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STEP BY STEP: how I found 5 unpaid VA's to work with my startup.

Jason1

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Oct 24, 2018
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Hello!

Just wanted to share this method here (step by step) as it's significantly increased the amount of busy-work that gets out the door each day. I feel obliged to share because it's made a world of a difference for me in my 2nd year, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs could use the help in the same way I did. Working with VA's has helped me focus on my core business (I mostly do my own marketing - content, emails, newsletters, Facebook groups) and passing these tasks over to student VA's has been incredibly freeing. Each of them work with me remotely for up to 10 hours a week - I've saved almost 50 hours a week. Hoping this is valuable for some of you, and I strongly suggest going through each step to understand how I did this, I've done all the research for you!

Disclaimer: Once I was set up, it took around 2 hours to interview VA candidates, and I typically spend an hour or two each week managing them (but it's nothing compared to the hours of time I'm saving, so I will say that it's worth it.)

Step one: Identify your needs and requirements. Make a list of what tasks you'd have a VA help you with. It could be anything from content writing, to email management, to Facebook group/social media growth. Anything that will help you grow. Do you have enough tasks to give someone? It's important to be sure before you go through this process so you're not wasting your time. If you have a solid list, then move on to step two!

Step two: Here's where I once spent a lot of time sourcing VA's and marketing assistants in the past. After some MORE time spent researching better ways, I've found the best source (IMO!) <spam link removed by mod> This is the best and most direct system of finding and hiring VA's that I've found so far, and where I found my current 5. I've tried a few other systems like this one which I can share as well. Once you've signed up on their system and have been onboarded, move on to the next step.

Step three: Think of this as a growth hack. The platform gives you access to hundreds of students looking for unpaid work placement, you should make the most of it. Contact a number of VA's that meet your criteria (timezone, languages, skills, education background) and lead with what value you can give them by working with you. Will they have the opportunity to lead their own project? Is the work you have for them unique in any way? Once you've connected with a few, you can select them for preliminary interviews over the phone/skype/or email.

Step four: You'll have chosen your VA by this point. Use the one-click labor contract that the platform creates and sends for you. This is highly recommended.

Step five: You can bring on a number of VA's but it's always good to start small and grow as needed. To do that, just repeat steps three and four.

I can also share some learned wisdom about working optimally with a remote VA. Feel free to ask any questions about it in the comment and we'll chat :)

I hope this is helpful for you - happy to share what's worked for me.

Jason
 
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George Appiah

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Thanks for sharing, Jason.

I tried to use local interns at various times in the past, but it never worked out for me. I always had to take over and do my own work, or risk missing important deadlines and appointments. And I got tired of listening to excuse after excuse, as my interns seemed to have their own internal clocks that didn't jive with that of the world at large. (If you've ever been to Ghana before, you're probably familiar with GMT: Ghana Man's Time :smile:)

Will definitely give this a try!
 
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Jason1

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Oct 24, 2018
3
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Thanks for sharing, Jason.

I tried to use local interns at various times in the past, but it never worked out for me. I always had to take over and do my own work, or risk missing important deadlines and appointments. And I got tired of listening to excuse after excuse, as my interns seemed to have their own internal clocks that didn't jive with that of the world at large. (If you've ever been to Ghana before, you're probably familiar with GMT: Ghana Man's Time :smile:)

Will definitely give this a try!

Hey George, yeah I hear you! If you source from the wrong place it can be a nightmare, have had a few experiences like you're describing in the past. That's why I wanted to share this platform because the apprentices/interns receive training prior to working with a business. Makes a big difference.
 

Lex DeVille

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Hey George, yeah I hear you! If you source from the wrong place it can be a nightmare, have had a few experiences like you're describing in the past. That's why I wanted to share this platform because the apprentices/interns receive training prior to working with a business. Makes a big difference.

What is your affiliation with GenM? Are you the founder?
 
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Fox

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You have multiple accounts on this forum and a very suspicious first post above that is all about promoting one particular business.

Which account do you wish to keep? This one @Jason1 or the other account with a different first name?

And are you connected with the business you mentioned?
 

ApparentHorizon

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You have multiple accounts on this forum and a very suspicious first post above that is all about promoting one particular business.

Which account do you wish to keep? This one @Jason1 or the other account with a different first name?

And are you connected with the business you mentioned?

It's self promotion. If you hover your mouse on the space right after M in GenM in Step Two, you'll see the link back to his page.

It's an old black hat trick.
 

CareCPA

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It's self promotion. If you hover your mouse on the space right after M in GenM in Step Two, you'll see the link back to his page.

It's an old black hat trick.
Learn something new every day...
 
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Fox

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It's self promotion. If you hover your mouse on the space right after M in GenM in Step Two, you'll see the link back to his page.

It's an old black hat trick.

Thanks, banned. Left this open as a warning to others would be spammers.
 

Patrickg

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That is to bad , because it did seem like a good concept.
 

ApparentHorizon

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That is to bad , because it did seem like a good concept.

I looked at the site, and you still have to pay.

If you're looking for free talent consider reaching out to your local high school. Many have programs allowing students to earn credits by working for you. If they don't have one pitch it for their business classes.

This is different than an unpaid internship, which you have a bunch of other legal hoops to jump through.
 
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Jeff Noel

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*Sigh*, the title was an interesting subject matter.

Still on topic, reading this thread made me think about something for social media agencies, web marketing agencies and people aspiring to build tons of business websites, keep reading.

One thing I realized with everyone calling themselves entrepreneurs lately, is the huge amount of Virtual Assistants that started popping in many of my online communities.

Using @Sean Marshall guides and courses, you can make a contract with those virtual assistants at decent rates (most of them don't ask for a huge amount, here at least). It can really help your CENTS to take the manual work off your shoulders and focus more on sales, if your operation/production guide is already written for them.

You basically need ~1-2 hours of training per VA and then you let them follow the steps of your operation manual.
 

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