I suspected that Frances J. Harvey’s guest post last week 7 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Help in Your Private Practice would generate some interest in VAs and it did! I’ve asked her to come back and offer her suggestions for finding a great VA. I hope you’ll make her welcome by taking this opportunity to chat with her about your concerns and your experiences.
(If you are interested in writing a guest post, check out the guidelines here.)
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A Guest Post by Frances J. Harvey
I believe the most important key 
to our success is our relationships with others whether it be with your family, friends, clients or colleagues. When you build relationships first, people will help your business will grow as a result. Having a “top notch” psychotherapy practice means having the right people around you. Having the right Virtual Assistant is just as important, if not critical.
It’s similar to clients finding the right therapist. It’s not hard to find a therapist (or VA), but finding the best fit for you and your practice is when you get the best results. So yes, you need to take time, energy and research in finding that “top notch VA” for you and your business.
6 Steps to Find Your Top Notch Virtual Assistant
Step 1 – Know What You Need
What are you looking to outsource? Before you start your search, spend some time figuring it out. This can evolve as you go, but if you need or want a VA with a special niche, knowing this in advance will save you time, money and frustration. Be clear about your needs and expectations in the beginning. Communication is key. Don’t make the assumption that the VA can read your mind or vice versa. So make your list!
Step 2 – Networking
While there are literally thousands of companies that provide outsourcing services, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the quality is good. You get what you pay for. There are some legitimate companies, but it takes a lot of time to research to find one. By networking, talking to people and asking around, you will more likely find that “golden nugget” VA everyone desires. Ask other therapists if they are using a VA and it’s possible their VA will have the inside connection with other talented, experienced and reputable VAs. Word of mouth is still a powerful tool.
Step 3 – Refine Your Google Search
If you are searching online, get very specific about what you type into the search engine box. The more detailed you are about what you are looking for, the better. Google has specific ways they crawl the web to find the information you are looking for and I find just by changing the language or rearranging a sentence can make all the difference.
Step 4 – Interview Several Virtual Assistants
Part of finding them, is to talking to them. I would recommend that you have a ‘virtual’ interview. This can be done through Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangout and other options. This will allow both parties to really get to know one another. Ask them to show you their home office or work space. For a VA, having updated equipment is vital. You can let them know that you are interviewing several VA’s and will let them know your decision when you have completed your search.
Step 5 – Remember You Are NOT Committed
Be bold, step out and take a chance. Just because you hire a VA doesn’t mean that you can’t fire a VA. If they are not the best fit for you, keep looking. Start with a small task or a few things that won’t be detrimental to your practice if it doesn’t work out. Start with a trial period (maybe 30-90 days) so you can determine if this will be a good working relationship. Just make sure to be up front and honest in the beginning.
Step 6 – You Are Not Limited
Keep in mind that you do not have to hire someone in your local area. Remember you are hiring a “virtual” assistant. This stretches the possibility worldwide! With the power of technology anything can be done virtually . . . except dropping off your dry cleaning and picking up the dog from the groomers, etc.
Other Considerations
Here’s a website that has tons of information on what to look for when searching for a VA. http://www.vanetworking.com/ . As you are looking for your top notch VA you will come across a lot of information, especially if you are searching on the web. Some are “certified” or “registered.” While those are good things, don’t think that it’s a must.
Factor in all the information. You may find a VA that has over 10 years experience and is just establishing a VA business of his / her own, is far more valuable, experienced and fits your need better than a VA who was recently certified or listed with an organization.
Pricing will vary from VA to VA depending on skills and experience. Ask if the VA is willing to do a “trial run” to see if it would be a good and proper working relationship on both ends. A confident and seasoned VA should offer this without an upfront fee.
Keep an open mind, build your relationships, and hire a VA so you can . . . DO WHAT YOU DO BEST!
Have you already hired a VA? Care to share your experience with us?
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Frances J. Harvey is a Virtual Assistant Manager and Certified Professional 
Coach residing in Long Beach, CA. She specializes in working with therapists, coaches, and other professionals in the mental health field. She has over 25 years experience managing executive offices. Helping others is her passion and she does it with dedication, skill and a happy spirit.
Great post Frances, thanks! I’ve bookmarked vanetworking for the future. I am so grateful for the day I decided I did not have to do everything myself. I “tried on” a couple of computer help freelancers I found on a site called Elance. One of them has turned out to be an ongoing lifesaver for all the WordPress things I really have no interest in being an expert in!
Hi, Mary! Thanks for dropping in this morning! I’m curious, what type of “WordPress things” are you having your freelancer do?
Hi Mary
I am glad you found some useful information in the post. As a VA I am asked the question a lot about using our services on a project basis and many VA’s do office this. I am glad to hear that you are able to continue to use them form your WordPress challenges. 🙂
As Tamara stated, I to am interested in what you have your VA do for you in WordPress?
Hey, gang – Different VA’s work differently. Some require you to pre-purchase a chunk of time. Some require you to pay per project or job. And, some will work for you on an hourly basis with no minimum. Frances, how do you work?
Tamara,
GREAT question. I try to be flexible in how I work as I know that not everyone has the SAME needs or budget. I do not require a minimum number of hours. So it is up to my client how much or little they choose to use my services. The more hours per week they use – I offer an incentive for the hourly rate to go down for basic service. For advance work the fee is higher, but it is still based on what they need or can afford. I do not require an “up front” fee – as some other VA’s do. I might also add that rates will vary from VA to VA depending on their experience and knowledge. They old saying is true, “you get what you pay for”. I hope that answers your question.
Hey, gang – If you’ve never worked with an individual or group of VAs and you’re thinking about doing this for the first time, I strongly encourage you NOT to prepay for a chunk of hours up front. If your VA or group suck at getting things turned around on time, or don’t really understand what you are asking for, or just do things differently than you like, you’re just stuck with an unhappy relationship that’s costing you your hard earned money.
Look for VAs that are not only competent and motivated but also reasonable enough to know that they, too, need to work toward you getting to KNOW them and their services which will hopefully lead to you LIKING them and their services so much that you TRUST them to serve you well. It’s that whole KNOW > LIKE > TRUST marketing cycle.
THEN, down the road if they want you to engage them via a contract or by pre-purchasing chunks of time, you will both come out ahead – your VA by having more predictable income, and you, most likely, by paying a little less.
Frances says “You get what you pay for.” I say “Know what you are paying for. They you know what you will get.”
Keep in mind that a year ago I had never attempted my own website creation before, nor was I ever on Facebook, Pinterest, Linkdin, etc. I’ve only ventured into this to help me change the focus of my practice and to promote my book. However I am really enjoying writing my blog and “pollinating” a lot more people! I have used my computer help freelancer to:
* teach me about “thumbnail” images and adding “break/read more here” to save space on past blogs page
* create “back to top” function buttons on the media page
* create category widget (I had never said the word widget before a year ago!)
* install plug in Performance profiler that identifies why site may be running slow
* sort out an emergency “help!” when an undecipherable message (to me) like “http loop back connections are preventing back up”
* tweak some layout design issues (although I confess I was able to figure out 90% of it on my own by using a theme from iThemes Builder folks… makes it easy and WYSIWYG!
etc. etc. etc. My helper is “on call” through email. Thank goodness!
What it comes down to for me is this: “What do I really want to become an expert in?” I can tell you, it will never be computer programming!
Mary,
Wow, Thank you for sharing some of the above tips. Not only does it sound as though you have a great assistant, but you have also learned some things in blogging and WordPress. I am glad that you have a “go to” person. And YES, I agree, we are not called to be “experts” in all areas. I have a motto on my website that states, “I am Here to Help, Leaving You More Time to do What You do Best”.
It’s also worth mentioning that, just like therapists and coaches, any one VA will not excel or even provide all services. Figure out what you need or want to offload and then shop for your VA.
And, in the spirit of networking and paying it forward . . . as you find VA’s that are great at the techcy stuff but clueless about writing and language arts, take the time to introduce them to each other. They may turn out to be each other’s best referral sources – and you’ll get credit for the introduction!
Frances, that reminds me . . . if there is something you don’t offer and have a need to find a VA who does offer it, feel free to let us know! We’re happy to help you network to fill in gaps in services, too!
Tamara,
That is so true! By no means do I have it all together or offer “everything”. For instance, I currently do not handle insurance billing at the time. I would love to meet and network with other VA’s. I currently do that and my resource pool is growing, so YES any referral you may have for a VA, please let me know. Thanks!
Mary, I’m right there with you!
Hmmm, I’ve got some thinking to do. Definitely have some things I need to hand off, like social media development. And website maintenance.
Tawnya, if you are interested in learning how to use social media and develop a following to market your practice, I can definitely help you with that. But, if you are looking for someone to actually do that for you, be very careful. The purpose of social media in marketing is to actually develop relationships with individuals. Before you assign that task to someone else – even someone in your office – I would encourage you to streamline your social media time by adopting the right platform(s) and the right tools to minimize the time that you are spending doing those things.
There are, of course, VA’s and geeks alike that would be happy to “take that off your hands.” However, just recognize that that’s not dissimilar to having someone else raise your child. The “lessons” that get taught to prospective referral sources and potential clients just might not be the lessons that you intended.
Tamara,
I didn’t mean to make it sound like I would have someone totally take over my social media interactions. I agree, that wouldn’t be genuine. I definitely want to relate with people personally. I love it when people comment or share and I can respond to them.
I just meant to have someone upload what I designate that I want on specific days.
How is it that you could help with knowing how to use social media to promote my business? Do you have a program or coaching for that?
I do offer 1:1 coaching and also small group coaching to help people figure out what tool they need to meet their particular goals. And, if it’s Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn (my 3 biggest referrers to my blog), then I can show folks how to use them effectively. If it’s Facebook or Google Plus, I refer out. And, if it’s something other than those, I so most often “Don’t bother.” You don’t need to use all of them and you definitely don’t want to start out using more than one. It’s better to perfect one tool than to limp along with 5.
Let me know if I can help.
Tawnya
One of the ways in which I help my clients is similar in that they write the content and then offload it for me to do the rest. This is a great “fine balance”.
Love that!
What Tamara states also very true Tawnya! There is a fine balance to offloading social media. People do interact these days and sometimes you need to be that person behind the screen. Tamara gives a very valid point in connecting with your readers. Maybe it’s just a matter of learning and streamlining. Tamara has a lot of resources and experience and she is getting ready to offer a workshop for blog starters.
Website maintenance is more behind the scenes and that could be handled by a VA if you prefer not to do it yourself. As stated in the above posts, I believe Step 1 – KNOW what it is you want/need to outsource…. make your list, do your homework.
Loving your Step 1, Frances! When I haven’t clearly known what I needed, I’ve wasted time and money. And, when I’ve known but not trusted that I knew what I needed, I’ve wasted even more time and more money!
Know what you need. Set your goals. And, make them SMART goals!
Thank you Tamara. I have learned in interviewing possible clients that when they call they are so overwhelmed they don’t even know where to begin or what they want to hire me to help them with. So I have them take some time, make a list and see what their budget eill allow. Then we discuss how to move forward. It works well
I can relate to that. I see my counseling clients come in in total overwhelm not having a clue what needs to change first in their lives. The same is true when my coaching clients show up – They are typically therapists on overwhelm – overextended and often underpaid – and don’t have a clue what to tackle first.
I think it’s great, Frances, that you will take your time to help them figure out what’s going to work best for the individual.
I have not stopped thinking about these two VA posts since I read them. I want to do this; I need to do this! There are so many tasks in my practice that I *can* do, but just take up soooo much time/energy. I would love to hire a VA that could free me to see more clients, or even better – have more time for family. However, even in thinking about that, I have some fears. There’s a possibility that in hiring someone, I end up with way more work for myself and then have to fire and start the process all over again. Ugh! Even so, I think the possibility of finding a “cyber angel” (as someone else commented on the previous post 🙂 would be well worth it. Perhaps I could find someone in my community who could use a few hours of work per week. I’ve bookmarked the sites mentioned, and will start creating a list of needs, asap. Thanks for these posts, Frances and Tamara.
Jocelyn, I started with the same fears and have a couple of suggestions for you.
I took a look around at the things that weren’t even taking up too much of my time. They weren’t even getting done! That’s what I offloaded first. So, if you can do your billing but you are putting it off more than 30 days, research shows that costs you money in lost revenue. So hand that off.
If you need some handouts typed up but you just don’t get around to do it, hand those off.
And, if you have already built a fabulous email list of potential clients but can’t seem to ever get around to using it, . . . .
Well, you get the idea. Bookkeeping, data entry, organizing the last 10 years of documentation for your continuing education, proofreading / editing your new e-book, setting up some software program, or even getting tutored to use a particular program are great things to start off with if you are ignoring them completely already.
And, while you’re at it, notice what types of things you aren’t passing on to a VA but neither are they getting done. That little observation spoke volumes to me and about my own issues related to perfection, control, and my basket of “shoulds.” (Yep, still some work to do there:)
Also, I noticed you mentioned not wanting to have to fire someone and start all over. I don’t pre-pay for anything so there’s no firing to be done. Perhaps it would be helpful to look for a VA that will hire out for simple projects to begin with so that you can, like Frances suggested, “test the water.” If you hire her to create fliers for your next group starting up and you don’t find her work to be satisfactory, then next time you move on to someone different or try her out with a different type of project next time. No need for “firing.” Instead, you just need clarity and good communication about what each of you expects / wants / needs and a willingness to have a difficult conversation, if necessary.
Lastly, you’ve already started creating lists of what you need. I suggest you give yourself a deadline and then commit to the hunt for your favorite VA. How about list-making for the next week and a new VA to try out by the end of this month? If you’re like me, that list-making aka procrastination can go on forever . . . as I fall further and further behind in my work. As J. Kipp Lanning says, “Fret Less, Act More . . . .”
Jocelyn, I hope you will drop back in in a few weeks and tell us how it’s going . . . with or without a VA to brag about!
Ah, yes… Billing. I believe I am putting off that oh-so-simple task that right now! It’s a great idea to outsource this, and others like it. Yes, I will move beyond the list-making into doing, since “Done is the Engine of More” (love that line in the manifesto). But perhaps I’ll do my billing first 😉 I will update on how the VA search goes. -Best.
Just narrowing down that list to that one task is helpful. Now you know what skills to look for. (Don’t forget to ask for references and get your HIPAA Business Associate’s agreement signed,too, if you need one.)
Hi Jocelyn,
Thank you for the compliment. I am grateful to Tamara for giving me the opportunity to guest blog on this topic! I can completely understand your concerns and fears about trying out a VA for your practice.
As Tamara mentioned, Test The Waters! I do a free phone consultant for those interested in working with me to answer their questions, get to know them and usually give some free information if possible! 🙂 I would love to do that with you and help you to see if this is a good fit for you and your practice! Check out my website at http://www.mysolutionservices.com and my contact information is on the site. 🙂
Great post Frances! I recently hired a VA and it has been a great decision. I started my own practice after being an independent contractor in a group for many years, and found out just how much time all the administrative details can take! While it has been a great experience to learn so much about doing business, I was SO ready to hand some of it over! You are providing a very much needed service to those of us in independent and small group practices who otherwise couldn’t be “in business” but would have to work for someone else. An additional niche for your VA practice could be matching people with good practice management/billing software. There are some really good options out there, but do people know where to look? Thank you for partnering with people and helping them make their dreams come true! Blessings on your ventures and looking forward to reading more of your posts!
Moira
Small World huh!
Great to hear that you have started your own private practice and found good help! I love you idea about matching up people and networking. I would love to touch base and gleam from your knowledge about some of those websites!
You can check out my website and my contact info is available there. Let me know if I can help in any way.
http://www.mysolutionservices.com
Great blog and info! I am not surprised- I hired Frances for her fantastic VA services as my practice is in a growth stage and she has been an outstanding support!
Thank you Frances, and thank you Tamara for providing this great resource.
Kindly,
Mari A. Lee, LMFT, CSAT-S
http://www.marileetherapy.com
Hi, Mari, and welcome to Private Practice from the Inside Out! I’m so happy that Frances pointed you in this direction! I’m looking forward to networking with you and having you guest post here, too!
Have a great day!
Mari,
Thank you so much for your kind words, support and shout out! You are a pleasure to work with.
Tamara, Mari will DEFINATLY be a great addition to this network and blog posting! 🙂
🙂