On the other hand, if you don’t have repeated work to be done, but rather random projects, then there’s no need to hire a VA; you should opt for a freelancer instead. This works like hiring an independent contractor. He/she arrives, does the job, then leaves. If I want to build a website, but can’t do it myself, I’ll look for somebody to do WordPress installation. This person will need to make the site look professional and attractive, making particular design decisions. The person really needs to know their way around WordPress, but this is a one-time job. After the site is built, I intend to hire article writers, or manage it myself. In this situation, I don’t need to hire a full-time virtual assistant to build a website. Even if I have the option to hire one for a few hundred dollars a month, I can pay someone a one-time fee to build a website, and it will only take a week. There is no need to go through the process of hiring a virtual assistant in this case. Benefits of Outsourcing, Freelancing, or Hiring a Virtual Assistant By outsourcing, you’re going directly to the source without the need for a “middleman.” You cut out the big corporate company or agency, and go straight to the person who’s going to get work done. You save money on overhead, since virtual employees are in their houses, using their own Internet and their own space. Also, when you hire a freelancer, you don’t pay federal or state taxes on their income or Medicaid, since they are self-employed and they pay their own taxes. You save money hiring a freelancer, compared to an employee. Additionally, the cost of living outside of the U.S. is considerably lower, so overseas outsourcing is efficiently affordable. For many of the same reasons large American corporations choose to internationally outsource, small businesses, such as real estate agencies, can also benefit from the practice. There are also areas of the U.S. where the cost of living isn’t as high as other places, which makes arranging a VA from those areas economically practical. Other types of projects I like to outsource are content creation and writing jobs. If you’re able to effectively explain your guidelines to someone, these are great jobs to delegate. For example, if I need an article for one of my blogs, I’ll see what topic I want for the specific article. Then I’ll do some general research on the topic, and forward it all to freelancers who write the actual article. You can also ask your writer to do his/her own research on the topic. All you need to do is give clear instructions. Make it sound very informational, then he/she will do a good job. There are many options with these types of projects.
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