What you really need is a VA who is self-employed – not employed by an agency. A self-employed VA has the interests of their customers at heart and are not going to be re-assigned to someone else.

I have clients I’ve been working with for over 10 years, we have a good working relationship and I am, for all intents and purposes, their personal assistant.

Perhaps the biggest problem with them was that after putting in my dues to get acquainted with the VA and ‘training’ them appropriately, they got promoted or reallocated and I had to start from scratch. This happened at least 3 times in a less than 3 months. Unfortunately, I can see that happening at other firms as well. It might be tough, but see if you can ask your VA company to commit to the same VA for some period of time (I would have liked 6 months).

It was definitely an interesting experience which I’ve gone through in different forms with other companies/VAs, and was compelled enough to write about it:

http://www.untethereddreams.com/advice/2010/01/11/post-mortem-on-getfriday-virtual-assistant-company.html

Cheers!

Thanks in advance to everyone and thanks to Tim for writing a very inspirational and educational book.

I manage a team in 15 countries, which includes the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand and some European countries.

You need to weigh up whether the time factor (your timing or theirs) is important to your getting the work done. Those in other countries, Joey, are not usually going to sit up in the early hours of the morning, or very late at night, to fit in with your normal workday. The reality of getting someone working virtually with and for you means that they are working virtually – away from your premises, and often outside of your timing. If you need someone in the same timezone to you then you need to look closer to home to outsource. Of course that also means the rates are going to be quite different too – they have the same costs of living as you.

My main issue with GetFriday is that they are working during ‘normal’ business hours. As soon as six o’clock hits, I’m just getting started with the ‘tasks’ I need to be done, but I have to wait until the next day. Even worse, come Friday, they’re nowhere to be found!

It looks like China will be a better fit for me, but time difference aside, the quality of work and price need to be improved at GetFriday.

Tim, although the experience wasn’t the best, I want to thank you for introducing me to the world of outsourcing. I am truly greatful.