I just hired a VA to do a press release for me (everyone knows of my hatred for writing) to announce some changes in my business. I also have a 15 year old nephew I'm about to put to work to help out with some things... ok he's not really a va, but he's cheap.
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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services
Cheap is good...and who knows..maybe someday he can be a VA! Sometimes I look at my 16yo daughter and wish I could put her to work for me! There's no way...yes, she knows Power Point inside and out (they start teaching this stuff in 3rd grade nowadays!) but she's too busy texting and im'ing to ever be productive!
Well I've decided to off load my major postcard mailing to my 16 year old neice. I'm just not sure if I can trust her accruacy for inputting the new contacts into a spreadsheet and actually caring if its correct. So I'll probably still have to do that and mail merge everything for her. She's excited about her $10 an hour job.. go figure.. I told her she better not be texting and doing other stuff while she's working on my dang postcards..lol
I actually love the organizational structure parts of business and really don't care that much for the actual adminsitrative stuff. I know, I need to DO some other job then, right? One day I will... I'll be a multi-VA company and I'll only organize and direct the work, not do it.
$10 an hour is big money for a 16 year old. Once she figures that out she'll do a great job for you. It'd be really hard to replace that income if Auntie Tamika had to fire her. Around here the going rate for a teenager's part time job is about $6.50 an hour.
That's the spirit Cheryl. Keep a positive view of the future and envision what you want as clearly as possible. It'll happen for you if you keep the big picture in mind. I enjoy both, the organizational stuff as well as the administrative and I LOVE bookkeeping. There's something very comforting in numbers. I'm not very creative though...designing is soooo not my thing. It's good to know that it takes all kinds and there's room for all of us to do our thing.
$10 an hour is big money for a 16 year old. Once she figures that out she'll do a great job for you. It'd be really hard to replace that income if Auntie Tamika had to fire her. Around here the going rate for a teenager's part time job is about $6.50 an hour.
But Auntie Mika is a harda&% and has very high expectations -- she should know this by now.
My daughter is 16 and I wish she would work for me. She has in the past, but she is really not in to it as much. She has a seasonal job at PartyCity for the Halloween rush and loves it. Pushing paper I guess is not her thing :-( Even the money enticement only goes so far...but I am pretty happy with the company that I hired to assist me. We are working out kinks, but I think we have a good fit!
Wow, I am glad to hear that there are other VAs out there that feel the same way I do (some days overwhelmed and in need of a hand).
I guess we have to remember, we are like any other business owner we assist --- there are things we just don't want to do or have the time to do -- but they need to get done. So, of course, a VA is the perfect solution
Once my business grows I am definitely going to be getting an assistant -- I have a few people in my sights (online and offline).
Haha - as the posts about hiring your kids as your help. I was an assistant in my mother's law office from the age of... maybe 12 until I was mid-teens and had more 'important' things to do. Answering phones (people have always said I was 13 going on 30 as far as professionally), filling out forms, handling clients, returning emails, etc. Kids can be a great asset to your business, but they can also monkey things up a lot if they aren't kept an eye on (I don't care how old they are!) - that goes for spouses too.
Re: Do YOU Have a VA?
One day I will... I'll be a multi-VA company and I'll only organize and direct the work, not do it. 
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