For the past 2 years, I've been getting emails from friends, business associates, and others about the problems they are having when they outsource their work.
This can be anything from hiring a web designer for a logo or a virtual assistant to do transcription.
The common thread seems to revolve around money and deliverables.
Below are the typical questions I get asked and what I recommend: Who is helping me? When using a service (and I won't name any of them here) to hire a virtual assistant, you can potentially end up working with multiple people.
As the client, you explain what you're doing to one person and then that person is pulled off onto something else and you have to explain it all over again.
The whole time, you are paying by the hour to reinvent the wheel.
DO NOT DO THIS.
If you use a service, be very specific that you want one person - and one person only - assigned for any long-term project.
This would be something that cannot be done - e.
g.
, transcription - in one block of time.
If you find that you're being shuffled around, get your money back and find a solo virtual assistant instead.
What am I paying for? Before you hand over any money, ask what that money is going to get you? Let's say you have asked for some transcription work to be done.
You have a one-hour audio and that generally takes about 2 hours to transcribe.
If you're paying for 5 hours of work as a retainer, find someone else.
Asking you to pay in advance for hours that you don't need is only going to put the burden on you to fight to get your money back.
Be clear about your deliverable and the anticipated cost.
Why do I have to pay in advance? This somewhat ties in with the previous question.
I will tell you that I do not believe in paying a retainer - unless the work you're requesting is going to exceed $500.
With the exception of graphic designers (and that's a general observation only).
any good solo professional should be able to qualify you as a client and provide some initial service up front without a deposit.
I do a lot of article writing for my clients and I generally write one article, let them see my work, and then charge them for that article.
Even if they ask me to write 10, 20, or 50 articles, I still do the first article with no prepayment.
How do I get my money back? This is always a tough one because you have to have very defined goals and tasks in place before you ever start.
Let me give you a recent example: a friend had asked to have an audio she did transcribed.
So, off it went and when it came back it was just what she requested: a transcription.
Because an exceptional transcriptionist will transcribe 100% of what they hear - including the "ohs", "ahs", and "hmms" - the transcription in print can look rather unprofessional.
When I asked my friend what she expected, she thought she was going to get a finished document with a cover page, copyright page, and all the superfluous "stuff" removed.
I explained to her that this is not what she asked for.
In her mind she saw the result but did not convey that result to the transcriptionist.
The result: she is not entitled to her money back because she did not clearly state what she expected.
The burden of receiving exactly what you want falls on YOU! The person you hire is not a mind reader and his/her impression may be 100% different than yours.
So, communication and details are key.
Outsourcing is a tricky process.
The best suggestion I have is to find one person to provide you support and develop a relationship that you can both build upon.
It's going to save time and money in the long run.
This can be anything from hiring a web designer for a logo or a virtual assistant to do transcription.
The common thread seems to revolve around money and deliverables.
Below are the typical questions I get asked and what I recommend: Who is helping me? When using a service (and I won't name any of them here) to hire a virtual assistant, you can potentially end up working with multiple people.
As the client, you explain what you're doing to one person and then that person is pulled off onto something else and you have to explain it all over again.
The whole time, you are paying by the hour to reinvent the wheel.
DO NOT DO THIS.
If you use a service, be very specific that you want one person - and one person only - assigned for any long-term project.
This would be something that cannot be done - e.
g.
, transcription - in one block of time.
If you find that you're being shuffled around, get your money back and find a solo virtual assistant instead.
What am I paying for? Before you hand over any money, ask what that money is going to get you? Let's say you have asked for some transcription work to be done.
You have a one-hour audio and that generally takes about 2 hours to transcribe.
If you're paying for 5 hours of work as a retainer, find someone else.
Asking you to pay in advance for hours that you don't need is only going to put the burden on you to fight to get your money back.
Be clear about your deliverable and the anticipated cost.
Why do I have to pay in advance? This somewhat ties in with the previous question.
I will tell you that I do not believe in paying a retainer - unless the work you're requesting is going to exceed $500.
With the exception of graphic designers (and that's a general observation only).
any good solo professional should be able to qualify you as a client and provide some initial service up front without a deposit.
I do a lot of article writing for my clients and I generally write one article, let them see my work, and then charge them for that article.
Even if they ask me to write 10, 20, or 50 articles, I still do the first article with no prepayment.
How do I get my money back? This is always a tough one because you have to have very defined goals and tasks in place before you ever start.
Let me give you a recent example: a friend had asked to have an audio she did transcribed.
So, off it went and when it came back it was just what she requested: a transcription.
Because an exceptional transcriptionist will transcribe 100% of what they hear - including the "ohs", "ahs", and "hmms" - the transcription in print can look rather unprofessional.
When I asked my friend what she expected, she thought she was going to get a finished document with a cover page, copyright page, and all the superfluous "stuff" removed.
I explained to her that this is not what she asked for.
In her mind she saw the result but did not convey that result to the transcriptionist.
The result: she is not entitled to her money back because she did not clearly state what she expected.
The burden of receiving exactly what you want falls on YOU! The person you hire is not a mind reader and his/her impression may be 100% different than yours.
So, communication and details are key.
Outsourcing is a tricky process.
The best suggestion I have is to find one person to provide you support and develop a relationship that you can both build upon.
It's going to save time and money in the long run.