2014

Understanding Virtual Assistants and Business Owners Hiring Them

Kath Calagui

The following is a summary of a survey sent out to Virtual Assistants (VAs) and Business Owners hiring VAs.

Breakdown of Virtual Assistant Respondents per Country

Australia 4%

USA 38%

Canada 17% Germany 4% Israel 4%

Philippines 25% UK 4% South Africa 4%

Australia Canada Germany Israel Philippines South Africa UK USA

Figure 1. VA Breakdown by Country

Majority of the respondents are freelancers.

Freelancer, VA Company Employee, or Both?

Both 17%

VA Company Employee 0%

Freelancer VA Company Employee Both Freelancer 83%

Figure 2. Employee Status of VA

Sure-fire training on how to get a good client is on top of the VA s wish list. It appears that getting a good client is quite a challenge.

One Thing a VA Would Wish For

A presentable profile website that I can show to my clients.

Sure-fire training on how to get a good client.

Detailed instructions on how to become a VA.

20

40

60

Percentage (%) of Respondents

Figure 3: VA's Wish List

This graphic shows that payment schedule is not the only important thing to VAs. Since they would like to deliver quality work, clear instructions of what the client wants is important as well.

How Important Are The Following to VAs

70 60 50 Payment Schedule Clarity of Instructions Changing Requirements While Doing Work

Percentage (%) of

40 30 20 10 0 1 Most Important 2 3 4 Least Important

Figure 4. What Is Important to VAs

VAs recognize the important of updating their skills.

What VAs Want To Learn

Real Estate 4% Quickbooks OptimizePress/ 4% Aweber Landing Pages 4% 4%
Graphic Design 4% Securing Clients 4% Social Media 5% SEO 5% Website Design 9% Infusionsoft 9% WordPress 22%

Marketing WordPress Infusionsoft Website Design

Marketing 26%

SEO Social Media Securing Clients Graphic Design OptimizePress/ Aweber Landing Pages Real Estate Quickbooks

Figure 5. What VAs Want to Learn

According to Figure 6, though the payment schedule is important to the VA, it s the attitude of their client that counts most when it comes to having a loyal VA. They would like to be treated with respect whether it is in the form of communication, respect for boundaries, and respect for time/availability. A client who keeps on changing their requirements can also cause a VA to terminate the relationship. This shows that VAs put value in their work output. Even if the client pays for the time spent on work, wasted effort does not give most VAs work satisfaction. What would make a VA terminate their relationship with a client.
Other 15%

Respect/Attitude 30% Payment Issues 25%

Respect/Attitude
Change in Requirement Payment Issues

Other

Change in Requirement 30%

Figure 6. A VA's Threshold

Asked for other challenges, delay in response from the client when there are questions about the current task, with the client still expecting delivery with tight deadlines is also a problem.

About Business Owners Hiring VAs

Here is an analysis of the behaviour of business owners who hire VAs. One of the top concerns of business owners who are still planning to hire VAs is their inability to concretize what they want their VAs to do. As a VA, having a detailed list of what you can do for a client will be handy. Sometimes, business owners just know work at a high level but cannot verbalize what they exactly want. When a VA has a breakdown of the items that they can do for a potential client, it is easier for the client to imagine how the VA can help. This also helps a client see the details of your work. This helps them realize that what they are asking you to do really does involve time. Most business owners hesitate to hire VAs because they are not sure if they can trust someone whom they have not met in person. Some are actually advised to just get their VAs though recommendation. Given this situation, VAs should maximize networking opportunities with other VAs (FB groups, mentoring groups, Google hangouts, etc).

Challenges encountered by business owners when hiring a VA.

Trustworthiness

Type of Work to Give 33%

Contributing Ideas Trustworthiness 45%

Type of Work to Give

Contributing Ideas 22%

Figure 7. Business Owner Challenges

Imagine this scenario: A good VA will help a clients business grow. This makes a client happy and will now ask the VA to help him find another person to help out in the newly expanded business. Someone recommended by his current VA will have a greater chance to get that new work instead of the client looking for another VA in oDesk, Freelancer or another website. Some business owners had negative experience with VAs weak in idea generation. They felt that VAs were only good for repeatable tasks. Of course, the client is not obliged to follow this unsolicited advice. However, this gives your client a window to your ideas. Sooner or later, your client will realize that youre not just a person doing routine tasks.

Thank you for participating in this survey. I hope you will find the information useful and that this can help you become better contributors in the industry.

Kath Calagui Content Marketing Intern