By Danielle Keister, The Relief Virtual Assistance
Administrative Support for Attorneys & Consultants
The other day I heard from an attorney who was looking for a Virtual Assistant to help him in his bankruptcy practice. It became immediately clear he was operating under several misconceptions, but primarily that Virtual Assistants are a form of cheap employee labor you don’t have to pay taxes on.
He about had a heart attack when I informed him that the average rate range of Virtual Assistants was between $35-$70 per hour. When I inquired as to what his expectation was, he explained that even at $35 per hour, he wasn’t in any position to afford $72,000 a year for someone to assist him 40 hours a week.
Whoa! Hang on there! Let me clear up this medical emergency.
When you work with a Virtual Assistant, you are working with an independent service provider-not an employee. Therefore, how and when you work together isn’t going to look anything like the way you work with an employee. You aren’t “employing” us for a part-time or full-time work week. Rather, Virtual Assistants offer strategic support delivered on a monthly basis.
Virtual Assistance is the best fit for solo and small practice attorneys who don’t have the time, space, budget or a large enough workload to warrant hiring an in-house assistant. Unlike project-oriented secretarial services and freelancers, Virtual Assistants work with clients in ongoing, collaborative relationship, with a typical commitment from the client of between 10-30 hours per month.
A Virtual Assistant’s services will allow you to focus your efforts on your main income-generating activities-client work and marketing. Using average figures, let’s say you decide to retain a Virtual Assistant for 20 hours a month. If paying a simple $900 retainer each month allowed you to be more focused, get more efficient, increase the number of billable hours you have available, and at a minimum could potentially increase your revenue by even $50,000 a year, wouldn’t you think that was a pretty worthwhile investment?
So how can solo and small practice attorneys afford to have the help they need? I say-how can they afford not to? Because mark my words, your practice will never grow beyond where it is today by trying to do it all yourself.
Danielle Keister, a virtual assistant providing services to the legal industry, can be reached at service@therelief.com.
Unlike hiring an employee, you don’t have to deal with the complications of having to deal with one, like insurance and legal responsibilities. You don’t need to pay virtual assistants vacation time, sick leaves and premium time for holidays. You also don’t have to pay them for their medical and dental benefits. Virtual assistants operate remotely hence; you wouldn’t need extra computers, desks, phones for their use. You can also have more focus on your business since you are freed from the mundane tasks that are inherent to your business. You also have the freedom of having to work from any location since you can always contact your virtual assistants and have them do what you want to be done. Virtual assistants can really give you more time to pursue other activities.
Unlike hiring an employee, you don’t have to deal with the complications of having to deal with one, like insurance and legal responsibilities. You don’t need to pay virtual assistants vacation time, sick leaves and premium time for holidays. You also don’t have to pay them for their medical and dental benefits. Virtual assistants operate remotely hence; you wouldn’t need extra computers, desks, phones for their use. You can also have more focus on your business since you are freed from the mundane tasks that are inherent to your business. You also have the freedom of having to work from any location since you can always contact your virtual assistants and have them do what you want to be done. Virtual assistants can really give you more time to pursue other activities.
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Regards,
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