FAQ
Please quick on any of the below questions that interest you.
A VA is short for Virtual Assistant or Virtual Administrator- a virtual services provider. A VA can remotely help you with any aspect of running your business. My VA business specializes in working with women entrepreneurs who have online businesses, and assisting with the technology tasks such as website edits, ezines… all of the components that make up internet marketing.
The biggest benefit is that hiring a VA frees your mind to focus on what you do best and on growing your business. You want to grow your business, make more money and gain more freedom. To do that, you can’t get bogged down with all the technical details. A VA is an expert in her field and keeps up with the latest trends and technologies.. so you don’t have to. Also, it’s practical as you don’t have to worry about paying payroll taxes or insurance, and you have a larger pool to work with than finding someone in your area.
In this new world of internet marketing, there are many talented virtual companies out there. What makes our boutique services stand out is that we are truly committed to your success. You are not just a number to us. We learn your business, your style and your voice so that we can best serve your needs- and are invested in your success. We celebrate your successes with you. Our business primarily operates on referrals, so your elation in our services is absolutely critical to our success.
Just visit any of the Services pages, select your package and click on the corresponding link to make your payment. Once we receive notification of your payment, we will email you to set up a time to speak. We’ll then discuss your needs, projects and priorities. Then, we get to work!
We’ll set up a time to speak initially, so we can become familiar with your business objectives and needs. You determine your projects and priorities and email or call us with them, including your deadline. We’ll notify you if we have any questions, and when the project has been completed.
Anywhere and everywhere! We are based in Southern California, but our clients are scattered from Hawaii to New York, as well as Australia.
We begin work on projects on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have a specific deadline, please let us know when you submit your request. For any projects that require same day or weekend service, time will accrue at the rate of time and a half.
Our VIP clients reserve their monthly hours with us each month. As we are able to schedule out their time, their projects are first priority. Next, projects are queued on a first-come, first served basis. Planning ahead and sending your projects ahead of time always works best.
We use time-tracking software for each task or project. That means, when we begin a button, we click on a “start” button and when we finish working on the project we click the “stop” button. That generates by the minute time tracking. We’ll run reports and send you updates on how much time has been used, how it’s been used and your time remaining.
We sometimes work nights and weekends out of choice or to catch up, but do not have “office hours” during those times. If you have an urgent project and would like us to work on your project over a weekend, please schedule this in advance. Time will accrue at a rate of time and a half. If you email or call us on a weekend, we will respond on Monday. We are available via email from 9am-5pm pst, M-F.
We can schedule a phone appointment, or you can send us an email. We take calls by appointment only due to the nature of the projects we work on. This policy benefits our clients as it reduces turnaround time. We attempt to respond to emails immediately, but will respond within 24 hours, not including weekends.
That’s a common question. You may have seen commercials from companies like 1&1 that promote Do It Yourself websites for less than dirt cheap. (By the way, never go with 1&1 for your web hosting.)
To be honest, that’s how I started years ago. Go Daddy offers do it yourself website options. I can spot one of those from a mile away. They can serve their purpose if you’re in a pinch, or if it’s for a personal site or hobby. For your business, however, it’s not representative of the quality of your service or product . Perception is everything. If a potential customer lands on an amateurish website, they will doubt your professionalism and your dedication to your business.
The other problem with those types of sites are that they are cookie cutter and you can’t customize them. I was trying to help someone out with one of those websites recently and every time I tried to make a basic change to improve the site, the website program would revert back to the default and the changes wouldn’t take. That was a bummer. 
If you are thinking of creating your own WordPress website, I would not recommend that either. You can install WordPress, install the theme, but I guarantee you will run into problems. You will want something customized and won’t know how to do it. You need to install plugins, widgets etc. There’s a lot to it that you may not be aware of right now. I recommend leaving it to a professional.
Bottom line, for your business- I would not recommend it.
I’ve done the research and my rates are actually comparable or lower to other Virtual Assistant companies offering similar services. My package rates are lower by as much as $15 an hour, depending on the package.
Remember, when you work with me, you get someone very skilled in technology. No training required! If you would like a VA to do clerical work or data entry, there are VAs that specialize in that and their rates very well could be lower. I recommend working with VAs according to their specialty. So, you could hire a VA to respond to do your data entry and other VA (like me!) to do your online marketing items.
Maybe.
I have used those services for certain tasks, and I love the idea of a global economy. I’ve had positive experiences for very technical tasks. You can find someone for a very low hourly rate; if that’s what you are looking for.
The issues I’ve had were:
Time Difference: If the person is in India or the Philippines, the time difference can be an obstacle. For instance, I once sent a request to someone overseas, needing the task to get done the next day. Instead, I got an email that they needed more info, couldn’t do something, etc. so an entire day was wasted. When you’re working on projects, a day is a big deal.
Communication: You have to be super, uber explicit in your instructions. Like excruciatingly simple. It can seem like by the time I wrote down the explicit instructions, I could have done the project myself. And, if they don’t understand and ask a question, a whole day is lost.
My bottom line is that it could possibly be for you. But be prepared for a lot of screening to find someone that meets your criteria and has the skills you need. You also need to be very comfortable with email communication only.
Don’t just go on price because it may be one of those “you get what you pay for” scenarios.
Good luck! 
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