| In today's landscape of blurred economic | | | | reliable network. Look for a virtual assistant who |
| boundaries, American corporations and small | | | | belongs to the International Virtual Assistants |
| businesses can support the domestic economy by | | | | Association (IVAA). In their Code of Ethics, IVAA |
| hiring a virtual assistant (VA). A VA living in the | | | | members agree to "protect any confidential |
| U.S. understands the business environment and | | | | information obtained in the performance of their |
| the domestic culture. There are many benefits to | | | | duties, and shall not use such information for |
| hiring virtual assistants instead of managing your | | | | personal gain nor in a manner that would be |
| own staff. Here are five reasons to consider | | | | detrimental to their client or any other party." |
| outsourcing your staffing needs. | | | | 4. You work irregular hours. Some business |
| | | | professionals keep strange hours because of their |
| 1. Outsourcing saves a ton of money. The small | | | | sleep cycle or essential job functions. If you hire a |
| business owner and the large company save on | | | | VA who keeps regular business hours, you can |
| the costs associated with maintaining an in-house | | | | maintain the façade of a traditional business |
| workforce. A contract virtual assistant does not | | | | without working the 9-to-5 shift yourself. |
| require costly benefits such as workers | | | | 5. You value efficiency over appearances. Some |
| compensation, health insurance, unemployment | | | | business owners choose to invest in the |
| insurance, vacation, and sick leave. | | | | considerable costs of the traditional office. When |
| 2. If you like to work in an independent setting | | | | your clientele expects this setup, you can still |
| without distractions, the virtual environment lends | | | | maintain a minimal office staff and outsource |
| itself to privacy. You only have to get in touch | | | | functions like answering phones, packaging and |
| with your VA electronically or over the phone | | | | mailing, and bookkeeping to virtual assistants. |
| when it is convenient. The rest of the time you | | | | Reputable virtual assistants in the U.S. domestic |
| can work happily in a quiet office. | | | | market are qualified and organized to serve your |
| 3. You can obtain a signed confidentiality | | | | business in the home office environment. Find the |
| agreement to protect your trade secrets and | | | | right VA and eliminate the headache of keeping |
| confidential information if you use a VA from a | | | | your own staff on the payroll. |