Why Hire a VA?

Although office assistance in the form of an administrative, executive, office or personal assistant has long been established, the Virtual Assistant is a relatively new concept.

An assistant is traditionally a hired employee, with their own office space, equipment and furniture within a company office suite. They are paid an hourly wage or a monthly salary and all of the employee benefits the company has to offer. The company must also pay vacation pay and employee taxes on their behalf.

The Virtual Assistant or VA does not work inside the company office suite or need the company to supply office equipment, furniture or space for them. They work from their own office (often in their own home) with their own equipment and furniture. Since the VA is a sub-contractor, there are no employee benefit packages, vacation pay, or employee tax obligations required on the part of a company contracting their services.

Many offices already have and use the equipment necessary to communicate effectively with and utilize the services of a VA - telephone, fax machine, e-mail, on-line messaging, and courier services. Many of these have been in use in all offices for decades so there's no special training required by existing office staff in order to contact and contract to a VA.

It has become a very popular and efficient way to keep the business operating smoothly for the small or home-based business sector as well as a viable option for corporations wanting to minimize their costs during this uncertain economic time.

Businesses of every size can contract out to a VA. We find that small and home-based businesses sometimes require extra help but, in many cases, are not in a position to hire a regular full-time employee. You can, however, contract out to a VA and receive quality assistance at a fraction of the cost of hiring an employee.