very small amount, especially at first, as you do not have to use a lot of their time initially. You may choose to partner with a virtual assistant who will work with you on an hourly basis with no set time commitment or a very small retainer of say 5-10 hours per month. Even at $40 per hour (just an estimate) you might only pay $200 to $400 per month to have someone who can really help you stay on top of things!

A good reason to partner with a virtual assistant sooner rather than later is that you will be able to get a good system and processes in place so that as your business grows and you get busier and busier you already have a reliable relationship in place and you aren’t then trying to start a search for some help when you can’t find the time at all. I know finding time is often an issue, and was reminded of it this morning when I read Nicole Black’s post at her Sui Generis blog about Saving Time and Money (she offers one solution for this via lawtechTalk, might want to check that out too!)

Don’t worry if you are already busy running your practice and you realize that maybe you should have found a virtual legal assistant a few months ago. It may be hard to fit in the time for researching and beginning the relationship, but it will be time well spent. Just remind yourself that an investment of say 3 hours now to find the perfect virtual assistant for you should pay off in many saved hours almost immediately and on an ongoing basis. And definitely don’t think it should take you a lot of time to find the perfect person to collaborate with – start with my series on partnering with a virtual legal assistant (link is to part 4, and that link contains links to all articles in the series) and honestly you should be able to make a choice within a week or so, just split the search effort up into a few days and you will be ready to go sooner than you thought.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go find the help you need now!!

I’m preparing to write a post series on how to find and start working with a virtual legal assistant. My general plan for the series is to address:

• Where to look for a virtual legal assistant
• How to interview and choose the right virtual legal assistant for your practice
• How to actually start working with the virtual legal assistant you have chosen
• What to do if your chosen virtual legal assistant is not working out

I’m open to any suggestions or questions you may have on the topic of working with a virtual assistant though – so please feel free to comment or drop me an email (laurie@halosecretarial.com) if you have anything you’d particularly like to see addressed.

Also, if you are looking to work with a general virtual assistant, don’t worry! Most of the tips will be applicable whether your are a lawyer, an entrepreneur or a freelancer!

One part of the series will run each week on Tuesdays, so please check back regularly.

I know this topic has been done to death – what should we call ourselves, is a virtual assistant a good name etc. I’ve addressed it before myself and  I’ve never really been able to come to a satisfactory conclusion although obviously I did choose my business name as Halo Secretarial Services not Halo Virtual (although I do own domain names for both, lol!) I even had a great suggestion not long ago to call myself a practice project manager after I wrote this post on project management for lawyers (hat tip to @matthomann for that suggestion – still thinking about it!)

I had someone find, and hire, me today though by doing a local search for “Spruce Grove Secretarial Services”. Awesome!! I rank #1 on Google for that (not exactly shocking – it’s a small city), but I realize I don’t rank so highly for Spruce Grove Virtual Assistant, let alone just “virtual assistant”. Partially just because I’ve mostly marketed online, not in my own town. I did send out post cards to lawyers in Edmonton and elsewhere in Alberta to let them know that a local virtual legal assistant was available, haven’t had any response from that yet. I also think though that despite the fact that many who do admin work don’t like to be called a secretary, it is still a very well known and widely used title. And ultimately, as long as my clients understand what I can do for them and happily pay a fair rate for the work I do, that’s enough for me. A title is just a word and words can be so limiting. So call me a legal assistant, a secretary, a practice manager, etc. etc. – it’s all good!

Anyway – just wanted to share my excitement about the search results and the new client. I’ve had a great couple of weeks for new clients and I’m so thrilled my practice is growing.

A virtual legal assistant can take on so many tasks and projects for your practice, that the benefits might seem obvious. Still, it’s never a bad idea to analyze the benefits and drawbacks involved in utilizing the services of a professional virtual legal assistant.

BENEFITS

The benefits of working with a virtual legal assistant or virtual assistant are legion (in my biased opinion!) and I don’t want to go on and on, so here are a few of the most significant:

• Cost effective, as you only pay for time you need and you don’t pay “employee” costs such as taxes, health benefits or vacation pay
• If the relationship doesn’t work out it is much easier to sever than that of an employee relationship
• No need to purchase/upgrade equipment, your virtual assistant will be responsible for their own hardware and software
• A virtual assistant is a business owner just like you, so they are very empathetic and aware of your needs and deadlines
• Virtual legal assistants often have significant expertise and experience in their field and they work hard to update their education and skills regularly
• Virtual assistants in general are very tech-friendly and aware.  They try hard to stay on top of the latest trends in networking, software and technology
• Virtual assistants are independent, but they also belong to a community of virtual assistants across the globe. If your virtual assistant can’t help you, she probably can refer you to someone who can
• Increased productivity is probably the biggest benefit you will realize if you work with a virtual assistant, as not only do they provide an extra set of hands, but more importantly they provide another way of looking at things and a fresh perspective on improving and streamlining your business

DRAWBACKS

It would be unfair to imply that there are no drawbacks in a virtual business relationship. Here are a few things to be aware of:

• Time differences may occasionally cause complications if you find a virtual assistant in a time zone that varies from your own
• You need to have some initiative and organization to truly effectively utilize a virtual assistant. You may need to be able to upload files to a shared database, fax documents to your VA, or be available for clarification of complicated tasks
• While facetime is possible through video-conferencing or very occasional in-person meetings, generally speaking virtual assistant/client relationships rely heavily on written communication which does not suit all personality types
• As independent business owners virtual assistants are free to let clients know they will be unavailable at certain hours or on certain days regardless some individuals wishes for “always-on” help
• I hate to say this, but many people who say they are virtual assistants are neither professional nor reliable. It is definitely a drawback of this profession that it is populated by unskilled and overly hopeful individuals in addition to the many amazing and talented professionals.

If you have read the pros and cons of hiring a virtual legal assistant, and you know that a professional is exactly what you are looking for, I hope I’ll hear from you!

I have always had an ethics section on my virtual assistant site, because I realize how important it is to act in a professional and ethical manner. Working as a paralegal for many years gave me a very strong awareness of issues like confidentiality, conflict of interest and duty of care. I believe that all virtual assistants, whether they work in the legal field or not, should follow a high standard of ethics. But until recently I hadn’t given a lot of thought to actually proving to my clients that I could put my money where my mouth was, so to speak.

Last week though I was lucky enough to spend some time chatting with Andrea Cannavina of Legal Typist. Andrea has a very successful virtual assistant business which also primarily targets the legal industry. Andrea was kind enough to give a semi-newbie to the virtual world a little advice and I was more than glad to quickly take action on her suggestion to get a proper EthicsCheck certification from the International Virtual Assistants Association.

So this week I paid my fee and took the ethics check exam. It is a fairly lengthy and in-depth examination, and that was a good thing in my opinion. A designation is worthless if you don’t have to have in-depth knowledge to obtain it. Today, I received my confirmation that I passed the exam!

Here is the seal I am now able to display on my site!

Laurie Mapp, Verification Number 09-02-20113

I’m proud to now be able to offer this assurance to my clients and hope that other virtual assistants who want to be taken seriously recognize the value of such a certification and pursue it themselves.

And now, it’s Friday afternoon and I’m going to go have a little fun! Have a great weekend!

It’s one of the biggest topics of concern to both virtual assistants and those who use our services. How much does a virtual assistant cost? Do we provide value? Can you get good and cheap virtual assistance?

There are many schools of thought. Some people want help at the lowest possible cost, no matter what. For example, I was pointed to this post at Matt’s Life Musings about his quest for a $3/hr virtual assistant to help him with his blogging tasks. Matt seems to believe that the typical range for a VA is $2-20 per hour. As I mentioned in a comment at this blog, the typical range STARTS at $25/hr or more. That is, if you are looking for a professional and efficient virtual assistant. Not surprisingly, Matt is already on his third “cheap” virtual assistant and may soon be looking for number 4.

I found Matt’s post through this well written post over at Lawyer On! The Contract Attorney’s Blog. Kimberly is a freelance contract attorney who shares an experience she has had trying to find inexpensive help for a couple of different needs. Kimberly recounts how she posted about her need for clerical work on a message board and had a range of responses from people who wanted a lot of money for virtual assistance ($45/hr – on the higher end for general administrative VA work, but still reasonable) to a law student that was willing to work for an unspecified “reasonable” rate.

These two posts highlighted a concern I have about the virtual assistant profession. It’s one shared by many of my contemporaries (see here and here for a couple of interesting discussions). Virtual assistance as a profession still isn’t fully understood. Too many people call what they do virtual assistance even though they are basically cheap, task-based help.

A virtual assistant is a business owner. Period. I don’t care what you call yourself, you are not really a VA as defined by any of the industry leaders, unless you recognize that you own your own business. A virtual assistant almost certainly has his/her own website, business name, online presence on social networking forums of some kind, etc. A professional virtual assistant might answer your Craiglist ad or elance posting, but it’s a poor way to find a good VA, as you’ll also be inundated with responses from dozens (or hundreds!) of people who figure that because they own a computer and can kind of type that they can provide virtual assistance to you.

A professional virtual assistant is not “cheap”. A virtual assistant will partner with you for the long term, they will learn about your business, help you grow your business and look out for your interests. A virtual assistant will offer you value. You will not need to repeat your instructions four times, your deadlines will be met and the work will be done correctly. If you get anything else, don’t simply walk away – RUN!

So to answer the question – can you get good and cheap virtual assistant help? I’m going with a big NO! If you “can’t afford” to spend more than $5 or $10 per hour, please recognize that you probably aren’t actually looking for a long-term virtual assistant solution. You are not going to save as much time as if you contracted a virtual assistant. You may find a solution that is good enough, and I wish you much luck. If you only want to pay a few dollars per hour you probably aren’t the right client for me, any more than I am the right virtual assistant for you.

Becoming a virtual paralegal is the best thing I have ever done, career-wise anyway! So I was very excited when I was interviewed for an article in Legal Assistant Today about the rising trend to being a freelance or virtual paralegal and I just wanted to share, hopefully there will be a link available at Legal Assistant Today at some point in the future, but for now you can read the text of the article by Tammy R. Pettinato here!

Of course, since the article came out I’ve already had a couple of contacts from people who want to become a virtual legal assistant or virtual paralegal. I know there are a ton of people out there, just like I once was, who love what they do but want more flexibility in their scheduling, or who want to get away from the cubicle world and work with their trusty laptops in a coffee-shop, a tropical paradise or (like me!) just want to work in their comfy home offices. While I don’t mind answering the occasional email about becoming a virtual legal assistant, I generally just refer people to the places I got all of my starting info. Check out the VAnetworking Forum or the Virtual Assistant Forums. Both of these places have tons of really helpful information and both are free, so they make the best starting points.

Take care!

Have you had a chance to check out my guest post on Freelance Parent yet? It went up last week and it’s especially helpful if you are considering hiring/partnering with a virtual assistant sometime soon.

I posted the link on Twitter shortly after the post was published and wanted to note some helpful info that was pointed out to me, courtesy of @Carol_DA (Carol D’Annunzio). For example, you don’t really “hire” a virtual assistant, so much as partner with one or contract one, as virtual assistants are of course independent business owners. I do realize this but sometimes I just explain it later in a post, rather than putting it right into the title! Also Carol points out that most VA’s she knows charge a minimum of $35 per hour. I have known many who charge somewhat less, but I do feel that it is more than fair for a good virtual assistant to charge $35 to $50 per hour. It’s hard to value yourself high sometimes, especially in a poor economy, but that doesn’t change the fact that an experienced virtual assistant is worth her weight in gold (or chocolate, lol!)

I hope if you are planning a partnership with a virtual assistant that you will have a look at my post, and if you have any questions or concerns please do get in touch with me!! And while you are there, read some of the other wonderful posts at Freelance Parent – I truly love their work and they have great tips for people working to grow a freelance/consultant type of business.

I know how important it is to blog regularly. In my first year of business/blogging I worked hard to blog often, trying to improve my organic search results, my page rank and just to have great content for anyone who finds my blog. I’ve read tips from pro bloggers about how often to search – here’s a list of some of the suggestions:

• Grant Griffiths at Blog for Profit says simply blog often
• Problogger extraordinaire Darren Rowse says that it depends on several factors
• Lorelle posted a long ways back on the Blog Herald that you should post when you have something to say (love that advice!)

Still, January is flying by with very little published to my blogs – this one or even my mama blog! It’s one of those things where you get busy doing things for other people (like my clients!) and putting my own business priorities further down the to-do list. I think there’s been a little blog burnout too. I’m not surpised that many bloggers can’t really hang in for the long haul – blogging is usually just one part of anyone’s busy day – even the probloggers have tons of other projects on the go, email, networking, book deals etc.  If we’re ever going to achieve that elusive thing called balance, sometimes things may suffer a little – hopefully not for too long!

So I’ve allowed myself a semi-blogging break so far this month. I’m feeling rested and chatty again so I think I’ll be on track for a while. And I will try to block in my own blogging time regularly in the coming weeks, instead of putting it after everything else. How will you work to get everything done on your to-do list so that you can put some of your needs first? Don’t forget how helpful a virtual assistant might be!

I work from my home in the suburbs of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Most of my clients at this point are from the United States. It’s exciting to know though that as a virtual assistant I can work with clients from pretty much anywhere in the world.

There are issues to be aware of though in this amazing virtual world. One of the biggest issues is that of time zone differences. Alberta is in the mountain time zone, which for me means working with clients on the east coast, west coast or anywhere in between isn’t too much of a problem. But if I were to work with an Australian client, we’d certainly have to make sure our procedures took into account the large time lag between Australia and Canada.

As a client looking for a virtual assistant you should definitely give some consideration to what your needs will be. Do you need to be able to speak on the phone with your assistant? Do you need quick turnaround on certain projects?

Other issues come into play when contracting work out virtually. Virtual assistants and clients need to be careful when communicating to be very clear and to realize that even from one coast to another there are likely many differences in vocabulary and word usage.

One other important thing to try and remember about working in different locations from your client/virtual assistant is that extreme weather conditions may cause problems. You may be busily working on a document and trying to get ahold of your virtual assistant to do some revisions and not realize that they’ve been hit by a terrible store which ripped out their power and internet. You may find yourself watching weather reports with a lot more interest when you have connections in far-ranging locales!

Do you know of any other concerns to consider when establishing virtual working arrangements? Love to hear from you!!