There has been a sometimes heated discussion this past week across several blogs concerning the definition of a Virtual Assistant. The argument was between Virtual Assistance business owners and contractors to virtual assistance staffing agencies. I threw in my dollar’s worth of opinion because I’m convinced that these discussions are making history by defining exactly what is a virtual assistance practice. This industry will be as prominent as any other profession you can think of in five years. It’s the job of Virtual Assistants to make sure that we distinguish ourselves from contractors to staffing agencies just like an accountant distinguishes himself from the folks who train for six weeks to work at Jackson Hewitt or H&R Block at tax time.
One side of the argument is from virtual staffing agency workers. They see themselves as virtual assistants. They argue that because they do their work remotely, that makes them virtual assistants. Many participating in the discussion work for Team Double-Click (TDC). TDC does the marketing to get the clients and then farms their clients out to remote temps. TDC’s clients pay TDC; TDC pays the temps. TDC is a temporary staffing agency employer similar to the famous Kelly Services; however, Kelly Services deducts Federal Income Tax, SSI, etc. from the paychecks of their employees. TDC does not and there is no doubt that the IRS will have a field day with them at some point. TDC’s wages are not up to par with Kelly Services either, even without taking the lawfully required deductions as an employer.
One commenter on the side of remote temps stated that everything is relative and a definition depends upon your point of view. I’m afraid that’s one of the problems with our society today. Many things are seen as being relative. There are few absolutes. I believe that a Virtual Assistance business can and must be defined in absolute terms.
And so the other side of the argument is from Virtual Assistants. Virtual Assistants are business owners, not simply remote workers. They take on the responsibilities, risks and rewards of an entrepreneur. Virtual Assistants set their own rates, do their own billing, find their own clients through their own marketing methods. They make the decisions about how their business operates. A Virtual Assistant is the professional who does the work and therefore, is the one who gets paid and not through an intermediary. Virtual Assistants have no supervisors because they are the business owners. They pay their own taxes and make their own capital outlays. They consult with prospective clients to instill trust and to present the value of working with a Virtual Assistant.
Virtual Assistants commonly have resources other than themselves. The business world is not a vacuum and most companies cannot run effectively or efficiently without outside resources. As business owners, Virtual Assistants have a contingency plan for emergencies and their clients are not so utterly dependent upon them that they couldn’t run their business for a while without them. After all, the clients are business owners, too.
Most importantly, the true Virtual Assistant collaborates with the client based on the idea that both the VA and the client will benefit and move both their companies to a higher level. If the collaboration is substandard, and it’s the VA’s fault, the VA can expect to lose that client. The other side of the coin is that the VA has the option of firing the client.
Personally, I don’t take on a client if I’m not sure I can give them super-standard service. I’ve also had to get rid of a client because the client was unwilling to even try any of my suggestions, let alone implement them. That’s the beauty of owning my company. I hold the power.
I welcome further discussion of this topic but be warned. Some of the remarks made on the other blogs were sarcastic and some people resorted to personal attacks. I will tolerate neither in this discussion. My position is that once those types of comments are made in an argument, the one hurling invective has lost the argument. Please keep your comments on a professional level and I will be glad to post them.
