John get the book you will thank me:
Its less than 10 bucks…
I hired a virtual assistant to answer the phones and schedule jobs. He is a disabled american worker who can work from home. He is also doing some telemarketing and customer follow up calls. Look around your local community, there are probably college students, retirees, stay at home moms or disabled people who could perform the same functions.
Thats cool. How do you forward the calls to him to answer the phones? Whats the average hourly rate?
Hey, thanks for the link. I will do that sometime.
How did you get your VA’s? Do they do the things that you ask through one interchange of information or do you need to hold their hands through everything?
I have noticed that they are quick to accept any needed changes but I am having a hard time finding that independent person. 2 hirings is far from being able to label everybody though, that is why I am prepared to hire more.
I want that type of person that is independent though. The type of person that can hear the concept and use their stinkin brain to figure it out and not need me to walk them through it. That kind of defeats the purpose.
How long did it take you to find those two reliable VA’s Chris?
I mean no disrespect to you as a person because we are all contractors and trying to make a living. Now with that disclaimer out of the way, I think this attitude is against everything my company stands for. Maybe its emotion or maybe its the fact that i pride myself in hiring people i know and people that need a good job.
I don’t mind hiring people in other countries but its the attitude of screwing them over because ‘5 dollars here is like 12 there’. Wow 12 dollars is so generous. I hope that sarcasm came across in that last sentence.
The reason they get my money and every other person hiring va’s is because they are willing to do the work. Are you proposing I would be doing some sort of favor to society by not giving them the work?
$12 is generous considering that nobody connected to me would be making anything if I didn’t create Kings’ Window Cleaning.
Me. John Kleinbach. Nobody else in AMERICA said here you go John, here is a business for you to provide for your family.
I am done justifying myself. I created this thread as an avenue of expression of another tool that is accessible to us and to get feedback as synergy to this tool. If you haven’t tried it you really have no ground to stand on.
I forward the office phone to him via call forwarding on the days he works. We get together once a week in person to discuss things and schedule around his doctor’s appointments etc… He gets paid a small base rate per day that includes X numbers of calls and then X per call after that. We use a inbound/outbound call sheet to track all calls. You would just have to negotiate your rates. Mine are pretty low because the guy really is just looking for something to feel useful and because he is on disability, doesn’t want much money so as not to interfere with that.
Right on, thats a pretty cool gig for both of you then.
Steve, this is an idea that I can live with. I like keeping the jobs here and who needs it more than disabled or stay at home mom’s. I have a good friend in CA that does some virtual assist for a company that provides computer services for hospitals. He is disabled and works from home and can’t earn too much money without jeopardizing his benefits. Wonder if there is a way I could have him do some of this stuff from another state. If I forward my phone to him, will the callers here be subject to a toll call or long distance fees? Just wondering. I might be able to find someone here, but I know this can can do what ever I might need. Something to consider.
I’m not sure about your callers being charged for out of state rates, check with your phone provider. I switched my business line to a landline because whenever I used the call forwarding to my assistant, we were both charged minutes against our wireless plans, now only he is (which I compensate him for anyway).
I’m not sure about your callers being charged for out of state rates, check with your phone provider. I switched my business line to a landline because whenever I used the call forwarding to my assistant, we were both charged minutes against our wireless plans, now only he is (which I compensate him for anyway).
I like the idea of Virtual Assistant. For you guys who have tried it can you give me some examples of what you’ve used them for? I have my graphic design side figured out, but trying to figure out how to manage more of the office paperwork.
I have had 1 guy retype a service upgrades sheet that I give to the residential client during the estimate process.
I had another guy go through a really screwed up commercial service agreement and fix it for me while substituting my info for the previous company.
The most important thing to do is find a couple small things for them to do first. That way if they’re a dud, your investment in them is minimal. Don’t feel bad if you need to move on.
It’s as simple as posting a craigslist ad. Just try it with something stupid. Say you will pay them $5-8 an hr with 1 approved hr. You will figure it out where you can use it real fast.
Edit: buy “them” I mean the individual contractors. The websites like elance.com are like hosting websites that individual contractors go to find work.
I just thought of something important. For stuff like websites or other bigger more important jobs that is hard to sick them on a small part to see how they roll (or if you don’t want to spend the money) you can request references of previous work that they have done.
I haven’t done that for my last 2 projects and I think I would have benefited more if I would have. I am going to ask for references of previous work from now on.
I think I am going to ask for a piece that is relevant to the project that I am in need of and a second piece that they feel is there best piece.
Now you have an idea of a level in which you should set your expectations on your present project, and you know their other strengths for future projects.
