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Cost of Living in Thailand – Part 3/3

A view from the heights of Thailand

This is part 3 of the cost of living in Thailand interview.

Click here to read part 2 of the interview.

Topics of the last part of this interview:

  • Are there problems with food digestion with the local food?
  • Scary specialties: eating insects
  • Eating spicy in the Thai cuisine
  • Cost of living in Phuket

Start of the Interview:

Francis
Francis:

Have there ever been any problems with, how do I say this nicely, food digestion?

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

One time. I don’t know what it was but I felt weird. Let me think. I have one time something and a friend of mine had one time but it wasn’t like you have to go to the hospital.

It was rather that you feel kind of weird and you have a little diarrhea for one day or half a day. Then you’re better like after 2 days or something.

Francis
Francis:

Anything we can do against it to prevent such problems especially if it’s on the Holidays?

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Same stuff could happen in German, actually. I assume this happened to you in Germany too that you had a diarrhea from something.

If the food doesn’t look healthy then don’t eat it, of course. But that’s a common advice. If it doesn’t look normal or it smells then you shouldn’t eat it. 

What I would suggest is never eat somewhere where nobody eats because that is never a good sign. 

Francis
Francis:

That, I think, is a valuable advice anywhere.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Yeah but other than that, I don’t think you will have problems with the food. I ate in a lot of places and I never had like really problems. One time for 1 day, a little weird feeling and stomach pain but that could happen everywhere, I guess.

Francis
Francis:

Is there any crazy food the actual local people eat in Thai that is very surprising, some insects or something like that?

Thai chicken chow mein

Thai noodles – similar to chicken chow mein

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Of course, you can eat insects here. They are like deep-fried to chips or crisps, whatever you want to call them. I haven’t eaten them yet. You can also eat like scorpions, spiders and stuff like that. Of course that’s an Asian thing. But it’s not even that common to be honest. 

Where I live right now, it’s not the most touristic area and I haven’t seen it here to be honest. It doesn’t seem the Thai’s love it too much. I think it’s more of a tourist thing. They offer it tourists. I saw it in the tourist area more than here. I think the Thai’s noticed that it’s exotic for the tourists and then they offer it.

So, insects aren’t so big. Other than that, they eat pretty normal foods. They eat spicy. Of course if you don’t like spicy food, you will have a problem in Thailand I guess. Let me explain it this way, if you order a dish and you say “nothing”, you get 3 chilies in it.

If you say “spicy”, you get 6 chilies in it. And if you say “special”, you have to say I don’t want much spicy then you get no chili or maybe 1 chili because it’s necessary.

Francis
Francis:

Yes.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

There are some dishes that aren’t possible without chilies. It’s not a Thai dish. It’s another dish if you leave out 1 chili. So you have to put it on chili.

Francis
Francis:

One question which would really interest me because I’m also a big fan of non tourists area. How big do you think is the chance of me saying I would really like to eat at a table of a normal family – Normal day to day food and just like how they eat there?

a view from a beach in Thailand

Beautiful beach view from Thailand

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

You mean like getting to know a Thai family and getting invited to the home?

Francis
Francis:

Yes.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

I think that is very unrealistic in terms of a classical family. I mean, it’s very likely that you get to know younger people but they won’t invite you home. You would go out together to eat.

Because as I said previously, that it’s not very common to cook at home.

That is very different from western culture, all of or I don’t know even the Turkish culture or something, where they have a home meal cooked; they go out to eat. So I think that is very unrealistic too that that happens.

Francis
Francis:

At least, local people can recommend to me non-touristic bars and non-touristic eating places.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Yes, they do. You can. Yes, that is possible. It’s not too hard to find them. We also found something in Phuket. I mean, this is like the heart of tourists. 

The most touristic area whoever was in Mallorca/Ballermann, you know?

Francis
Francis:

Yes, I know.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

This is Ballermann in Thailand. This is one complete like all Phuket is Ballermann.

Francis
Francis:

Okay. It’s scarier.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

So even there we found some place that was normal. It took a while but we found it. So it’s not impossible but it might be hard. But only in places like Phuket. In Bangkok, it’s like you can find anything in Bangkok. And where I live, in Krabi, it’s no problem at all.

Francis
Francis:

Okay. So wow, this was a very, very cool insight into living in Thailand. Although you already said that many people say they will visit you and they never do.

I really do hope that I will be able to visit you and if within 1 year my dear readers don’t see any pictures from me and Thailand with you next to each other, then everyone is invited to write me angry emails and don’t visit my site anymore for punishment.

Return to the Cost of living in Thailand – Part 1

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Cost of Living in Thailand – Part 2/3

This is part 2 of the interview about cost of living in Thailand.

Click here to read part 1 of the interview.

Topics of this part of the interview

  • Cost of going out in Thailand, night clubs, bars etc
  • Cost of amusements, like a boat tour around the islands
  • Cost of air tickets and Visa guidelines
  • Cities/Places to go in Thailand

Start of the Interview:

Francis
Francis:

How about cost of going out? Let’s say, you and me, we go where you’re living into the next club, dance our asses off and pay for lots of drinks.  

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

First of all, this does not exist here. There are no nightclubs.

Francis
Francis:

What about bars?

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Yeah, there are many bars. This is the night amusement in Asia. You don’t have nightclubs. I assume it’s because it’s so hot but I don’t know why. People in Asia don’t seem to like clubs like as we know in the western society. I don’t know why but it’s…

Francis
Francis:

I wouldn’t mind. I wouldn’t mind that too much.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

And there’s like open door bars. You know, you have a bar and it’s open, you don’t go in. It’s like outside. It’s like in a German beer garden, for example. But it’s a bar and you sit down and get orders and whatever.

That’s very common here. Every 10 meters, you have a bar. And the price wouldn’t be high like, let me think, 50 cents to 1 Euro for a beer or something. Very inexpensive.

Francis
Francis:

That is like a dream come true. Is there any entrance fees?

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

No, no. This is a normal bar. This is like a restaurant.

Francis
Francis:

Okay.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

You just come in.

FrancisFrancis:

How about amusement? I take a boat tour around the islands.

A boat on a beach of Thailand

Enjoy nice boat tours in Thailand

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Ah, yeah!

Francis
Francis:

How much for a boat pass?

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

I was looking on the boat too because where I live we have some boat and some islands in front of the coast where it was really like paradise.

Because where I live, we live on the land not on an island and when you want to drive out to islands; it costs you about 40 Baht like $1 one way.

Francis
Francis:

It’s crazy.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Or if you want to rent a boat for the whole day, it’s about 1500 Baht per day for up to 8 people. And he just drives you at wherever you want for the whole day. 

Francis
Francis:

That’s about $40.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Yeah and you can be 6-8 people. You can go all day like from one island to the next island and he waits for you until you’re done. And when you’re done, you just go to your boat and tell you want to go back.     

Francis
Francis:

That’s amazing. How much is the flight to Thailand from Germany?

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

One-way or two-ways?

Francis
Francis:

Let’s say, one-way for simplicity.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

One-way is about…because when you book two-ways…you actually have to book two-ways.

Francis
Francis:

Then we’ll take two-ways.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Let me explain. When you go to Thailand, you aren’t allowed to go to Thailand if you don’t have a ticket to leave again because of the visa stuff and everything. 

You need to have further travelling tickets. Let’s assume you travel to Thailand and then from Thailand, in 3 weeks, to Australia – Melbourne for example. Then you only a one-way ticket from Europe to Thailand and that’s about 400 Euros. And the two-way is around 700 Euros. So it’s a little bit cheaper.

Francis
Francis:

It seems extremely affordable still. Are they any downsides you can think off of having a holiday in Thailand?

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Holidays? No. But living here is not as perfect no-problem as what you think because many people think it’s perfect and you have no troubles at all. But for holidays, there’s no problem. 

If you want to go for a vacation, Bangkok if you want to see a big city which has everything. It’s like crazy. It’s really crazy. You never have experienced anything in Europe like that. It’s like a melting pot. You have crazy stuff in it. 

Twelve million people explains everything, we don’t even have that many people in somewhere in Europe. It’s like imagine New York but with a mixture of New York and… 

Francis
Francis:

…and a big beach party or a festival?

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Yeah, something like that. I mean, you have, everywhere, cooking food stands and people are using small canals for travelling through the city through their old waterways. Because there are still waterways and it’s like paths, okay? I mean, where and in what continent, in what city does that exists today?

Anyway, the other city I would recommend is Chiang Mai. It’s like Bangkok but it’s smaller. A friend of mine lived in Chiang Mai and says it’s amazing because it’s the most western city of all Thailand.

And the third thing I would recommend is where I live, in Krabi in the south, because this is all where all the beach action happens. The place that I would never recommend is Phuket. 

Francis
Francis:

That’s the place everyone knows.

stefan employer interview
Stefan:

Yeah but I would highly not recommend you to go there.

Because it’s extremely touristic. It’s extremely expensive. It’s a rip-off.  It’s where you can eat for 30 times the price that you eat 100km further, you know.

So the whole area of Phuket is huge rip-off. You arrive at the airport in Phuket and you cant leave the airport. The only way to leave the airport is by taking a taxi which costs like 20 Euros or $20. For a taxi-drive, that costs you $3 normally and it’s not possible because there’s a curtail or mafia, basically, around it. You can’t even leave the airport without it because they are put far away from any society.

So I would never recommend Phuket. Stay away from there, alright?

Francis
Francis:

Thanks for the tip. I think many of the readers will appreciate it or perhaps, protest forcefully against it lower down in the comments. Let’s see.

Continue reading part 3 of this interview

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Cost Of Living In The Philippines For A Full-Time Virtual Assistant

Francis the Ideal HelperMy full-time VA Jomvie who comes from Mindanao discloses his cost of living in the Philippines. Learn from his overview how much you need to invest to make sure you cover your VAs costs with your salary.

This way, your VA can devote all their energy to your success without distraction.

Over to my VA Jomvie…

Working online has its pros and cons

philippines currency and billsFor some people in the Philippines, when they know you are working online, their reactions are often:

“Wow, don’t have online workers great benefits?”

And I am just, like,

“How did you get that kind of idea…?”

  • Do you know that not all those who are working online are fairly compensated?
  • And that their basic needs and expenses are overshadowing what they are getting monthly?

I will give you a breakdown of my expenses as an example. First, let’s know that are these basic needs:

Cost for Food

Basically, we need to eat three times a day (full meal): breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And let’s not forget our snacks that come in between our full meals 😀 But, as for me, I do weekly groceries and I already have everything listed down. So, for my weekly allowance for my meals in a week, I have a budget of Php 1,500 or $36 in a week.

In other words, I am just a normal and regular worker, only that I sit in front of the computer all day long.

Monthly Bills

Jomvie's Utility and Consumer Bills in the PhilippinesDue to the fact that I work online, my basic needs are

  1. power supply,
  2. an internet connection,
  3. and others, like phone and water.

But let’s focus on the internet and light bill.

Since I started working full time as an online provider, my light bill dramatically increased from Php 600 to Php 1,000+ monthly ($14 to $27 per month).

Let’s move on to my monthly internet fee that costs Php 1,300 or $31. And other monthly expenses such as water bill (Php 150/$4) and phone bill (Php 500/$12).

So, yeah, I am just another regular employee with a lot of monthly obligations – only that I don’t go out and travel everyday to work.

Francis-231Some Filipino VAs live with their family and can economize this expense.

However, you cannot calculate that they can do this forever, e.g. if they have their own family plans.

Rental Fee

Since I live separately from my parents, I live in an apartment that costs Php 5,000 monthly or $119 a month.

Now, I will break down all these expenses in dollars, since I get my salary in dollars:

Basic Needs Monthly Costs Total Monthly Expenses
Food – Weekly $36 x 4 $144
Bills – Light: $27
– Internet: $31
– Water: $4
– Phone: $12		 $74
Room – Rental Fee $119
Total $337
Note:Dollars are converted into: 1 dollar is equivalent to 42 pesos (it varies from time to time).

This is the actual breakdown of figures for my personal monthly expenses. And take note that healthcare benefits are not yet included in my monthly expenses and from working online.

So, can you still say that online providers are more blessed than offline workers when there’s not much difference between you as a regular employee and me as an online provider?

Holidays are excluded

Online providers are not fairly compensated and often we don’t get the benefits from a regular employee.

Some employers will not allow their employees to go on Philippine Holidays and their work is not even paid in double during the regular holidays.

Beautiful young girl holding an umbrellaA regular employee gets:

  • Basic pay,
  • Health benefits,
  • Sick leaves,
  • Vacation Leave,
  • Holiday Double Pay or Paid Holidays and
  • The most awaited 13th month pay and yearly bonuses.

Whereas online providers:

  • Don’t always get double pay on holidays or are allowed to not work on holidays,
  • Some employers don’t approve of paid leave,
  • No health care benefits and bonuses.

I was fortunate with my previous employer: although I don’t have this health care benefit from him, the least he did is he approved of Philippine paid holidays and 13th month bonus.

Just like what I’ve said, it depends on your employer if he/she respects your perks and benefits as a regular online employee.

If they can’t give what is necessary for you, at least they could

  • raise your salary or
  • just give that 13th month pay and holidays.

Some employers give these two as an option or either of them. Unfortunately some don’t.

Why do I work online if I don’t get the benefit of a regular employee?

A regular employee’s basic pay amounts from Php 12,000 to 15,000 ($286 to $357) monthly, plus health care benefits and other perks.

As you can see on the above chart, my monthly expenses are $337. If I have a monthly salary of $357 in an offline “real job”, how much do I have in my pocket now…?

Also, if I work as a regular employee, I need to travel everyday and that will generate additional costs.

From my monthly expenses:

  • $337 + budget fare in a week x 4 ($12 x 4) = $48 + $337 =$385 

Regular employee expenses Monthly expenses
Food, Bills, Rental Fee $48
Total $385

At the very least, as a worker online, I

  1. get to spare a little from my monthly salary (and my time) from not traveling everyday
  2. will not be one of those employees doing the hustle and bustle every morning.
  3. get to spare other expenses in my workplace like lunch and snacks.

So, if I have to choose what is more practical, I’ll work online. Maybe in time, I’ll find my luck in this career path.

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Outsourcing Is Only Possible Because You Have Different Cost Of Living By States

Compare the cost of living by statesIf you have travelled a bit, you will have made the difference that when you visit foreign countries, you might sometimes be surprised by how cheap everything is.

That’s when you feel the difference of cost of living from a foreign country.

Want an illustration?

Data entry job for students in Germany: 10 €/hour

Data entry job over oDesk in India: 1$/hour

When we interviewed different candidates for outsourcing case studies, we also included a questionnaire about how much living cost in the different countries.

You will find our results of this research of different cost of living by state below on this page. What I want to emphasize is that the process of outsourcing is naturally caused by these differences of income.

If you want to find out how much income levels differ in different states, then you can make use of a cost of living comparison calculator.

It doesn’t make outsourcing bad. Only if you adapt the money you invest into a foreign currency, and still are a cheap rip-off then there is nothing ethical in your business attitude.

Pay rates are higher in Europe or in the US

If you are living in a country in Europe or America, chances are that your income levels are much higher than in so-called underdeveloped countries like India, China or even the Philippines.

Be smart and make use of the talented people there – you can then easily create a win-win situation.

  1. Create a job for someone who needs a job.
  2. Get quality work done for a fraction of the price you would pay in your own country.
  3. If you do it right, you don’t have to feel bad about it because you have the possibility to do much good even above borders of your country.

I put up this page here on my website to illustrate how different the world can be, how much difference there can be in the cost of a burger.

There are countries where feeding a whole family for $300 a month is not only a possibility, but reality.

Cost of Living in Thailand

cost of living in Thailand

An entrepreneur personally known by me has moved to Thailand because of its much cheaper cost of living than in Germany.

The three part interview (Part1, Part 2, Part 3) I had with him over Skype nicely illustrates the difference of living cost between those two countries.

 






Share Your Experiences With Different Cost of Livings All Over the World

Have you been travelling a lot?

Did you visit completely foreign cultures?

If you experienced a dramatic difference in cost of living towards your home country, please share your experiences here with us.

Give Your Story A Meaningful Title

Tell Us Your Story!

Upload Pictures or Graphics (optional)

Author Information (optional)
To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

Your Name:

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Communication With Virtual Assistants – Learn The Ethical Standards From An Employer’s Point Of View

email and microphoneCommunication with virtual assistants is part-10 of an interview with Eric, a fellow entrepreneur interested in outsourcing his work to virtual assistants all over the world.

Follow along to learn from our experience on working with VAs!

Click here to read part 9 of this interview – how to share large files to your team of virtual assistants

Summary:

  • Employer and virtual assistant communication made easier through audio-video recording software.
  • How to make communication comfortable and easier between employer and virtual assistant
  • Find out what are the dilemmas with outsourcing and how communication plays a major role to make it easier

Start of the Interview:

Francis
Francis

So, recording your video and dropping it in your Dropbox and not waiting until it’s just synchronized just going away as your computer does the work; that saves some time.

Trying to have the questions at once and pre-answered will somehow save the time. But, what else could we talk about to make the communication with your assistant more effective?

anonymous-user-thumb
Eric

I think the thing is that one of the main difficulties for me was being able to communicate with them even though the time zones were completely different. Because I think that in the Philippines and the United States, I think it was around a 12 hours time difference.

So, it was the middle of the night here when she was working and when I am awake, it was the middle of the night for her. That was one of the difficulties that I noticed was having to try to work things out to where we could communicate together and talk about certain things.

Francis
Francis

Okay. Funny, I have had the experience with both my main assistant and with my last candidate for full time VA. Both of them are sort of night owls. They can work pretty late into the night especially the assistant from the Philippines.

I’ve asked her if she couldn’t just switch to 9-5 job because I felt bad for her. She was working like 5 in the morning. I was feeling really bad. I said, “Okay, please go to sleep now.” And she was, “No, no. I like this and I’m feeling more productive at night and it’s less hot. And the internet has better quality.”

Especially, in the Philippines, I think it would be a good option to ask if she can slightly adjust to your schedule. So not like 12 hours but perhaps stay up a little bit later, in general, one of you. I think that would have been an option.

anonymous-user-thumb
Eric

Well, and I think too, I mean, there were some times where I would say, will it be possible to meet at 8 o’clock?

It will be 8 o’clock at night for me and 8 o’clock in the morning for her. And that usually wasn’t much of a problem because it’s not super late for me but it’s not also too early for her. Or even 10 o’clock or 11 o’clock, you know what I mean?

Francis
Francis

Yeah, that’s perfect.

anonymous-user-thumb
Eric

I think that’s not very much of a problem. It’s just being able to communicate at the same time

You know what I’m saying, it’s important to find time to sit down and talk about things and to show her certain things that I wanted done.

Francis
Francis

Okay. One idea that comes to my mind is – but I never tried this to be honest – to ask your virtual assistant to create screen recordings with her questions.

So, because you’re using voice recordings or screen recordings, you are able to convey much more information than with emails. Even emails with screenshots are more effective than emails.

Because sometimes you cannot put in words what your problem is. For example, if the assistant has to do a quite complicated process and you don’t know really where she’s stuck at and she isn’t able to convey this very effectively, then there’s a lot of going back and forth questions.

It would make sense to say, “Okay, please go to task. Start recording a 5 minute video and talk–explaining what you’re doing as you do in 5 minutes.”

Click around and then you look at it critically when you have the video.  For example, if you cannot go online on Skype.

anonymous-user-thumb
Eric

That was one of the things that I might actually do. As they come across something, they would send me screenshot of the area they were struggling with.

So that I could see exactly what it was that they had a problem with? Then it made it a whole lot easier for me when I was trying to explain to them what they need to fix.

So, I could say okay, “You know that short cut won’t work, try using this shortcut or you need to try to do this, because I can then see exactly what’s on our screen.”

Francis
Francis

Okay. Yeah, I think that’s effective. Because, then, you don’t have to guess what the problem is.

Sometimes as they go, you just want to stop them. If you had a phone call, you would just stop them and say “No, no, don’t do it.” But the video is then the next best solution.

anonymous-user-thumb
Eric

Right.

Continue reading part 11 – Learn how to setup initial tasks with virtual assistants

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Communication In Business With VAs

Insider Knowledge from an Interview with Eric

Virtual Communications

Eric and I had an info-packed Skype call where we discussed the ins and outs of efficient communication in business with your Virtual Assistants.

Eric

  1. teaches the piano,
  2. uses the same website and business building system as I
  3. and works with virtual assistants.

We decided to share this interview with you, so that you can learn from our experience. It is divided in sections by topic. Feel free to scroll down and read about the

 

Communicate with your Virtual Assistant effectively

Business team hand shake

If you start outsourcing without knowing how to communicate with your VAs the right way, your efforts may fail! How you communicate with each other will build or break your business.

We share in the first part of this interview our insights about effective virtual assistant communication – as well as…

  1. pitfalls,
  2. productive habits
  3. and trust building steps

Maximize the results of your VAs

3d person completing pie chart.

The best imaginable Virtual Assistant is one who thinks, works and is motivated like a better clone of yourself. Just one that has more time and procrastinates less.

In the interview, we discuss how to get closer to that perfect administrative virtual assistant – without paying big bucks.

Hint: it’s about

  • Finding the right fit for you – and knowing how to find that
  • Being as honest with your VA as he should be with you
  • The right ongoing training and feedback

 

Ongoing work revisions to reach your goals

Designer work samples

At the beginning, you will not quite be at this perfect state with your VA. He will have to re-work his work to adapt to your expectations.

Not to say your VA will do a bad job. That’s not often the case if you instruct him right. But to find the way “you like it” he will need time to adapt to you.

In order not to get too expensive, it makes sense that you discuss the terms of the training period. For me, it is always paid working time.

However, negotiating work revisions with your virtual assistant makes business sense. And saves you money and/or time.

Learn from your assistant

Virtual assistant with a megaphone

If you think you are the one with all the knowledge and your assistant is the “trainee” without any experience – you risk missing some of the hidden good stuff that comes with having a VA.

Your VA will surprise you with his experience, if you encourage him to give you his honest feedback. This is a tricky skill to master.

But as we go through this part of the interview, Eric and I discuss the fine details of how to maximize giving feedback back and forth.

Tell your VA what you want with maximum efficiency

maximize efficiency meter

When you have a VA, you will soon see that you need to discuss many detailed things with him. Email communication can be tedious and easy to misunderstand.

Years of experience working with Vas have taught me that recording your screen with audio is, by far, the most efficient way to talk to your VA.

It’s

  1. Independent from time zone differences (better than using Skype),
  2. Faster than email
  3. And can be reviewed as often as needed by your VA.

Especially with freshly-hired VA’s, you will see it’s the best for establishing trust and giving you an approachable voice.

Kick-Start with a newly hired VA

Getting started with a virtual assistant

Now we talk about getting started with a virtual assistant.

Hiring an affordable VA from Asian cultures (not a professional VA for 50$/hour from the US) comes with its challenges.

  • The biggest one at the beginning is breaking the ice and building trust.
  • On the other hand, you need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your VA as fast as possible.

Only then you can make the right decisions for your business going forward.

Increase Productivity of your VA with the right communication channels

Businessman with an up-arrow signboard

Optimizing your virtual assistant communication channel can improve the output you receive from your VA.

On the other hand, screening your assistant too closely, or giving him the impression that you scrutinize his every move can put too much pressure on your assistant.

Each VA is different.

  • Some, if not most of the VAs will greatly appreciate the advantages of modern software supported global communication in business matters.
  • Some will need more encouraging and positive feedback to make sure they don’t feel too much pressure.

Listen to what your VA is telling you – it will help your business

Virtual assistant fears and concerns

In this next interview part, Eric and I discuss the importance of being open to the concerns of your VAs.

Sometimes, the expectations of your VA and you, the employer, will be different. It’s important to have an open ear for suggestions and feedback. This will also make it easier to improve

  • the communication with
  • and the results of

your VAs.

Sending big files to your Virtual Assistant

Sharing large files with a team of virtual assistants

Don’t clog up your email outbox and your VA’s inbox. There are more efficient tools to share and update big files with your VA.

Time is money. Don’t waste your money on waiting for the file transfer of bigger files.

This is especially useful as sometimes VAs from eastern Asian countries don’t have the fastest internet connections (due to weather etc.).

The video recordings from your instructions are good examples of such big files. They make talking with your VA easier.

Start with easy tasks for your new VA

Getting started with a virtual assistant

It’s easy to overwhelm a new virtual employee with tasks that are

  • too many
  • too complicated.

In the next part of this interview, Eric and I discuss how to set up initial tasks efficiently, without confusing your VA.

And we stress the importance of positive feedback loops with your new VA.

Firing someone is hard – but necessary if the assistant is not the right fit for you

Firing an employee

Next, we talk about an aspect of outsourcing that is no fun, but sometimes necessary. And it gets talked about much too little. It’s about firing a VA in a human and professional way – if the VA doesn’t fit your business.

Especially when you start out with outsourcing, it’s very easy to get emotionally attached to “your” VA too early.

Hiring and firing is closely connected, when it’s about screening for the right assistant to keep long-time.

Full-time VA or hourly based VA – what’s the better choice?

Full-time vs part-time VA comparison

Now that you followed the interview far enough to imagine having found the perfect assistant – what’s missing?

A decision: is your assistant a

  • full time, 40hrs a week working VA?
  • project based, hourly paid VA?

There’s much difference between both of them, both in regards to long term gains and involvement levels.

The discussion discusses the ins and outs of part-time vs. full-time virtual assistants – but the one lesson you must keep in mind is:

Both types of VAs have their place, advantage and uses for your business. There’s no one-stop solution for every situation.

Getting serious: starting steps with a full-time VA choice?

Choosing best virtual assistant

Eric works more with project based VAs, and I have started to work with a full-time VA from the Philippines. In case you choose to go with a full-time virtual assistant, there are lessons to be learned in our interview to avoid wasting time and money during the

  1. screening for
  2. training of
  3. communicating with

your full-time VA.

Scaling up: best practices for handling a team of virtual assistant

Team of virtual assistants

Handling more than one VA is more of a challenge than you think. Follow Eric’s and my advice of how to best take control and reap the full rewards of a team of virtual assistants.

My best advice:

“Start out with one assistant who knows you well, and let him support you with training any new assistant coming into your team!”

If you are working with a flexible team of VAs, and need one place to manage them and your projects well, there is one tool I recommend from experience. It can be used with the lean management philosophy, and is at the same time very intuitive. And last but not least, it’s a free tool.

Check out our review of using Trello to manage a team of VAs.

Leave advanced work to short term hired specialists

Specialist worker

What do you do when you have a challenging job to outsource that needs specialists?

It’s sometimes much too expensive to train a full-time general VA to do a specialist’s job.

Sometimes, just hiring someone who has mastered a skill set (e.g. creating a video professionally) for an increased hourly rate. Or for a project-based fixed price.

(Please also see a discussion about fixed price vs. hourly rate  on my preferred outsourcing platform)

Did you follow up to here?

Congratulations!

Your thirst for knowledge will reward you with great results!

Traffic analysis chart

In the final parts of this interview, we digress a bit on a tangent. But for the sake of completeness, I kept the transcripts anyways. If you have the same questions, this might be of some use.

First, we brainstorm a bit about using YouTube videos to promote our businesses, and how this can be supported with the help of our Virtual Assistants. Also, YouTube can be a great resource to train your assistants new skills!

Just think about the huge number of great instructional videos on this platform alone.

Later, we discuss how to best analyze traffic stats and Google Analytics from YouTube related traffic.

Mastering making the best of your existing traffic is your job, not your VA’s!