Some of the more popular posts on this blog lately are regarding virtual assistant (VA) firm reviews. They’re getting more and more views each day. But after being contacted by Chinese outsourcing firm BPOvia, and then today by another firm in India called Arctern I’m starting to think that a big chunk of the individuals reading these posts are actually from other outsourcing and VA firms, as opposed to people shopping for VA services.
As the solo-entrepreneur and small business market grows, so does the small business task outsourcing (and VA) market. And right now it seems like the VA market might be outpacing their customer base. That could mean that prices stand to go down (right now VA firms in China and India quote between $7.50 and $15.00 per hour). But it could also mean that every guy and gal with a computer and an internet connection can claim to be a “VA firm.” I just got a cryptic voicemail message from the firm I mentioned above – Arctern. I think they were asking if I wanted to give their services a trial run, but the caller’s accent was so thick I can’t be sure. Plus I can’t find any legitimate reviews of their service online.
So, unless you want to be a pioneer in the VA firms you deal with, be careful…especially if you’re looking to trust your VA with sensitive data and/or passwords. There are some reputable firms out there, but even the biggest ones, like Brickwork, still have a few kinks to work out of their process. Anyway, I’ll continue to post my reviews about the VA firms I work with; what’s your experience been?
Well, you are right that most of the VA comp. are not to be trusted immediately, but I feel that there is no harm in giving them a chance on trial basis with good NDA's signed and when a legal contract is in place, I think we are SAFE.
MASA: thanks for the comment. I agree, giving VA firms trial runs with non-sensitive data and non-critical projects is a great idea if you have the time to be a "pioneer," like I mentioned above. If you do you may stand to find some excellent talent at a reasonable price. You may also get burned, but that's the risk…and that's why you'd only send non-critical tasks on the trial run. NDA's are nice to have, but difficult to enforce internationally. So your VA's reputation is nearly as important.
I concur with you both, this is pretty much the same thing I said in another place a few weeks ago.. The post discussed the pros and cons of hiring VAs, but it missed to warn people about potentially getting an assistant you cannot trust with critical info.. Yes NDAs can be used to your advantage and a lot of people respect that but at the end of the day, you cannot always be too sure…