How does hiring a VA work?

Simple Examples

Gwen needs a document edited and proofread.  It's long and she is a busy concentrating on her clients and sales. We come to an agreement on payment and cost via email. We sign a simple contract by fax. Gwen sends me the document, I complete the work and send it back.

Joe's Thingamajigs is in need of a business logo.  Joe emails me with a rough idea of what he has in mind. We come to an agreement on payment and cost via email. We sign a simple contract by fax. I develop the logo for his approval, make changes if necessary, and send back a high-resolution graphic either by email, a download link or burn it to a CD and mail it (whichever Joe prefers). 

Max is starting a small business dealing in metal detectors and GPS units. He wants to be able to provide informative handouts at the front counter for his customers regarding the hobbies of Metal Detecting and Geocaching. He doesn't have the time to do the research, nor does he have the skills or software to write these documents.  We come to an agreement on payment and cost via telephone. We sign a simple contract by fax or through the mail.  I research and write the documents, submit these to Max for his approval, make any necessary changes and provide Max with PDF documents via email, download link or on a disk or CD. By using the PDF format, he can be assured that he can print these himself by downloading a free PDF reader (if it is not already on his computer) or can take the files to a local print shop for printing. For an additional fee, Max could have me print and mail him the documents.  It's up to Max.
 

More Involved Examples

Natalie's Lawn Service wants to mail personalized correspondence to her customers and also send out a newsletter to those that have signed up for a mailing list. Her business is taking off and things are becoming unruly. Natalie has no idea how to do this, but can provide me with the names & addresses of her customers and those on her current mailing list. She wants to write the content for the lawn care tips newsletter each month and send it to me. She also wants to send me the new mailing list sign-ups and new customer info each month that need to be added to her data sources.  We come to an agreement on payment and cost via email. We sign a simple contract by fax.  I develop a newsletter format that is to her liking. Each month Natalie mails me the info for the newsletter, I update the data source and the newsletter on my computer and print and mail her newsletters.  Additionally, whenever Natalie needs to send out personalized correspondence to a group or all of her customers, she sends me the letter via email, I enter it into my computer, print and mail the letters.

Don needs clerical help. His business is at an in-between stage where he is financially unable to hire an employee, but the work is too much for one person. What he really needs is someone that can answer his email, type and send letters and enter data into his computer. We come to an agreement on payment and cost via email. We sign a simple contract by fax. We install an easy, low cost software, GoToMyPC, on his computer which also has an Internet connection. I help Don out during this time by accessing his computer securely via the Internet and completing the work he needs done on an hourly pay basis.

Sheryl is an artist and paints portraits from photos for customers. She wants a website that will show examples of her work via the Internet to potential customers. This will eliminate the need to conduct meeting after meeting to show her work and potentially enable her to reach a larger market. We come to an agreement on payment and cost via email. We sign a simple contract by fax. If Sheryl is local, I can meet with her to discuss the project and learn more about her business. If not, we can discuss via email, instant messaging or telephone. I help Sheryl secure a domain name and website hosting and build a website for her, complete with custom graphics and scans of her work.