The Rise of Virtual Assistants

The concept of virtual assistants entered the business mainstream in 2009, popularised by Tim Ferriss in his best-selling book The 4-Hour Work Week. Ferriss championed the idea of outsourcing repetitive or time-consuming tasks to offshore contractors—freeing up entrepreneurs to focus on high-value work and spend more time on personal pursuits like travel and creative thinking.

The idea caught on quickly. Since then, virtual assistant (VA) services have exploded in popularity, with thousands of freelancers and agencies offering support. But with so many options, finding the right fit—whether it’s a person or a service model—can be daunting.

And it’s a decision worth getting right. The average entrepreneur spends over a third of their workweek on admin tasks, pulling them away from strategic priorities. If that sounds familiar, a virtual assistant could be the productivity solution your business needs.

What Is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant (VA) is a remote professional who supports executives, managers, or teams by taking on a wide range of administrative or specialised tasks. Some may refer to them as virtual executive assistants, although the scope and skills can vary.

Despite the word “virtual,” these assistants are real people providing real value—often as capable as in-house team members. What makes them different is that they work remotely, with no need for office space or traditional employment overheads.

Powered by high-speed internet, cloud-based systems, and remote collaboration tools like Slack and Zoom, VAs have become an accessible and effective alternative to in-house staff—especially for fast-moving startups and lean teams.

Why Hire a Virtual Assistant?

If your time is consumed by admin work and you’re falling behind on strategic initiatives, it may be time to hire a virtual assistant. Many founders and leaders try to do it all—believing they’re saving money—but end up overloaded and burnt out.

Eventually, business growth stalls. Key responsibilities are delayed, customer service suffers, and data management falls apart. If any of the following signs feel familiar, it’s time to delegate:

Signs You Need a Virtual Assistant:

• Sales have plateaued
• You're overwhelmed with admin
• Customer service is slipping
• You're not following up on leads
• Key staff are burning out or leaving
• Invoicing and payments are delayed
• You’re missing out on family time or personal priorities

Hiring a VA can help reclaim your time and restore focus—without the complexity of hiring another full-time employee.

What Can a Virtual Assistant Do?

Virtual assistants can support nearly every area of your business, from executive support to marketing, operations, and even personal life management.

a. Executive Administration

Executives often spend up to 16 hours per week on tasks like email, scheduling, and travel planning. That’s nearly 40% of their week consumed by non-strategic admin work.

Common admin tasks VAs handle:

• Calendar and meeting management
• Email inbox organisation
• Travel bookings and logistics
• Expense report preparation
• Data entry
• Templated document creation
• Network and stakeholder communication

They also reduce “context switching” (jumping between unrelated tasks), helping you stay focused on higher-value work.

Who benefits?

• Venture capitalists scheduling pitch meetings
• Sales leaders coordinating with prospects
• HR managers arranging interviews
• Real estate professionals booking viewings

b. Sales & Marketing Support

Studies show sales reps spend only 11–36% of their time actually selling. The rest is lost to admin, CRM updates, and internal communication.

Sales VA tasks:

• CRM updates and data entry
• Lead sourcing and research
• Prospecting and email follow-ups
• Managing email campaigns
• Social media DMs and comments

Marketing teams are also bogged down with routine tasks. According to HubSpot, marketers spend 16+ hours per week on admin alone.

Marketing VA tasks:

• Scheduling social posts
• Monitoring email inboxes and live chats
• Updating sales materials
• Supporting SEO tasks
• Tracking content deadlines and campaigns
• Reporting and analytics

A sales or marketing VA frees up time for creative and strategic work—improving both efficiency and outcomes.

c. Back-Office Operations

Back-office work is critical, but it’s often time-consuming and easy to neglect.

Executives typically spend:

• 8 hours/week drafting templates and proposals
• 7 hours/month on bookkeeping tasks
• 20 days/year chasing unpaid invoices

Back-office VA responsibilities:

• Bookkeeping and invoicing
• Payment processing and collections
• CRM and compliance updates
• HR and payroll documentation
• Report generation
• Data cleaning and entry

Delegating these tasks helps you protect cash flow, improve accuracy, and stay compliant.

d. Personal Life Tasks

Executives spend up to 25% of their workday handling personal matters. And with remote work, the line between work and home is increasingly blurred.

Personal tasks VAs can handle:

• Booking travel and managing itineraries
• Scheduling appointments and fitness sessions
• Sending gifts or ordering groceries
• Paying bills
• Managing personal calendars

This kind of support increases productivity and work-life balance.

f. Specialised Skills

Some VAs bring deep expertise in areas that require formal training—far beyond general admin.

Examples of specialised VA roles:

• Web design and development
• Graphic design
• SEO and content writing
• Accounting and finance
• Project management

In these cases, the assistant becomes an extension of your core team—handling specialised work on a regular basis.

Final Thoughts

With more than 25,000 virtual assistant services out there, it's easy to get overwhelmed. The key is to identify what kind of help you need, how much oversight you're willing to provide, and which hiring model suits your goals and budget.

Virtual assistants aren’t just a temporary fix—they’re a powerful, flexible way to scale your team, boost efficiency, and reclaim your time.

Need help finding a virtual assistant you won’t need to micromanage? Let’s talk.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Virtual Assistant?

The short answer? It depends.

The cost of hiring a virtual assistant varies based on:

• The nature and complexity of the work
• The type of working relationship you want
• How much control and oversight you prefer
• The time you're willing to invest in training and management

There are three main ways to hire a virtual assistant, each with different pricing models, service levels, and trade-offs:

1. Hiring a Freelance Virtual Assistant

Cost Range:

• Offshore freelancers: As low as $2–$10/hour
• Onshore freelancers: From $20/hour and up

You can hire freelancers via platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Craigslist, or job boards like Indeed. This is usually the lowest-cost option but comes with more responsibility on your end.

Best suited for:

• Short-term or one-off projects
• Simple, task-based work
• When you're willing to manage quality control, communication, and training directly
• When you’re seeking niche or specialised skills

Things to keep in mind:

• You’re managing them directly, including onboarding and oversight
• Skill levels and communication quality can vary
• Time zone differences may slow down collaboration
• Expect some trial and error before things run smoothly

2. Working with a Contract Virtual Assistant Agency

Cost Range:

• Offshore agencies: Typically $20–$30/hour
• US-based agencies: Range from $30 to over $100/hour

Contract agencies maintain a roster of pre-vetted assistants and match them to your business needs. You typically pay a monthly retainer or hourly rate. These assistants may work with multiple clients.

Best suited for:

• Ongoing administrative support
• Businesses willing to build a working relationship over time
• Clients ready to manage their VA’s training and daily workflow
• Those who want to choose from a pool of pre-vetted candidates

Keep in mind:

• You still oversee quality and daily communication
• The agency may act more like a staffing service than a partner
• Some agencies offer broader business services—not just VAs—so they may lack focus in this area

3. Hiring a Managed Virtual Assistant Service

Cost Range:

Hiring a Virtual Assistant through a Managed Service like Remote Office offers the highest level of support. Managed services hire, train, and manage your virtual assistant for you. You’ll often be assigned a dedicated account manager to handle performance, communication, and process documentation.

Best suited for:

• Executive support, sales assistance, or back-office operations
• Teams seeking a white-glove experience with minimal oversight
• Businesses that want predictable outcomes and continuity
• Founders and execs who don’t want to manage another team member

What’s included:

• A primary VA trained in your tools and systems
• Support from a backup assistant in case of absence
• Quality control and ongoing coaching from a client success manager
• Established systems for onboarding, reporting, and optimisation

This is the closest alternative to hiring an in-house assistant—without the overhead.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right VA model depends on your budget, business goals, and appetite for management. If you’re comfortable being hands-on, a freelancer might suffice. But if you’re scaling fast and need reliable support without micromanaging, a managed VA service offers the best balance of cost, convenience, and consistency.

Best Way to Hire a Virtual assistant

Option 1: Hiring a Freelance Virtual Assistant Directly

If you're considering hiring a freelancer, you can find virtual assistants through job boards or marketplaces. Rates vary widely — from as low as $2 per hour on niche platforms to $10 per hour or more on sites like Upwork.

The trade-off? You save on cost but invest more of your time in managing and overseeing the VA.

Benefits of Hiring Freelancers:

• Lower hourly rates
• Full control over how and when work is done
• Flexibility to set your own hours
• Access to specialised skills (e.g. web development, graphic design)
• Possibility to find local freelancers for in-person tasks like deliveries or errands

Drawbacks of Hiring Freelancers:

• Time-consuming recruitment, vetting, and interviewing process
• You’ll need to invest in training, project management, and performance oversight
• You’re responsible for payroll and legal compliance, especially for offshore hires
• If it doesn’t work out, the process starts from scratch
• No guarantees around data, device, or network security
• May need to purchase software or tools for the VA
• It can be hard to find someone with proven VA skills
• Freelancers often juggle multiple clients, so availability can be limited
• You must clearly define job roles and required skills — a challenge if this is your first hire

Option 2: Hiring a Contract Virtual Assistant Through an Agency

Hiring through a VA agency can streamline the process by removing the burden of recruitment and initial vetting. Most agencies invoice in USD and handle compliance if the assistant is offshore.

Benefits of Using an Agency:

• Less time spent sourcing and screening candidates
• Full control over how you work with the assistant
• Ability to set your own hours (although many agencies offer fixed monthly plans)
• Access to skilled specialists (e.g. developers, designers)
• Agencies often handle contracts and payments, reducing legal complexity

Drawbacks of Using an Agency:

• You’re still responsible for onboarding, training, and managing performance
• If the VA isn’t a fit, the replacement process restarts
• Many VAs work from home on personal devices, so IT and data security can be a concern — it’s essential to enforce tools like password managers and VPNs
• Contractors may work for several clients, limiting their availability
• If the agency isn’t specialised in virtual assistance, they might not deliver the talent you need
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Hiring a Managed Virtual Assistant Service Provider

When you engage a managed virtual assistant (VA) service provider, you’re hiring a company—not an individual. This model gives you access to an entire support structure, including a dedicated virtual assistant, an account manager, backup assistants, and operations support. Pricing typically starts at around $25 per hour.

The Key Advantage: It’s Fully Managed

This approach takes all the heavy lifting off your plate—recruitment, vetting, hiring, training, and performance management are all handled for you. It also mitigates many of the risks associated with hiring freelancers or contractors.

Benefits of a Managed VA Service:

• Faster onboarding with pre-vetted, trained assistants
• Expert support in leveraging VA services for maximum efficiency
• Assistants are already trained on common tools and workflows
• An account manager helps document processes so you can delegate more over time
• Continuous process improvement support from the account manager
• Built-in backup assistants ensure continuity—no need to start over if someone leaves
• Assistants work in secure environments with background checks, secure devices, and compliant networks

This model is ideal for both small business owners and enterprise teams looking to scale delegation across repetitive tasks and structured workflows.

Considerations and Limitations:

• Services are typically packaged with fixed monthly hours
• It’s not the most cost-effective option upfront
• Best suited for recurring, process-driven work—not creative tasks like graphic or web design that require nuanced judgement

With this model, the service provider assumes most of the employment-related responsibilities. They hire, pay, and manage the virtual assistants—often offering benefits, development pathways, and a professional working environment.

It’s also the preferred choice for companies concerned about ethical outsourcing, as reputable providers prioritise fair working conditions and sustainable employment practices for offshore talent.

How Do You Manage a Virtual Assistant?

Virtual assistants (VAs) generally fall into two categories: managed and unmanaged services. The right choice depends on how much oversight you're prepared to take on—and how much time you can realistically invest in training, managing, and supporting your assistant.

a. Unmanaged Virtual Assistants

Unmanaged VAs are typically freelancers or contractors you hire directly or via an agency. In this model, you are responsible for everything—from recruitment and onboarding to training and performance management.

To work effectively with an unmanaged assistant, you must have clearly defined tasks and a strong sense of how you want those tasks executed. This can be a challenge for many business leaders whose workflows and processes are largely informal or undocumented.

Depending on how you hire, you may also need to handle:

• Payroll and legal compliance
• Performance reviews and feedback
• IT and data security (as freelancers typically use their own equipment)
• Work tracking and time monitoring tools (e.g., project management platforms, time-logging apps)

Agencies may assist with some of this, but with freelancers, most responsibilities fall entirely on you.

b. Managed Virtual Assistant Services

With a managed VA service, all of the above is handled for you. The service provider:

• Recruits and hires the assistant
• Documents your processes and preferences
• Trains the assistant on your systems and tools
• Onboards them into your workflow
• Oversees performance and provides regular feedback
• Offers backup assistants to ensure continuity

Managed providers also typically supply secure equipment, networks, and working environments, addressing any concerns around IT and data security.

This model is ideal for:

• Time-poor business owners and executives
• Those who prefer to delegate VA management entirely
• Businesses planning to scale assistant support over time

Managed VA services are usually offered on a monthly retainer basis, with a set number of support hours. They're best suited for consistent, recurring tasks—not one-off creative projects or ad hoc work that demands specialised design or copywriting skills.

Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant?

If your business growth is constrained by how much you can get done in a day, it may be time to hire a virtual assistant. VAs can dramatically boost productivity by freeing up your time and allowing you to focus on higher-value work.

And with over 25,000 VA services available globally, choosing the right assistant—and the right service model—can be overwhelming.

This guide helps you narrow the field by clarifying:

• The type of work you want to delegate
• The level of involvement you want in day-to-day management
• The kind of relationship you want with your assistant
• Your budget

Ready to hire a virtual assistant—without the management burden?

Let us help you find a managed VA service that works for your business.

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