Is Your Virtual Assistant Glass Half Empty or Half Full?
Now, I am not looking to start a “Fire Storm” in the VA industry, but more to stimulate some productive discussion - there is my disclaimer:)
I recently reviewed a Press Release from a Virtual Assistant Association (I will not mention names) that was promoting a 2008 survey for the Virtual Assistant Industry. Here is an excerpt from the first part of the Press Release:
“Virtual Assistants are fed up. They’ve had it with inaccurate media portrayals and reporters who don’t get the facts right. They’re sick of exploitive industry outsiders who don’t understand the Virtual Assistance business misinforming their marketplace. They’re tired of constantly having to explain the difference between an employee and an independent service provider. And they’re having their say about it all by participating in this year’s third annual Virtual Assistant Industry Survey.”
Since many of you are Professional Virtual Assistants, I would be interested to hear if you share the above sentiment as this particular industry leader. Please send me all your comments and feedback!
Let me give you my own 2 cents for what it is worth:)
While I can appreciate the frustrations that some VAs may feel at the media’s misrepresentation or misunderstanding of the VA industry, I am not sure if this kind of negative undertone is the most productive way of positively educating media reps and the business world. While the survey is very well done, I think the promotion of the survey through this Press Release presents a somewhat hostile perspective, which I don’t believe is necessary.
Yes, the media needs to be more educated on the varied roles and responsibilties of today’s Virtual Assistants, but I believe the growing publicity of the Virtual Assistant industry is a great thing! Sometimes even less than accurate publicity can bode well for an relatively new industry as it will bring further awareness and expand the dialogue and interest.
I know some VAs have felt cheapened by Tim Ferriss’ portrayal of the VA in The Four Hour Work Week, but let me tell you…. this book has been HUGE in bringing further light and attention to the VA industry. It has awakened many island enterpreneurs who now realize their business and life could be that much more successful if they were to hire VAs…
The bottom line is that the concept of a Virtual Assistant is still a new thing to a lot of people and it is our job to properly educate them on indisputable benefits of hiring specialist VAs to perform a whole variety of pertinent tasks.
On a personal level, when I decided to leave my corporate job and jump into the Internet realm many moons ago, I received a lot of “interesting looks” and misunderstanding about what I would be doing working on the Internet:) You might laugh at this now but it shows how far we have come in 6-7 years. During the early years, I constantly found myself having to explain and educate people on what I do!
Anyways, I am absolutely convinced there has never been a better time to be a Professional Virtual Assistant then right now as more businesses are outsourcing, more people are becoming familiarized with the VA industry and the Internet Biz continues to grow at a rapid pace. These are great days, so I think we need to keep a positive perspective even when misunderstandings or misrepresentations come our way!
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments - agree with me, disagree? Please share.
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15 Responses to “Is Your Virtual Assistant Glass Half Empty or Half Full?”
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My glass is half-full Craig. You’re right on when you say any publicity is good publicity. (Did you say that?) Anyway, I’ve never felt threatened by cheaper VAs because we all fill a need for our clients.
The VA industry needs all the promoting it can get. I feel special to be a VA because it’s still a growing industry that has a long way to go. I don’t have any trouble finding clients and I don’t charge $3 per hour. I also don’t begrudge any VA who does charge $3 per hour. There’s room for all of us. It hasn’t stopped my business from growing. My clients seek me out and are grateful for the support I provide and the specialized services I offer. I receive nothing but respect from my clients. It’s all good.
Thanks for your comments Shari! Love your attitude and encouraging perspective on this fast growing industry!
I take my glass half-full too! I like to think in a positive way - and any notice about the VA industry in the press is bound to be at least somewhat helpful. Great post!!
Laurie’s last blog post..The Cost of Hiring a Virtual Legal Assistant - Part 1
Well said, Craig! I agree that while there are misunderstandings out there, we need to focus on the positives. I have read the 4-Hour Workweek and subscribe to Tim’s blog. I too think it has been fabulous for our industry, although I do let those I talk to know that I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says in the book.
Thanks for your comments Cindy! You are right “The Four Hour Week” is jam packed with some great tips and insights, but like other resources, you won’t always agree with everything that is said. Tim has converted me into an extreme “Batcher” where I batch as many business activities as possible now - made me much more efficient:)!
Whether you agree or disagree with the press release, I encourage all virtual assistants to take the survey. As Craig said, the survey itself isn’t negative, and I believe it’s important for every virtual assistant to be counted.
The survey url is: http://gs-survey.com/s.asp?s=3702&bhcp=1.
=>Donna
Thanks for adding this Donna - appreciate it. It is a high quality VA survey and will prove very beneficial in gathering some good data of the industry!
Craig
As to agreeing with Danielle–I most certainly do.
I also agree that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. The problem with much of the publicity about our profession is that it doesn’t present a clear picture–to anyone. And it doesn’t, because industry leaders are not in agreement about the industry (nor do I think we’re ever likely to be).
And, given that the media doesn’t really care what the “truth” is, and only wants cogent sound bites from us, I don’t know that trying to educate them with positive or negative messages is a worthwhile pursuit.
I don’t know what the answer is, or if there’s even an answer to be had. But thanks for broaching the topic, Craig!
Good points Stacy. I think you are right about the media - our focus should really be on educating the prospective clients through small business forums, events, online communities etc….
I also agree that the lack of standardization in the Virtual Assistant Indutry does create ambiguity, given the many different perspectives within the industry. I think the VA industry might be about as difficult to standardize as it is to create a fair judging system for Olympic Gymanastics:) Couldn’t leave that one alone!
In response to Donna C.
I would gladly take the survey however, like so many of my peers, I got booted out after the first page as I don’t fit the ‘criteria’.
Ah, but here’s the rub - that survey doesn’t actually produce a viable statistic of the industry, in my opinion. You are restricted from completing the entire survey if you are a Multi-VA practice or if you offer ANY services that are not considered “administrative” in scope, such as website maintenance, ezines, blogs, etc. With this ever-growing industry, and evolving technology, why is an “assistant” that works “virtually” not a VA if they perform these tasks to help their client grow their business?
Just my two cents.
Hi Pat and Deb,
Yes, after further review and dialogue with others about this survey, you are right - this survey offers a narrow focus and does not take into account the rich diversity that we find in the VA world today such as Blogging, Social Marketing, copywriting, Website maintenance etc….
I don’t really understanding the limitation with the “Mult-VA” firms. As an Internet Marketer myself, if I went and started an Internet Marketing firm, would I not still be considered an Internet Marketer?
Thanks for your comments!
Your blog post is very insightful, Craig. I think that, especially in an emerging field that’s new and innovative and even a bit mysterious to some people, it’s important to let the quality of a VA’s work speak for itself rather than waste valuable energy trying to make people understand everything right away. If VA’s are visible and out there with quality work, understanding will come and misconceptions will gradually fade away.
I must admit that when I first took the survey I too got booted after the first page. But, I began to wonder what the other 90+ questions were, so after a day or two I went back and retook the survey, changing one or two of my answers on the first page to see if I could get to the rest of it. I don’t think it will be a truly accurate representation of the industry, but I am still interested to see what some of the answers are.
I AM a virtual assistant and I provide my clients with a multitude of solutions to their needs ~ admin, bookkeeping, desktop publishing & Internet marketing assistance. My personal opinion is that the MORE services you can provide your clients actually qualifies you more as a VA.
I’m with the majority of Commenters so far. I started out as a Virtual Assistant and, over time, moved my business to a consulting model (Internet marketing). However, to this day, I am a deeply loyal fan and supporter of the VA industry and suspect I always will be.
Thank you Craig for bringing to light via this discussion; it shows the importance of accountability and an entrepreneurial spirit over “what the media says.”
Do check out this post as well - it’s a good and related discussion http://bsetc.ca/blog/2008/08/21/the-future-of-the-virtual-assistance-industry-an-open-conversation/
Cheers.
Karri Flatla’s last blog post..Marketing, Semantics & the Virtual Professional: What’s in a Name? And Other Bla Bla Bla