1. No one does it as well as I do. True – many of us do it better, depending on what “it” is. If it is in the realm of the VA’s expertise, he or she may well have a leg up on you.

2. It will take too long to brief someone. Start slow. Write down what you need, make it very clear what end-result you are looking for, and email it off to your VA. Once he/she completes the first task to your satisfaction, you will feel much more comfortable adding a second.

3. My clients expect to deal with me directly. Only because they always have to date. They will quickly get used to your teammate.

4. The deadline is too tight. I have helped many a client out a jam. In fact, occasionally working nights and weekends makes me feel like I can then take some compensating time during the week. It’s actually a treat.

5. I have to share the profit. If you are using your VA effectively, your profit will go up as you can spend more time doing what it is that you are an expert at.

I’ve seen it work beautifully, and I believe it is the wave of the future!

But I wouldn’t be asking a VA to spellcheck my blog comments, so that would not be a solution.

You are so right about Shirley’s suggestion. And I’d like to thing there’s a VA who has read this, made some notes, switched on the camera on their computer and is in the midst of making a short video to upload on YouTube – Why You Need a Virtual Assistant Right Now! And I’m sure they’ll send a gift to Shirley’s favourite charity when the cheques roll in. But if the VA doesn’t know how to do the video, what should they do?

You just gave any VA reading this a million dollar idea! If a VA made looked at those 5 objections above and demonstrated (e.g. showed in a video) how to overcome them would earn my trust a lot quicker. I’m contending with this same issue right now. I have way more to do than I have time. I’ve taken the first step….admitted that I need help.

Jason

The decision to do it all ourselves versus hire a virtual assistant or other reputable service continues to be a long-term dilemma for independent professionals.

What I’d love to see, read, or watch by video, is a case study of how an independent professional went from working alone to working with a VA.

1. What type of projects were transferred to the VA?

2. How did the professional find a VA that understood his requirements?

3. What methods were used to get projects, files, etc., to the VA? Were files sent electronically, by mail, etc.?

A case study would bring many of us closer to working with VAs. I agree that the first step is difficult, but if VAs don’t offer this type of insight, independent professionals will continue to dance alone.

Shirley