The Gritty Virtual Assistant

This post is for prospective clients interested in hiring Virtual Assistants.

I don’t know where this disconnect is coming from, but I have to have a little plain-speaking talk with some of you. This is an area of growing concern, and for your sake–and our sanity–I need to edamacate you on the topic of hiring contractors.

Contractors, such as Virtual Assistants, are not your employees.

They are independent professionals, just like yourself, who run their own businesses. They have their own policies, procedures, standards and schedules. For most Virtual Assistants, it is their pleasure to share this information with you during a consultation.

With an independent contractor such as a Virtual Assistant, you get lots of advantages, some of which include:

• You don’t pay employee-related taxes
• You don’t pay for office equipment and business expenses
• You don’t have to worry about training, administration, supervision and management
• You have great flexibility instilled in your business
• There is greater over-all cost effectiveness and savings
• You can get a greater degree of talent and skill than you might ever be able to afford in an employee

I could list a ton more advantages and benefits with hiring independent contractors, but I think you get the idea.

You do need to understand one thing, however–hiring an independent contractor is not a way to get an employee without having to follow the law.

• When you hire an independent contractor, you don’t get to tell us what you’ll pay–we charge our own professional rates based on business economics and what will sustain our businesses profitably. You have only to decide that the value is there for you or not.
• You don’t get to tell us how to do the work that will be performed or what equipment we use. You only have a say in telling us what you want accomplished or the results you want achieved.
• We don’t "report" to you so we will not be filling out time reports or any other kinds of "reports" for that matter, nor attending employee meetings (virtual or otherwise). We perform work from our own facilities.
• You don’t get to tell us when the work will be done or what hours you expect us to be available. We manage our own time and work according to our own business schedule. Our relationship is one of business and customer, and our only concern, and obligation, to you is that we accomplish the work we’ve been engaged, and have agreed, to perform.

If you want or need someone who is solely dedicated to your business only, who you can supervise and manage, and who you can pay employee wages to, then you need an employee or a telecommuter (a telecommuter is someone who fits the legal definition of an employee but works from home).

That also means you need to follow employment laws, which means deducting taxes and paying your share as an employer, as well as paying for the legally-defined employee’s equipment and expenses.

Keep in mind that just because you both sign an independent contractor agreement, you are not protected from liability if the relationship doesn’t meet IRS or FLSA rules that determine whether an independent contractor is really an employee. The laws don’t uphold illegal agreements, and if the IRS determines this is the case, it is you who will be paying penalties and back taxes on those "independent contractors," not to mention any other benefits and reimbursements they would have received as an employee in your company.

And look, since I’m speaking plainly, I realize that it hurts to part with money and paying taxes is painful. But we’re in the same boat. We independent contractors have businesses to run just like you. We can’t work for peanuts, and we have to ensure our profitability so we can stay in business and continue to give great service to clients. It’s a two-way street, and business economics applies to both parties.

And frankly, if someone isn’t just innocently unknowing about these things, and is really intentionally looking to cheat Uncle Sam (and in the process, the employee "contractor"), my first thought is what else are they going to be shady and unethical about? I don’t want anything to do with anyone like that.

So do us and yourself a favor. Please treat us with the same demeanor and professional respect as you would expect to be treated yourself as a business owner. Keep in mind the dos and don’ts I’ve listed above, and you’ll very happily find yourself in a great business relationship with an independent Virtual Assistant contractor who can give your business great skill, great value, great flexibility and help it grow beyond what you could ever accomplish all by yourself.