Virtual Assistant Business Outsourcing

3 Kinds of VAs, Pros and Cons of Each, and When to Use One Type of Service Over Another.

Are you concerned about signing up with the wrong type of outsourcing company and wasting your time and money not getting the results you need?

There are several types of virtual assistant companies advertising their outsourcing services and sometimes it is not clear how they are set up or how they operate when fulfilling your tasks. Depending on the types of tasks you require from the virtual assistant supplier you choose, you have a 1 in 3 chance of getting reliable results.  With my experience with outsourcing, I can help you classify your tasks and determine which of the 3 types of virtual assistants are best for you.

First lets identify the 3 different set ups for virtual assistants.

Read The Rest of This Article »

Two Recent Articles Offer Very Different Perspectives On The Current State Of Outsourcing

Do you ever get frustrated by media reports that are often conflicting and contradictory?  A good example of this is two articles about the state of the outsourcing industry that were published last week.  It’s no wonder that people become confused and have misconceptions about outsourcing because of all the conflicting information out there.

On the one hand, there is the February 2, 2009 article published by BusinessWeek.Com titled “Outsourcing Gets Crimped by Recession”.

 

On the other hand is an article published the very next day by NetworkWorld.Com titled “Outsourcing on the Rise”

Read The Rest of This Article »

When you bring up the topic of outsourcing these days, it is a lot like discussing politics or religion; heated opinions are sure to follow.  Like many controversial topics, the facts about outsourcing often get lost in emotion and rhetoric.

There are several great books out there that provide excellent information and refute many of the misconceptions associated with globalization and outsourcing.  In previous blogs we have discussed highly acclaimed outsourcing books such as Thomas Friedman’s “The World Is Flat” and Timothy Ferriss’ “The 4-Hour Workweek.”

Read The Rest of This Article »

When individuals or businesses are unhappy with the services provided by their virtual assistant (VA), it is usually for one of two reasons; they either chose the wrong virtual assistant (or VA service) or they gave vague and unclear directions to their virtual assistant for the tasks they wanted accomplished.

Let’s start with choosing the right virtual assistant for you.  There are two types of VAs to choose from; independent entrepreneurs who work from home and virtual assistants who work for a VA service company.

Read The Rest of This Article »

It seems that recently each day brings more gloomy news about the global economy.  Every week thousands of workers are being laid off in the United States and businesses around the globe are desperately searching for ways to reduce operating expenses.  Where will this economic turmoil leave the virtual assistant industry in 2009?

There are several recent studies and surveys that are predicting the state of the virtual assistant industry and business process outsourcing (BPO) in 2009.  The forecast seems promising.  At the top of the list are the highly respected Everest Research Institute’s 2009 predictions for key outsourcing and offshoring markets.

Predictions by the Everest Research Institute include:

Read The Rest of This Article »