So you’ve launched a great site with an awesome product/idea. You are generating new sales all day, every day. You have people lining up to JV with you, your phones are ringing off the hook, and you don’t know when was the last time you got a full 8 hours of sleep. Congratulations and welcome to the world of a successful internet marketer! You’ve reached a plateau that most internet marketing newbies only dream of. You are on your way to guru status.

But what do you do next? Your email inbox is full, your brain is full of ideas, the programmer needs your help with the next project, and you have 10 voicemails to respond to. It’s getting harder and harder to focus on just one thing. He knows he needs to hire someone to help him, but the problem is that he doesn’t have office space (since he works out of his converted living room) and doesn’t have a clue about local, state, and local information. federal employee and tax laws (nor does he have time to learn).

You just want a reliable person who is focused on the projects at hand, completes tasks in the allotted time, and is there to help you grow your business to the next level. It’s time to hire help, it’s time to find a reliable and professional VA.

What can a VA do for me?

What is a virtual assistant anyway? You know you’ve heard the term on marketing forums and through partners, but what exactly do virtual assistants do? A virtual assistant/personal assistant (VA) is considered the right hand of an executive.

Virtual assistants handle many daily activities such as answering and returning calls, scheduling appointments and trips, doing research, answering emails and customer service questions, managing link exchanges, managing projects, scheduling updates to your website, managing your forums, and blogging, building relationships with your JV partners, looking for affiliate programs, copywriting (very important), building and managing people, registering and maintaining active domain names, and basically making your life and business work better.

They are a group of highly skilled individuals whose focus is to create a win-win situation for their clients through effective time management. They save clients’ countless hours, weekends, and overnight stays by prioritizing their lives and schedules to accommodate family time, business travel, and general sanity. So, at this point, you must be saying to yourself, wow! I have to go to VA myself. Where can I find one and how much will it cost me?

The Cost of Hiring a VA

There are so many different paths to take when looking for a reliable VA. The first is how much do you want to pay for a VA? The general rule of thumb when looking for a virtual assistant is to know that cheaper is not always better. Simply put, you get what you pay for. Are you looking for someone trained in the marketing industry? Or maybe you want someone who offers more personal assistance services, like booking appointments and trips.

I have been in this industry quite a while and have had clients who not only wanted someone who was perfect when it came to knowing how to navigate and manage a website and blog, but also wanted someone who would call and schedule their dentist appointments. and doctors, as well as finding them a reliable cook and housemaid. Typically, if you are looking for a professional and experienced VA, you will pay between $30-$50 (USD) per hour. Some VAs charge more for specialized services like SEO, eBook writing, etc. If you’re looking for someone to just answer the phones and a few emails here they are, you’ll probably pay anywhere from $8-15 (USD) an hour. Be careful when hiring a VA in this price range, and make sure they are experienced (or willing to undergo training), as you will most likely need it.

You don’t want to have high turnover with your growing company, as time equals money, and you don’t want to train someone only to have to fire them and retrain someone a few months later. Be sure to find out your short and long term goals. Most professionals will tell you that this is their chosen profession or career.

Find a reliable VA

The good thing about working online is that there are so many great and trustworthy places to look for contractors. You can check sites like Guru.com or Elance.com. It’s where potential contractors bid on your project or virtual assistance opportunities. Craigslist is another great place to find potential VAs. They are usually advertised in the services section as well as on resumes.

Another good way to find a reliable VA is through message boards and word of mouth. Other sellers will know or hear about a good VA. Most will not want to give out the information because they do not want to risk losing a great asset to their business. Many Internet marketers trade inside information and pass on information about potential VAs they have worked with and had bad experiences or poor job performance. Be sure to ask lots of questions if the VA has claimed to work with such-and-such but no longer does so. There may be a reason why the marketer is no longer retaining your services.

Retention and work agreements

Make sure you have a detailed agreement up front and that both parties know the parameters of the work to be done. A professional VA should have an employment agreement, retention structure, and portfolios of work ready and available to you once initial contact is made. This is a good way to weed out the desirable candidates from the undesirable ones.

What exactly is a retention agreement? Just like a lawyer requires a down payment in advance so you can access and reserve their services, so does a professional VA. They want to make the most of the time you allocate to them. And by engaging their services for a specific period, usually over the course of a month, you not only have their full attention, but also know that you will always be first in their business. Most VAs will also offer a price discount for retaining a certain number of work hours per month. Always ask a potential VA about their withholding arrangements.

Hiring a VA is not the same as hiring an employee

This is an area where Internet companies and vendors get a bit confused. Hiring a VA is NOT hiring an employee. A virtual assistant runs a professional business that offers a highly sought after service. They want it to be a win-win situation for both themselves and their client. Therefore, they have established office hours, rules and guidelines. They work on your time and schedule and will do their best to accommodate you, but they are not your employees.

So you can’t expect them to work weird, long hours, or be there at all times of your day (unless you keep them with enough hours to constitute more than 8 hours per day). If you are a micro-manager, can’t be online often, or want an employee in your office or home, then you should consider hiring an actual employee which, in the end, will likely cost you much more in taxes, fees, and headaches. With a potential employee, you will pay for downtime, sick time, bathroom breaks, socializing, etc. Remember, a professional VA’s time is ALL productive time that helps your business grow, prosper, and reach new heights.