Hello!

I have been toying with the idea of starting my own VA business for a while now and am getting more concrete ideas, etc. (this site has been a huge help!).

I've been a high level EA for 12 years and the office politics,etc. have worn thin.

In doing my research, I have found agencies which hire VAs. Is it worth starting out with these agencies or is it better to just begin on your own?

I appreciate your help and am getting lots of inspiration from here!

Jennifer

It truly depends on your background. I'm a virtual subcontractor because I love to learn from others. They mentor me while I work for them. The way I've chosen to get my VA experience I wouldn't have changed. When it comes to a firms there are some very good ones out there. You don't have to stick with them forever so it can't hurt.

Jennifer,

I have not used an agency so I cannot give you positives or negatives. Going it alone means that you will have to bring in all your clients, do your own marketing and keep your business afloat while servicing your clients. Working with an agency means that you get the experience under your belt as well as hone the client processes associated with the business.

You can always branch out on your own, however the down side is that clients that you would be working with cannot come along for the ride. Usually there is a no compete clause and you will want to look at that as well.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

I'm new at this as well and I was just thinking the same thing. There are a lot of things to consider. Good luck with your decision!

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India Tolbert
workforyounow24

I did not know there are online agencies for va's. How do you find them and can I trust them?

Cbonn -

I have seen a few, but I am having the same questions. How do I know that they are reputable and will not be paying me pennies on the dollar? Also, many of them that I have found note in the "fine print" that they are outsourcing to India or China. If I were a business owner looking for a VA, I would want them here in the US, but I may be in the minority.
If anyone has had any good experiences with an agency, who did you work with? Or if you had a bad experience (and feel comfortable saying - you can always PM me), who was it and what went wrong?

I'm not experienced (yet), so I don't like to give a lot of advice, but I believe you could check out "A Clayton's Secretary" service-- they are reputable.

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Chela Lucia
www.LucentAdminSolutions.com The Bright Choice for Virtual Assistance!

seems like online marketing there is too much competition and you might have to compete with people charging 2dls per hour, the best is local marketing with the pennysaver, local news paper, yellow pages and so on just to get a decent rate.
Regards
Suave

Chela,

Thanks for that information I will look into it. Even thought I'm still in the planning stages and in school I am working on this journey. I would like to thank everyone for the information that is provided it is very helpful.

Cbonn

I was wonder the same thing. I stumbled come across a few online agency while researching the VA business and noticed that they only pay very little for the services that most VA's provide. I thought about trying it just to get the experience but decided against it because I know the value of my work. I have sinces made the decision to just spend time marketing my business.