Have Virtual Assistant, Will Travel: How To Outsource Your Life With a Virtual Assistant

Time Famine: Enough is enough!
The late comedian George Carlin observed that we have added years to life, not life to years. That is perhaps one of the great ironies of our age. Even with the advances in technology and communications supposedly meant to save us time, we are always strapped for it, running to and fro getting things done to get the job done and beat deadlines just in the nick of time, all the while the golf set sits in the corner gathering moss. It is for us that the phrase “time famine” has been invented. The sadder part is that every day that passes presents more and more to see in the world, but we’re just too enervated to indulge in the pleasurable things that do make us feel “alive”.

It used to be that most of the working class punched in countless hours with the dream of retiring in style in their golden years, while being content with a yearly two-week vacation til then. But more and more harried souls simply do not want to postpone living. Entrepreneurs (god bless their souls) have taken heed and responded most enthusiastically and thus the Virtual Assistant was born. And what a stroke of genius the idea is.

Have VA, Will Travel
For years now, major companies subcontract activities offshore to cut costs and to concentrate on their core competencies. But you do not have to be a business owner to do the same. VAs (also often called remote executive assistants and virtual personal assistants) are not limited to just taking your calls when you’re unavailable. They are capable of providing efficient administrative, technical and even creative support with as little hassle as possible. From across the globe, your VA can organize data for you, create and send your brochures, set and keep your calendar, keep track and respond to your emails, pay your bills, and even purchase Broadway tickets for you while you’re flag-throwing in Italy. It is the freedom to live out great experiences before your hair turns a premature gray. It is having your VA Vij in India translate last year’s sales figures into neat pie charts while you take lessons in kiteboarding in the Columbia River. How great would it be if all a copywriter has to do is write? Wishful thinking? Not anymore. A VA from, say, the Philippines, can sift thru pages of data so what the writer gets in his inbox is a detailed yet concise research of what he needs to write his article, with time to spare to finally read books he bought four months ago.

Fun and profit
The point in having a VA is fun and profit, according to lifestyle design guru Tim Ferriss who, in his bestseller The 4-hour Workweek, advocates outsourcing your life as a way to maximize your time so that you can have the life of your dreams, preferably while you’re awake. There are individuals who have struck gold by farming out mundane activities to their VAs (you can have more than one!) thereby allowing them time to establish several businesses and accomplish more, but the goal of outsourcing your life is not even to be rich, but to be able to live the life you imagine the moneyed or the privileged to be living, not later but now. Fun and profit. Profit in that your savings in dollarspeak is not negligible. A virtual assistant’s slogan can very well be “Hire me for $500 a month, and half your work is my problem”. You can call him your assistant, but he’s really your co-worker…who can take care of 80% of your worries and work for 20% of your salary.

Getting your very own VA
So how do you get a VA? There are freelancers who advertise online, but there are reputable outsourcing companies who specialize in screening and hiring them for you. Open Access Marketing, for instance, has established a pool of competent VAs with capabilities tailored to take care of various needs of both companies and individuals. Explore the possibilities with us, call us now at 800-626-9479 or email us at info@openaccessmarketing.com.