Ever increasing numbers of attorneys hanging out their own shingle are in dire need of administrative assistance, but do not have the space, equipment or even workload to warrant hiring an employee. Many are forced to spend hours each day on the administrative duties required to keep their practice in business. While you may enjoy having total control, there is only so much time in a day. Fortunately, a better solution is available in a little known industry which is taking the business world by storm: virtual assistance.
What is a VA?
Virtual Assistants or VAs are business owners who provide administrative and other services virtually –through the use of electronic communications (telephone, e-mail, fax and instant messaging, couriers and US mail). Professional VAs accomplish assigned tasks from their own well equipped office, have years of experience in their chosen field, and are considered contract vendors and not employees thereby eliminating the expense, hidden costs and headaches inherent in the employer/employee relationship. While you can locate a VA for almost any service imaginable, common administrative duties performed by VAs include word processing, desktop publishing, contact and calendar management, accounting/billing, reception and travel arrangements.
Where Can I Find a VA?
There are several VA industry organizations which maintain directories of VAs based on certifications, skill sets and specialties. One such organization is the International Virtual Assistants Association (www.ivaa.org). The IVAA maintains a free RFP (Request For Proposal) service for business owners to post their needs and receive responses from eligible members via e-mail.
The Devil is in the Details:
Before deciding on a VA, you need to determine what you want them to do. Start with a list of duties you do not like doing, you are not properly trained to do, or projects you never seem to be able to get to. Better still, write down on your calendar or in a separate pad, each duty you perform for one week. This will give you a framework to decide what you wish to keep in house (i.e., accounting) and what you wish to outsource (i.e., typing).
Since every VA is an independent business owner, the methods for transfer of work, availability of services, and costs vary. Rates range from as little as $25 to $100 per hour or more based on the services provided and experience of your VA. Do not let what appears to be a high rate deter you – a good VA has systems in place to help their niche market and therefore gets things done fast – certainly much faster than you! Additionally, since you are only charged for the time spent actively working on your projects, an experienced VA is very cost effective.
In many instances a VA becomes a strategic partner of their client’s business, offering suggestions for improvement of processes, methodologies for workflow, options for increasing revenue, as well as access to their network of contacts within the growing VA industry itself.
Once you have found a VA to work with, it is imperative that you sign a contract specifying that the nature of the relationship, types of services to be provided, deadlines/project parameters, costs, and any other details. This is to avoid potential misunderstandings, as well as confirm that the relationship is of an independent contractor nature.
In short, if you are tired of taking care of the administrative aspect of your practice, want to explore taking your business to the next level or simply could use a hand on occasion with a large or specialty project, consider hiring a VA.