I just sent out my most recent newsletter today and wanted to share the text here for anyone who hasn’t subscribed yet. Enjoy!

2012 is Coming

‘Tis the season for planning!

I turned the last page of my calendar today – the first day of December is always a wake-up call of sorts, isn’t it? Time to finish planning for the holidays, time to gather year-end paperwork and most importantly, time to make goals and set expectations for the coming year.

I know 2012 is going to be a busy year, for me and for Halo Secretarial, so I’m starting my planning right now. Here are some of the things I’m going to address in my planning, and I wanted to share, as I hope they can help you with your plans:

• Do you have enough help?
• Do you need more administrative assistance, better bookkeeping services, more childcare?
• What big ticket items do you need to purchase in 2012 so you can budget accordingly?
• Do you need to raise your fees, lower them or leave them as is?
• When are you going to do your big marketing campaigns for the year?
• Do you have any clients you need to stop working with?
• How do your personal goals match up with the timelines for your business objectives this year?
• Are your systems up to date?
• What kinds of training or learning activities do you want to participate in?
• Are you going to attend any conferences?

This list is helping me get started – so I better head back to my desk and work though my options. Happy Holidays to you all and cheers to an amazing 2012 for us all!

When your work relationships are virtual, you miss out on the body language and in person contact that help you know if you are doing your job well. Text on a screen can only convey so much, seeing a relieved smile on a client’s face after completion of a project can be more immediately reassuring as to the value you are providing. Still the right words, especially when the feedback is fairly immediate, can help you be sure you are achieving your goal of easing the burden off the shoulders of your customer. When one of my lawyers tells me how impressed they are with the speed at which I complete a task, I know I have exceeded their expectations – and made their day go a little more smoothly. These are the metrics that matter to me – satisfying the people I work with and for. I don’t need hundreds of customers, I don’t need to have a million twitter followers or to have people post links to my blog. That’s the beauty of owning the size and type of business I do. I just need to make my clients happy so they can keep their clients happy. It’s as simple as that.

Laurie

Poor communication

Poor communication is definitely one of the biggest stumbling blocks in virtual working relationships. Email and phone calls can be great ways to communicate, but I have seen many emails that are sent lacking critical information, or phone calls that are not followed up by written instructions confirming the content of the call and the expectations for the project undertaken. I have had lawyers send urgent emails asking about my services with no clear listing of what they need and why. It’s hard to provide a proper response right away (avoiding delays created by multiple email exchanges) if I don’t even know exactly what someone’s needs are and their timeline! Communication about work projects and assignments given by a lawyer to a virtual legal assistant should clearly set out what is needed, what the timeline is and any quirks of the assignment.

Not Providing Feedback

In an in-office situation, a lawyer will (hopefully!) tell his or her assistant if they did a good job. They may make corrections to their work themselves, but still let their assistant know how to improve for the next time. Virtually this seems to happen less and yet it is an important part of building a good relationship. Don’t feel like you are being nitpicky or difficult – you must provide feedback, both positive and negative, on a regular basis so your virtual assistant stays in the loop.  It can be as simple as preferring different font points on different documents or as big as deadline issues over time of day and time zones (ie. due on Wednesday could mean Wednesday at 8am PST or Wednesday by midnight). We don’t often see the absolute final product on assignments as documents are printed out on site and so we don’t get that feedback unless effort is made to make sure it is given. I know I, and most other VLA’s, want to do our absolute best and anything you say about our work is going to help in that respect.

Calendar Conflicts

This relates to communication really (most staff issues do!) but do make sure your virtual staff either have access to your calendar or get regular updates as to your schedule. A virtual legal assistant may not need to know when you run out for lunch or to get a coffee, but they do need to know on a general level what times of day are best to reach you, when to schedule meetings with you via phone/skype and when you are going to be away for vacation or other absences. This helps the VLA stay on top of her tasks and she may even help you by knowing your plans, as you may set deadlines with conflicts.

Overall, virtual relationships are not that different that in-person relationships. Regular and clear communication enhances the relationship and respect and consideration provide a solid foundation.

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!!

• 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 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.

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!

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!

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.

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!