Leslie Auman

Certified OBM®️

  • Home
  • About
    • About Leslie
    • Mission and Core Values
  • Services
    • OBM Services
    • Teacher-Seller Virtual Assistant School
  • Blog
  • Freebies
    • Free Self-Care Challenge for Educators
    • Free Fall Grammar Task Cards
    • Free Resources for Solopreneurs

November 14, 2017

3 Things a Virtual Assistant Is Not

A large rectangular graphic with the words 3 Things a Virtual Assistant Is Not on it

I’ve been a virtual assistant – and now an editor – for the Teachers Pay Teachers niche since the fall of 2015. I launched my business in August of that year, and since then, I’ve learned quite a bit about what types of services I enjoy doing and am willing to offer clients and which services are not my cup of tea. There’s an interesting dynamic between Teacher-Authors and virtual assistants, because there have been, unfortunately, a couple of virtual assistants who took advantage of Teacher-Authors in the past and who used their position to steal money from clients without providing the agreed-upon services. As you can imagine, this has caused a certain degree of strain between Teacher-Authors and VAs in this niche. I’ve done my best to try to remedy that over the last few years, but I still see some of that tension coming out in the demands that some clients make upon their VAs. That’s why I’ve decided to write this post – to try to educate a little more about what a client can reasonably expect of their VA versus a few things they shouldn’t.

Let’s dive into the post and start chatting about three things that a virtual assistant is not.

A virtual assistant is not a social media manager.

One of biggest misconceptions I see is that many Teacher-Authors think that virtual assistants are social media managers, when actually, these two things are not the same thing. Yes, there are some virtual assistants who offer some type of social media management, such as scheduling Facebook posts to a client’s business Facebook page. However, when I used to do this kind of work, I made it clear to my clients that I was only agreeing to schedule the type of content that they’d explicitly told me they’d like shared and that I wasn’t making any promises whatsoever as to their engagement, reach, page growth, and so on. I simply haven’t taken any online courses, read any books, or done anything like that to give me the knowledge a that a true social media manager has.

A social media manager is someone who does have that type of knowledge and experience concerning the algorithms of social media platforms, the best times to post for the most engagement, and the latest trends and “best practices” in various social media platforms. Therefore, a social media manager has a more specialized skill set (and can charge more for their services). Part of their job is to keep up with the trends and to regularly update their knowledge about social media so that they can provide their clients with the best service possible. While I, as a (now former) VA, have some basic information about this sort of thing, I don’t usually have time to learn more – at least not at this juncture in my life and business. This is why I try to make it clear to clients that I make no promises, and for potential new clients who are inquiring about more of the true social media management, I always get them referrals to social media managers and send them on their way. It’s not worth it to me to attempt that kind of service and fail at it because I don’t know enough. That not only disrupts the client’s business and has negative impacts for her, but it also tarnishes my reputation.

So, if you’re a Teacher-Author looking for someone who can do true social media management for you – helping you grow your Instagram following or helping your pins get more engagement, for example – be sure to do your due diligence and search for someone who has that kind of experience and knowledge.

A virtual assistant is not an employee.

A while back, I wrote this blog post about how VAs are business owners. So, that should nip this particular thought process in the bud, but I’ll go ahead and dive a little deeper into it. A virtual assistant is not an employee of a client, and if you were to take time to think about it, I think you’d agree (as a client) that that’s not what you want. Traditionally, an employer provides employees with benefits – health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, paid time off, sick time, and so forth. There are also expectations surrounding bonuses, promotions, staff meetings, and those kinds of things. I’m guessing you don’t really want to provide benefits to your VA, nor could you afford to do so, most likely. However, a VA is actually an independent contractor working with a client. This means that the client doesn’t have the leverage to delegate how a VA spends her time working, to make demands more reminiscent of an employer-employee relationship, or to run the show.

Of course, it should be a conversation between the VA and the client when it comes to discussing the contract, discussing how many hours the client wants to buy and what services will be completed with those hours, and discussing other expectations between the two. However, a client cannot expect a VA to, for example, sign a non-compete agreement. Unless you’re willing to provide the VA with the amount of work that she’s seeking in order to stay afloat (e.g., 10 hours/week, 40 hours/week), it isn’t fair to mandate that they sign a document that restricts them from working with your competition, especially if they only work with clients in your niche. In my case, I exclusively serve a single niche, so if I were to sign a non-compete agreement, my business would fall apart, because all of my other clients would be considered that client’s competition. Another important point to note is that this means you can’t dictate what you’ll pay your VA. As an independent contractor and business owner, it is absolutely within the VA’s right to set her own rates. Sure, you can request to negotiate, but I recommend against going into the conversation saying, “I’m only willing to pay x amount per hour.” Rather, go into it saying, “My budget is x amount per hour/month. Can you work with that? If not, can you get me some referrals to other VAs in my budget?”

So, as you venture into working with a virtual assistant, do your best to remember that the VA is not about to become your employee but is rather an independent contractor running her own business. Strive for open communication, and ask questions whenever you need to. The right VA will do her best to answer those questions and to get to the bottom of things so that you’re both clear about your roles moving forward.

A virtual assistant is not untrained and unskilled.

It’s not necessarily true in the niche I serve, but I’ve definitely seen some posts and things around the internet that indicate to me that there are people who think that VAs are untrained, unskilled workers. On the contrary, I actually have both a B.A. and an M.Ed. in Middle Childhood Education. While I may not know everything there is to know about every possible service I may decide to offer (which is why I only offer ones that I do feel confident about), I’m actually highly educated. In my case, this works well because my clients feel more comfortable working with me, knowing that I used to be a teacher and that I understand what type of content is appropriate to share on a client’s social media page or what teachers are looking for from things they buy.

So, if you’re going into your working relationship with your VA thinking that she’s untrained, you’re going about it wrong. I’ve never met (virtually) a VA who doesn’t have a degree in something, and moreover, many VAs have experience working with other clients, unless they’re just starting out. They had to learn the services they offer somehow, which was either by doing those things for their own businesses or by doing them for other clients before you. This is the most basic form of respect, I think – understanding that your VA does indeed have experience, skills, and training and treating her as such. If your VA doesn’t know how to do a service you’re requesting, then consider if you’re willing to let her learn how to do it on your time so that eventually, she’s mastered it and you don’t have to worry about it. Or, if it’s too big of a risk for you, then ask her for referrals to VAs who are already competent in that service.

I hope this post helped shed some light on the relationship between VAs and clients. Thanks so much for reading!

A graphic signature of the name Leslie

 

 


Pin it for later!

A tall, vertical image with the words 3 Things a Virtual Assistant Is Not on it to be used on Pinterest

This post was most recently updated in March 2019.

By: Leslie Auman Hirgelt · Filed Under: What Is a Virtual Assistant? · Tagged: business, business owner, virtual assistance, virtual assistant, virtual assisting, what is a virtual assistant

How to Grade Student Writing Quickly
How I Taught the Diary of Anne Frank

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hey hey, friend!


I'm Leslie, a former middle school teacher turned Certified OBM®. I'm here to help kick-ass womxn entrepreneurs scale their businesses with behind-the-scenes management and support. I'm glad you're here!

This is a graphic displaying a badge for Leslie Auman Hirgelt's OBM certification.

This is a hexagonal graphic that says, "HoneyBook Educator: Get 50% off your first year."

TpT Focused Success Affiliate Button

© Leslie Auman, LLC 2016-Present. Photography by PAW Prints by Patti Wojtowecz. All photographs taken at Picnik Austin.
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Links

Home
About
Services
Blog
Free Resources

About Leslie

I’m Leslie, a former middle school teacher turned Certified OBM®. I’m here to help kick-ass womxn entrepreneurs scale their businesses with behind-the-scenes management and support. I’m glad you’re here!

Categories

Honest Educator Series
Teaching
Teacherpreneurship
Running a Business
What Is a Virtual Assistant?
Just Virtual Assistant Things
Technology Hacks
New book suggestions for teachers looking to add d New book suggestions for teachers looking to add diversity to their middle school and high school classroom libraries! 📚
. . . . .
I can't remember now how I came across this series, but I'm really enjoying it! 🖤 It's fantasy meets realistic fiction with engaging but flawed characters, an incredible alternate world, magic, and most importantly -- a Black female protagonist. 👏🏻
. . . . .
I read them originally in Kindle version, borrowed from my local public library, but I liked them so much that I decided to buy them for myself as an early birthday gift (my birthday is in about a week 😝). There's a third book, A Crown So Cursed, due out in mid-April! 📅
I did my civic duty! 🗳️🇺🇲 PLEASE VOTE! I did my civic duty! 🗳️🇺🇲 PLEASE VOTE!
. . . . .
I requested an absentee ballot because COVID is still very much a threat, and I'm an immunocompromised person. I researched candidates, issues, and the school bond issue on this ballot and made my selections. ☑️ Despite 45's fear-mongering about mail-in voting, I trust this election system that's been around for over 150 years. 📬 I'll be tracking my ballot on the Ohio Secretary of State website, and in the meantime, I'm going to make some donations to important campaigns! ✊🏻💵
Here's what I'm currently reading: The Nightingale Here's what I'm currently reading: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. What are you reading right now? 📚
. . . . .
World War 2 fiction is one of my favorite genres. Some of my most favorite books are in this genre. 💜 It's taken me a bit to feel like I'm really getting into the plot, but last night I finally felt like it was getting really good. I'm roughly halfway through! If you've read this, what did you think? But no spoilers, please! 🙏🏻
It allllllllmost passed me by, but today is my fif It allllllllmost passed me by, but today is my fifth business anniversary! 🥳💖 Or business birthday, whichever. 😂
. . . . .
Exactly five years ago today, I "launched" my business as a virtual assistant and signed my very first client, completely unexpectedly. I had no idea what I was doing, really -- and sometimes I still feel that way. 🙃
. . . . .
These past five years have taught me a LOT. I've tried and failed and tried and failed. I've felt really successful, and I've felt pretty unsuccessful. I've lived "paycheck to paycheck." I've been watching the newest season of @queereye with Husband, and the episode with Rahanna, the entrepreneurial dog groomer, made me feel so seen and comforted as Bobby and Tan talked to Rahanna about how hard the first few years of business are. Because they are. No one is an overnight success. I'm officially five years in, and I'm only just now starting to feel like I'm finally on a path to my business being profitable. 
. . . . .
I'm so, SO excited and thankful to celebrate (LOL by working) today knowing I signed my first OBM-level client a few days ago! 🥳 I've also had the opportunity and pleasure of having discovery calls with a couple of other womxn business owners about my OBM services. How fitting that I'm starting off this new chapter of my business with the very recent success of "launching" myself as an OBM! 🙌🏻
. . . . .
Cheers to you if you're still grinding on the roller coaster of entrepreneurship. I'm starting to see that it does all eventually pay off, and it does eventually get easier. 🙏🏻
It's finally here: OBM certification week! Back in It's finally here: OBM certification week! Back in March, I enrolled in the Certified OBM training program, created by @tinaforsyth8 and taught by @sarahnoked. After three months in the training program -- working through all of the modules and watching all of the session videos, attending the biweekly live calls or watching the recordings if I had to miss, watching/reading any supplemental materials that would help for this week, learning from sample projects, and talking with my accountability partner... We're here, at certification week. I'm nervous, but I'm ready to give it my best effort! 💪🏻👊🏻 Good luck to my fellow examinees, also on the path to becoming certified Online Business Managers! 🤗 #CertifiedOBM #OnlineBusinessManager
Yesterday, I shared about the Following Directions Yesterday, I shared about the Following Directions Test for middle school grades that's included in the #Fireworks2020 dollar💲deal event...so today I'll share about the People BINGO resource! 🤩
. . . . .
This is an editable activity that makes for a fun and engaging icebreaker activity on the first day of school -- or on the first day of a new semester with a new class of students. You can customize the BINGO board to have details that best fit your population of students and what you know about them, but there's also a ready-to-print PDF version! ✅
. . . . .
In light of the mandates, I do still think this is an activity best used in the classroom -- I have yet to think of an effective way to adapt it digitally, aside from doing it together as a whole group and asking students to introduce themselves and sharing something on the BINGO board that applies to them. But if you do have to go back in the classroom, I recommend having your students stay 6+ feet apart as recommended, introduce themselves to each other, and exchange a detail on the board that applies to them. They can write their classmates' names in the squares themselves, rather than trading papers to have each other sign.
. . . . .
This resource is normally $3 marked down to just $1 today, so be sure to go to the link in my bio to grab it at such a great discount! Happy 4th of July! 🎆🎇❤️🤍💙
It's the first day of the $1 deal sale!!! 🥳 Thi It's the first day of the $1 deal sale!!! 🥳 This Following Directions Test for middle school (grades 6-8) is one of the resources I've marked to down JUST $1 for today and tomorrow! It's normally a value of $3.75. 🙌🏻 Head to my bio to find the link! #Fireworks2020
. . . . .
I created this resource in my first year of teaching (several years ago now!) based on my memory of a similar kind of test given to our class in 4th grade. Back then, the test was part of my teacher's classroom management system, but I created my version to be used at the beginning of the year (or beginning of the semester...or during test prep!).
. . . . .
This resource included two "trick" versions of the test, where there are silly instructions given in numbers 1-10, but the REAL instructions are at the very bottom of the page, for eagle-eyed students. 😉 There's also a legitimate version of it, no tricks. 🤗 And just this week I added a digital version of all three tests, so each one now has a fillable PDF version, and the instructions have been updated to suit a distance learning environment! 🖥️
⚠️ We have work to do! ⚠️ To my fellow whi ⚠️ We have work to do! ⚠️ To my fellow white people (and to non-Black POC), please give these white people a follow and start learning from them. Yes, we can and should learn from the Black community (and I will also make a post with Black people we can and should support), but the onus of educating us should not rest solely on their shoulders. We need to educate ourselves and each other, because they've been fighting this fight for a very, very long time, and they deserve a respite, at the very minimum. ❤️
. . . . .
@melissau 
@xoamandafrances 
@mrdtimes3 
@thechampagnediet 
@jazzythings 
@mikeydteach 
@melyssa_griffin 
@drazs_class 
@jameswedmore

Copyright © 2021 · Hello CEO by Hello You Designs

Copyright © 2021 · Hello CEO on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in