The Difference Between A Virtual Assistant And A Staff Member

Guest Post)
Written by Jay Fleischman

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.