by Francis
(August 02, 2012)
Have you tried using transcription programs to record your spoken word?
Are you really happy with the results?
I often end up editing and correcting more mistakes from the program which takes me longer than if I just would have written it myself.
If you really want the transcripts just as good as your spoken word, then you should think about hiring a virtual assistant to do transcription work for you.
Comments for Transcripts Just As Good As Your Spoken Word – Not Possible Without A Virtual Assistant
| Aug 27, 2014 | Yup, I tried that š by: JomvieMust I say that this experience had made me skip a beat for awhile since I am not used to hear my voice and I am not even used to talk out some topics while recording.But, all in all, it was a good experience~~at least I can say, āHey, I tried that!ā š |
| Aug 30, 2014 | Was it useful? Would you do it again? by: FrancisHappy to see it was exciting for you. :)I have found you gain confidence with being comfortable speaking longer and complicated explanations into a recorder. (Not as effective than face to face conversations though.)Is this a skill that is useful to a VA? If yes, why?Time could be saved for an employer, if he can listen to voice mail instead of reading on the go. Thoughts…? |
| Sep 01, 2014 | Collecting more confidence in recording my voice š by: JomvieI was just getting warmed up on the first few minutes, so I sound like a bit shaky, and yes, I gained confidence in the middle of the topic.In my case, as a VA, it will probably be useful in giving out instructions if written instruction is no longer effective.I am not yet confident in talking out my thoughts and ideas through recording, but I will try š |
| Feb 20, 2015 | Stepping Into the Footsteps of Each Other by: FrancisI have to agree, Jomvie, that I also found it very enlightening to turn into virtual assistant for a few hours. I think that this sort of exercise of expanding your comfort zone and trying something new that makes you really make progress with understanding each other.With this understanding comes a newly learned appreciation of each otherās workload and a much better compatibility in working together.I wonder how many other employers try doing the task themselves that they outsource. By the way, I have written my experiment of doing transcription work here. |
The Best Tool for Free File Sharing Online with a Big Team of Virtual Assistants That You Should Use
by Francis
(August 03, 2012)
When working together with virtual assistants, it often is necessary to send around big files back and forth and the easiest free file sharing system online that I know of is the Dropbox.
This free service makes possible to share in real time files of much bigger file size than your mailbox attachment could ever handle.
You can use them for recorded video instructions or to share the most actual results from your cooperation with your virtual assistants.
Why not saving time and trying to do that now.
Read More about Dropbox online file sharing tool
Business Ethics: Did You Make Bad Experiences in Your Own Company With Outsourcing?
by Francis
(August 04, 2012)
Outsourcing is a cheap solution to get things done and can be very effective. It also can be very frustrating.
Were you let down by the work outsourced to your freelancer employee?
Or, as a freelancer working online, did you make bad experiences with a “virtual” employer?
Sometimes, you cannot express criticism directly at your workplace out of fear of the consequences (social pressure/getting fired).
We invite you to send us your stories from your outsourcing experiences! Weāll add our opinions and advice to help you out.
Are there any oDesk shortcomings?
by Francis
(August 04, 2012)
Are there any reasons not to use oDesk as an outsourcing company?
Are there any oDesk shortcomings?
I am talking about the advantages of using oDesk all the time and it is pretty obvious that I am pleased with the company as a whole, but there is one big shortcoming for me as an employer that comes along with using oDesk.
The price you pay!
Every transaction and every payment you pay to your virtual assistants, oDesk keeps 10% of it as a cut.
If you use oDesk over years and long time, this cost will add up considerably. However, compared with many other outsourcing companies, you do not have any initial cost to sign up for this service. It is free of charge to sign up and if you donāt hire much, you donāt pay much.
In the end paying 10% on every transaction for oDesk is in my opinion a pretty fair deal for the advantage of using oDeskās team management features.
All in all, I think it is the best place to manage and keep long term virtual assistance.
Time Tracking and Screen Recording for Virtual Assistants ā All in One Place
by Francis
(August 04, 2012)
When you work together with virtual assistants, it is important to keep track of the time worked and the quality of work.
The best way to do that is to use time tracking and screed recording software on the end of your virtual assistant.
If he is really contracted with you, you will need to ask him to install appropriate software on his end.
Or if you would like it to be really easy, just hire a virtual assistant on oDesk.
ODesk comes pre-equipped with the time tracking and screen recording software that automatically records and documents the time worked, the quality of work and the money paid for that work.
This software features are enough reasons to manage your work over the oDesk platform.
Read more about oDesk team application
My Virtual Assistant Helped Me Set up My Email Marketing
by Francis
(August 08, 2012)
Setting up my Email marketing campaign is something important for my website, but also something I never got around to do.
Luckily my virtual assistant is there for the rescue.
He not only helps me set up the emails I am sending out but also he helps me set up the free bonus Ebook and the Email form which you can see on the top-right of the website.
He even created the EBook cover for me. Nice. Isnāt it?
If you have a virtual assistant helping you out with your email marketing efforts, you can completely focus on delivering quality content and detailed knowledge that isnāt to be found anywhere else.
Read more about hiring an email marketing assistant
Can’t Login into your oDesk Team? Trouble with Odesk software?
by Francis
(August 09, 2012)
No system is perfect.
And although the Odesk system is extremely reliable (I used it for over 4 years), from time to time you might find that you can’t login into your odesk Team Room, due to maintenance or any other problem.
Fortunately, Odesk has a pretty big online knowledge base. I researched one article that might be helpful if you are experiencing this problem.
Read this post for more help if you can’t login into your oDesk team
Don’t Get Too Dependent On Your Virtual Assistant
by Francis
(August 15, 2012)
Your virtual assistant can be a lot of things for you and your business:
- An asset
- A great help
- A time saver
- An adviser
However, there’s one thing your virtual assistant should never become, if you don’t want to become vulnerable: something you depend on (and expect will be around forever).
I am very happy to have my VA, and our cooperation is very smooth over the years. Would I have to hire a new VA for whatever reason, sure, I would lose some time and money, but my business would not take a plunge from one day to the other.
A good attitude to have when outsourcing your work to a virtual assistant is:
“He is a great help, and is doing things like I showed him. I would be able to do it alone, but it would take more time.”
Always document every step of cooperation with your virtual assistant, making backups often (easily done with this free tool).
Read more about how a virtual assistant can help you starting an online business
An Interesting Thing About Hiring A Virtual Assistant On oDesk
by Francis
(August 21, 2012)
I read an interesting post about how hiring a virtual assistant really helped out an entrepreneur to take care of his customer service.
One thing I read there really resonated with me:
Hiring is an interesting process. One the one hand you have the side of you that wants to find the perfect person for the job and who will benefit the business. On the other hand there’s a side to you that thinks “I really want to help this person out and give them a great opportunity to work for a cool startup”.
The hiring process really can be emotional.
Often, I go with my gut feeling when hiring someone out of a big number of candidates.
How can you know if you picked the right candidate?
You can’t.
But you can trust into each individual, and give each one of them a fresh chance to do well with you.
I won’t lie. Sometimes, you’ll lose time initially finding the right virtual assistant for you. It’s a screening process.
But if you hire one excellent virtual assistant and stick with him, I promise you that it’ll all be worth it!
Giving Your VA the Right Amount of Work is Crucial
by Francis
(August 27, 2012)
If you choose to hire a virtual assistant full time, be sure to be prepared to keep him busy full time.
It’s not enough to give him any tasks, the tasks must have meaning.
Do you know that there are two things that are really frustrating for your VA:
- Getting overwhelmed with work (with you expecting everything to be done by yesterday).
- Getting underwhelmed and forgotten (with you expecting your virtual assistant to come up with work on his own).
But boy, is giving instructions daily a lot of work!
I soon found out that I would do anything to shorten my workload that comes from managing my VA.
How to do that, without looking mean and uncaring?
(You should NOT, in any case, be uncaring towards your virtual assistant. He is an asset to your business and success!)
- Record your thoughts, wishes and instructions with voice recording and screen recording.
- Show your assistant what outcome you want.
- Let him know how much time you allow him to research a specific subject on his own, before you expect him to ask you for advice.
For my “ideal helper” VA and me, the cooperation runs smoothly now that we know each other. Without my many voicemails, my VA could not “guess” what I want from him.
Voicemails can be treated like one way telephone calls. Just talk away, but try to keep focussed on what you want from your assistant.
Every virtual cooperation between an employer and a freelancer needs some time to get the right “calibration”.
Using smart tools can heavily cut down the time you need to invest.
Read how to use Screen Recording to prepare instructions for your Virtual Assistant.
How long did it take you to find your first job on oDesk?
by Francis
We interviewed different virtual assistants as case studies to get your feeling how it is like working as a virtual assistant on oDesk.
The personal assistant I am using in cooperation with this website needed six months to land his first job on oDesk. So if you are unlucky it can take quite a while, but we share our best tips in order that you don’t have to wait this long.
How long did it take you to find your first job on oDesk?
And don’t forget to check out our oDesk interviews with different case studies.
Comments for How long did it take you to find your first job on oDesk?
| Sep 18, 2014 | There’s so much more than meets the eye by: JomvieNot on oDesk, but it sure did take me like forever before I got my job online..Itās probably Iām still a newbie, but I hope that would not be any employers gauge in measuring oneās ability because youāll never know what can the person do for you.As for me, I was jumping from one employer to another, itās not because of me and my performance. Itās because they can no longer provide the finances and leaving them on the losing side of the business. I have no choice, but to accept it. I was just happy that I can get something out of itānot financially, but the experience so that I can flaunt it in my portfolio. |
| Nov 30, 2014 | Annoying but what can you do by: FrancisIt’s a shame when an employer needs to cut ties with a good VA just because the funds are running out – although work quality is good.But it’s also a lesson for virtual assistants to try to find out and support the employer with finding the most efficient ways to keep the business floating. Although, granted, this is definitively the employer’s job.What was it that got you hired in this first job? Any tips on what to look out for to get hired? |
| Nov 30, 2014 | About how long it took me to land my first online job by: JomvieIn my experience, it was long like three to four months and when I thought I am going to be hired–it was just all a scam.Yes, there are employers online who scams your work and will leave you nothing. Like, they will ask you to write an article and after you pass the article, youāll never hear from them again.Take note, they are very particular–“I want a 300 word post/article” is what they might ask… So, we should all be wise and vigilant in dealing online. |
How to Outsource Using the Dropbox Referral System on Mechanical Turk?
by Francis
(August 28, 2012)
A visitor asked me an interesting question if it would be wise to outsource expanding your Dropbox using the referral system via the crowdsourcing service Mechanical Turk.
While it’s easy to ask hundreds of people to do a simple step for a few cents signing up via a referral link and expanding your Dropbox in the process, but it is against their terms of service. It might even get you banned from Amazon Mechanical Turk.
There are better ways that they are customized and ready to go on this other outsourcing service Fiverr. I have done it and if you want you can easily have it done too.
Read about the Outsourcing Life and Experiences of a Working Assistant from Sri Lanka
by Francis
(August 30, 2012)
I am pleased to say that the interview we did with Rilwan, a virtual assistant from Sri Lanka and his life as a freelancer and his working experiences has become one of the most popular pages on Ideal-helper.com.
It’s interesting to read how a virtual assistant thinks, feels and works.
So have a look and check it out.
Comments for Read about the Outsourcing Life and Experiences of a Working Assistant from Sri Lanka
| Sep 11, 2014 | Freelancing is not for me, but i’ll make him as my inspiration =) by: JomvieWow, I am so amazed how being a virtual assistant turned up to be his profession.Virtual employee will get more from freelancing since there are no ties between him and the employer and thatās the good side of being a virtual employee. But, as for me, I doubt I will ever get into freelancing since it requires more technical skills and the price is not for me. So, Iāll stick to a full-time job. Maybe later in time if I have the technical skills to show off š |
Nice to meet you, I am the person behind this website! The employer of virtual assistants, website owner, chemist and optimist. 
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