VA’s are finally getting recognition! Visit here to read an article on WebWire “Virtual Assistant Tops Today’s Show Work at Home Business List.” And Canada will be having its first Virtual Assistant conference. Wish I could go, but I can’t even make the annual conference for the IVAA this year – I’m going to try for next year, though.
I’ve thought a lot about how a VA can benefit the environment, but was not able to find as many articles as I thought I would on the subject. I found plenty of articles on global warming of course, the latest being the ice-shelf-hanging-from-a-thread-story. Side note: whether or not you agree on how we are affecting global warming, you surely must believe by now there IS global warming! Don’t get nervous – today is not about global warming, I promise.
But just to use common sense, just look at our ridiculously crammed roadways during rush hour! I’m willing to bet that 25% of those cars need not be on our highways. (Did you know that 75% of all statistics are made up on the spot?) While I’m not suggesting that we should turn our society into people who stay in their houses and over time forget how to interact with other people, I am suggesting that if more people would work from home there wouldn’t be as much:
Not suggesting that everyone should become a VA (just hire one), I know I’ve found that you can get more accomplished at home than in an office. When I worked in an office I was constantly being interrupted by the phone, emails, my boss, other employees . . . I don’t know how I got anything done! That’s why I ended up working nights and weekends — and I could get a full day’s work in a half day on the weekend. Until someone else came in to work and thought it was a great time to chat (sigh). But I thought at the time if I had the appropriate hookup at home and could work from home, I’d get 50% more work done (I love statistics). And I did try the PC Anywhere hookup. That works just fine if you’re one of those tortoises on that high speed internet commercial where they love things S-L-O-W. That was stressful to me because when I click on something or try to download a file, I expect it to be NOW. We’re so spoiled with high speed internet, aren’t we!? Thankfully there are better programs than that available now.
Back to my point . . . if employers would invest in setting up some of their employees to work from home just one or two days a week, think of the savings – to the employer, the employee and to everyone else who has to commute. This is my idea: You say to your boss, “Boss, I would like to work at home two days a week. I’ll gladly take $1 or $2 per hour less on those two days and I feel I’ll be more productive.” You say to yourself, why in the world would I take an $8 or $16/day paycut? You’d have to do the math, of course, but I’ll bet unless you work very close to home you’re spending more than that in gas and car repairs (I think the mileage reimbursement is currently $.485 / mile), not to mention tolls, time wasted traveling, etc. Your boss gets a slight $$ savings which will add up over time if you include payroll taxes and the like, you get to stay home and not waste that money, you get to be more productive because you have the serenity of your home office, and for two days a week you’re not polluting with your car. That, my friends, is a win-win situation.
And you’d be that one person that’s made a difference. It’s like that in anything we do – people argue that one person usually doesn’t make that much of a difference, but if that one person multiplies into 100, 1000, or 10,000, then all of a sudden, it’s a big difference. We’ve all heard these suggestions: if half of the population drives 1 day less a week, uses no plastic bags for a week, watches 10 less hours of TV per week, etc., etc. But really!! It DOES make a difference! Give it a shot!
VA’s take that to the enth degree. They work from home all the time and, therefore, are helping the environment by not polluting with their cars. It’s not a world-saving thing to do, but it’s a start. And if you hire a VA to help you with things, you are helping the environment as well!
The Personal Side
Kitchen cabinets are almost finished. We went to hang the last one and of course it doesn’t fit. I must admit the rest of them look awesome, though. Upstairs bathroom is almost finished, too – new tile floor, new countertop and sinks, new bathtub fixtures – looks pretty good! Painter is here painting the dining room – WHAT? I hired a painter?? Yes – I could watch all the DIY and HGTV programs in the world – and STILL not become a good painter. I’ve been painting rooms for over 23 years (that’s how long I’ve lived here), but it’s very OK – not great. So since I LOVE my dining room and it’s the first room you walk into – it seems to be the most earthy room (the chair rail is unfinished barn boards and the windows and doors are framed in it) – I’ve hired a professional. I did all the prep work, of course. That doesn’t sound like alot, but as with everything I’ve done in this house, nothing is easy. You see, about 8 or so years ago I thought it would look great to paint the room with texture paint – the kind that has the gravel in it. And it did look really nice (except where the wall meets the ceiling and I messed up). So guess what? Yep! I had to sand the entire room to smooth out the gravel. Why not paint it in gravel again? Because of all the smooth spackled spots to repair the walls where the house had settled and where the original dry wall guys did not do a good job. Like I said: nothing’s easy. So Mike is here from Scott Gribling Painting. Mike is the nicest guy next to Scott – so professional and friendly – and he’s doing an awesome job! I would highly recommend calling Scott if you need anything done – and btw, his specialty is all kinds of texture painting, too. Check out his website!
The Business Side
Hire me. OK, ok – I’ll say more than that (I wasn’t going to, though).
Having a Virtual Assistant helping you manage your workload is a cost-effective was to bring you peace of mind. In thinking of hiring a VA, there are certain things you should look for in a VA. You should make sure that a VA you are considering hiring is experienced at whatever you are looking to have accomplished. Look at his/her resume as if you were going to hire that person to work in your office. Speak with them on the telephone – not just by email. Choose a local VA if you would like to meet that person first; however, most VA’s never actually meet the people for whom they are doing work — and that arrangement is based on trust. If you are not the trusting sort, give your intended VA a small task to perform and judge the way they handle that task. Did they simply complete the task as requested or did they go the extra mile: did they give you options; i.e., you say: make me a hotel reservation in (city) for (date). An experienced VA will ask questions:
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are you traveling for business or pleasure?
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will you need a flight or travel arrangements?
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how many people will be staying in the room?
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are you attending a convention or meeting? what convention/meeting and where is it? is the room being booked with a group?
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what type of room are you expecting?
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do you have any special needs – internet service, a desk in your room, etc.
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do you require a restaurant or a pool in the hotel?
Then the experienced VA will respond with a list of hotels in the area with room rates for all the types of rooms offered at each hotel, including whether or not they have a pool, what type of restaurant(s) are in the hotel, amenities provided – and whether or not the rates are different if booked through the hotel or online. You choose from the list and she then makes the reservation. It’s a good little experiment to see how thorough your VA is.
Ask your potential VA some general questions:
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what time he/she would have available for you each week;
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how much notice is needed for a larger job (be prepared to give some details);
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are they generally available for last-minute jobs;
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do they have the background you are looking for in a VA (legal, medical, corporate);
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do they need to have a certain background to perform the work you are looking to get done?
Come up with a list of parameters that you are looking for in a VA. Start looking for a VA NOW — BEFORE you are so crazy behind you say don’t have the time to find one. Post a job on virtual assistant sites such as IVAA.org or DVVAA.org if you don’t know how to find one. As I’ve said before – you NEED a VA!! Wouldn’t it be great to have a VA you trust that you can just email tasks – do this, do that – and it gets done just like that! Searching and finding the right VA for you will be the thing you’ve ever done – trust me.
Recommended Sites
See The Personal Side above for Scott Gribling Painting and visit his website.
Have a great weekend!
Nickey Hollenbach
Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC
484-919-0637
www.ptconciergeservice.com
Here’s how the conversation goes:
Virtual Caffeine 
