There’s a point (there are actually probably several, but I want to address just one today) at which a client’s need doesn’t fit well with the Virtual Assistant model. That’s when the client’s need for administrative help becomes so great that he really should, for financial and/or legal reasons, hire an employee.
Where’s that line? It’s going to be different for different people. But I’ll say that, in my view, any client with a Virtual Assistant whose fee is $50+ per hour, and who is consistently needing more than 10 hours/week is probably financially better off hiring an employee (even a virtual one). And at the point that he reaches or surpasses 20 hours/week, he’s probably legally better off as well.
The financial argument is simple. Number of hours X cost of hours will always tell the tale in terms of how smart using a model is. And in most places, it wouldn't it be as costly to have an employee as it would cost to pay a Virtual Assistant.
To quote myself, "Virtual Assistance was never created to be the inexpensive alternative to hiring employees, but the convenient, efficient and cost effective one." I've said that so often, I can say it in my sleep. And it's 100% true. And, like any other "convenience" model (think 7-11), there's a premium paid for it.
Is it convenient? You bet--there's a lot of ease involved with this model. Is it efficient? Absolutely. Is it cost effective? Only up to a point. And the savvy business person has to seriously define for himself where ease/convenience becomes foolhardiness. That’s where the rubber has to meet the road.
I also understand that many people want to disregard tax law as “law.” But it is law, and breaking it can have serious consequences. Having the IRS determine that someone paid as a contractor is actually an employee has the possibility of crippling a business. So the less that the client/VA relationship looks like employment, the better. I’m betting that retaining the services of a Virtual Assistant beyond what the “work” world knows to be “regular part time” hours might make it look too much like employment.
I know I don’t want to test that theory. And I’m betting most of the client population wouldn’t, either.
Now, we could argue that a client would rarely need ONE Virtual Assistant for all that time, and that it might be smart to suggest to him that he build a team. I absolutely support that suggestion. It moves things back into the convenient, efficient, and cost-effective space, because there's no way to ever get a whole team's talent in one employee, so it removes both the financial and legal challenges in one fell swoop.
But I've talked with more than my share of clients recently who want ONE person for GOBS of hours. GOBS, I tell you. So they do exist, and there's a likelihood that if you haven't run into one of them, you will.
Is it your job, as a Virtual Assistant, to tell a client how to structure his business to get his support needs met, how to spend his money, or how to protect himself legally? Possibly not. But it’s smart to have the conversation as it’s merited, just in the same way you’d have a conversation about the best ways for a client to achieve any other goal he may have.
At the end of the day, a client has the right and responsibility to make his own decisions. And overpaying for his admin needs, or running the risk of having his practices scrutinized by the Feds are choices he needs to make—or walk away from.
But you show yourself as a consummate professional when you’re willing to have the conversation, even as you know that it might mean that he’ll make a different decision that could lead him away from your practice.
Bit O’Moxie: Standing for the client is always a fabulous idea. Remember, when you stand for the client, you ultimately stand for yourself and your practice, too.
There are a lot of difference between hiring and a virtual assistant. Thank you very much for this article because now, people will realize their difference, strengths and weaknesses. Those are the important things that people should know just in case they would have a hard time choosing from hiring against virtual assistant.
Thank you very much for sharing this!
Alex
Posted by: Alex | May 21, 2010 at 09:36 PM