I am new to the VA industry and was wondering about peoples opinion about the best way to find work, especially getting started.

What are the advantages and disadvantages between the freelance sites that let you bid on jobs, and the staffing sites that find work for you if you are a member?

Thanks,
Scotty

Scotty,

There is much discussion here about the usefulness of sites such as elance, guru and sologig, et al. You can do a search and find those here. Some people find work through these sites and others do not find them useful. The advantage is that you may find work; sometimes it is from good bidding practice or being at the right place at the right time. The disadvantage (the threads tell you in greater detail) is the time spent on bidding on work and perhaps some discouragement from others who bid low and then get the job you wanted. It seems that persistence is the key to getting the work and once you have a client, the possibility does exist that you may get more work and experience. Some of these sites offer a free membership so you may want to look them over.

There are threads about staffing sites in which you are a member, paid and free. The advantages are that you may be selected for work you might otherwise have not known about. The disadvantage is paying for something that may be expensive for your budget or that might not get you any work. Further, if you sign on with a staffing agency, they take a cut, which can be quite large but the advantage is that you can gain experience about being a virtual assistant.

I don't have a tried and true answer for you. There is a wealth of information here about marketing your business through social networking, attending events, creating promotional materials, setting up a website, etc.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Janine

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New VAs: I personally recommend Become A Virtual Assistant to Get Started!

Janine gave you the straight talk on this, Scotty, and there's not much to add.
Usually, a VA wants to work towards retainer clients, and while some job sites may turn up one for you, it's not the norm. Building your business, your list, your clientele takes a good while, but unfortunately the contacts one tends to make through job sites - in general - aren't all that valuable for the long term.

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com

I realize that it's important to make long term relationships with clients. And I really would rather have 5 - 10 clients that I work with on a regular basis as opposed to just going from one project at a time on those job bidding sites.

I hope to land a few bids on those freelance sites and hopefully find some client that I like to work with and get ongoing work from them.

I have been searching for the staffing sites, but I'm unsure of them because every time I do a search for them, I get a lot of "beware of VA staffing scams". I was hoping to meet someone here that could give me a list of some legitimate staffing sites for new VAs if they even exist.

At this point, I am willing to work for peanuts in order to get some good ratings and hopefully meet a client that likes my work and is willing to give me more business in the future.

I have not looked into any of those sites either but it seems like there is always a price to pay. However, if you are just looking to get some first clients and build a positive reputation with them, it sounds like a good way to do it.

Good luck. Let us know how it ends up working for you.

Kelly

The downside seems to be that on the freelance sights, you end up having to work for peanuts, and if you end up retaining anyone as a client, they will continue to expect to pay you peanuts. I was frankly appalled at the rates paid for completed jobs on some of these sites. 10 hours of work done for $25? I don't think it's worth it other than as experience to add to your CV.

Hi Scotty,
I am starting my VA practice and anxiously bidding on these free sites for work. Since it's free I only get three bids (guru and elance) per month. I proposed three jobs last week for each site and got declined because the companies in India and Pakistan bid ridiculous low amounts.

My experience so far is that even the jobs that appear to be long-term client worthy are still looking for really cheap rates. So that is what they will get in this market.

I think I am going to keep bidding because they are free, but change my strategy to focus on marketing to local small businesses in my area and hoping that might lead to referrals. As a newbie, I am willing to try most any strategy at this point.

Hi Corrie and Scotty,

You might also want to consider volunteering your services. While you won't get paid, you will be helping out a worthy cause (of your choice) that probably desperately needs any help they can get. It will also enable you to start gathering those all-important testimonials and could very well lead to client referrals when you've done a good job. It can also let you test out any skills you might not have perfected yet as the expectations of these businesses probably won't be as high as that of an actual client.

Good luck!

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Kate V. Kerans
Kerans Virtual Assistance

Kate,

I too, am just starting out and never thought of volunteering. What a great way to open the door to prospective clients while helping those in need.

Laura