Virtual Assistant - anyone use one? recommend one? want to be mine? =-)

Shudderz

Any one use a good Virtual Assistant? I'm at the point in my business that I have too much "business" to handle on my own......but not making enough yet to pay an employee. I'd love if there were someone to sort through my emails, answer the basic..."how much do you charge for an 8x10?" type questions....book appointments by phone for me (but having a basic knowledge of when to book outdoor appointments, be able to answer the "what should we wear?" type questions as well)

I'm thinking someone could have a bang up business providing this type of service only. Is there such thing out there? Is there someone you'd highly recommend?

Thanks all!

Glort

Your talking about my dream here!
The dream of walking into the studio every morning, picking up a list of what i have to shoot or the clients I have to see and someone else doing all the mundane business work.
IE, me being a full time photographer instead of a 10 % shooter and a 90% business person.

Even when I had secratarys i found this was still very difficult as there always seemed to be endless things that just weren't black and white enough for them to do and i had to be consulted.
Finding someone that could sell my services as well as I could would also be a very difficult task and where I am I have done numerous bookings for weddings without showing them a single pic but a 3rd party booking the shooter is something else because the rule of sales is they buy the erson, the product and the price in that order and I have found that to be entirely true.

I'm not saying what you are proposing can't be done, I have offered to do sales for other shooters on a commission basis because I knew I could get them a lot more money for their work than what they were getting themselves but it may be difficult to find someone with the level of knowledge of your work they need without working with you for some time.

If you find how to do this, make sure to let me know won't you?

Shudderz

I don't mind needing to be consulted on some things. It would just be nice to have someone to handle the stuff that's run of the mill. The first reply to an email asking about wedding services.... The phone calls telling people their order is in and ready for pick up, even if it were a phone call I'd have to return later... Having a human answer it rather than my voice mail and taking days to return the message would be an improvement. How cool if they could even post some of my blog/Facebook stuff!

I spoke to someone yesterday that has potential, she's a wedding planner. Super organized, at least understands the wedding business, and wanting to work from home.

There are Virtual Assistant companies/directories online that you can pay $5/hour.... But they are located in other countries (think where all the computer help call centers are)..... That's NOT ok for me. It needs to be someone fairly local. But then to figure out what a decent rate to pay is. They would be an independent contractor, and not an employee.

Surely there's got to be a way to work this! Perhaps there'd be a big enough market that I should consider offering the service, close the studio, get rid of the overhead, raise my rates, and only shoot weddings.......

kd2

I've talked two two virtual assistants in the past year about doing exactly what you mention. And the ones I spoke to are in my area, not located overseas. So they do exist! They are independent contractors and the going rate around here is about $30 an hour.

I've been considering hiring a VA for some time, but haven't done so only because I haven't determined exactly what I want them to do yet. I considered having the VA answer all the run-of-the mill e-mails about services, pricing, clothing, etc. and having them book appointments and make follow-up calls. Instead, however, I developed a couple of standardized e-mails which I now send out to those looking for information. I also have another one I send out when their proofs are ready and explaining what to do next. I'll still take the time to connect with them live since that's important to me, but being able to send pre-written info has been a timesaver.

I also decided that I'm the best person (right now) to book my own appointments. Since my schedule is very fluid, it's better, easier, and quicker for me to do that, and it gives me a chance to talk live with the client and determine the best location, timing, and get to know them.

I'm most interested in having a VA or some other type of service handle my back office admin and doing other things that will enhance my business--get clients into the database, hande the invoicing, develop promotional materials, make follow-up calls, etc. I know I'm at at the point where I need to turn over some of my business activities to someone else, but I'm still determining exactly what I can turn over and what I could best do myself. That's the hard part! The other side of the equation is making sure that for the price of the VA, I'm able to use the new-found time doing things that are even more profitable.

Shudderz

At $30/hour I'd rather hire someone in studio.
But, that's not an option right now.

I'm beginning to believe more and more that being a VA that specializes in photographers could be very profitable...

ARKreations

Today's Virtual Edge: Virtual Assistant
Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of being in a position to need a VA.
But I do have a colleague who specializes in the VA market:

Contact Lisa Schulteis at:
Website: http://www.todaysvirtualedge.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TodaysVirtualEdgeVA

SamirD

I've looked into virtual assistants, but you need to have simple, repetative tasks for it to really work well. It is very hard to find assistants that can 'think' like you can.

As far as what you need, I could do all of that. And I'm jobless right now. Feel free to PM me to talk more.