Responce to your questions asked above:
does a person complain to you or to TDC? They complain directly to me and only if they feel they are not getting any resolve, they then go to TDC.

Who has the power to keep those people? You? Or can TDC take them away from you and give them to another VA? Only we have the power to keep our clients TDC does not take away our clients if our client is not happy with our work or with us as a VA then they ask TDC to find them a different VA.

Are you assigned these people by TDC or do you get to consult with them first? In every case of getting a new client I have been able to either turn them down or talk to them before taking them on as a client, I like to make sure by talking to them that I am what they are looking for and that I can do what they are needing.

Who has the power to raise your rates to these people–you or TDC? We have the power to ask for a rate increase when the time is right we like to work with the clients for about a year before we start asking for rate increases.

And how high can your rates go with TDC? They can go as high as we deem necassary.

Also what hasn’t been stated here is that our clients do and can buy out the contracts with TDC and have us working directly with them as a private client. Therefore we are no longer under TDC for that paticular client.

I think no matter how you look at it we are all Independent Contractors no matter what business your in. If you have to take care of all expenses for your business including taxes you are in business on your own. Otherwise the IRS wouldn’t allow you to have write off’s concerning your business and the IRS would then start asking questions.

I’m sorry that you are such a negative person in this aspect of your life and that you can be so judgemental, I hope your clients don’t see this part of you. Just because you choose to run your business in a different way then most of us, that is your business and only your business and we aren’t going to judge you for that.

But we are going to fight back when someone is attacking our profession and trying to discredit us as Virtual Assistants.

As for who is or is not a Virtual Assistant, well…let me just say this. I put my rear end (and the rear ends of my family) on the line to build my business. I have every right in the world to call myself a professional Virtual Assistant – I’ve earned that right. My name’s on every check, every bill, every ad…my name, my reputation, my decisions, my owner’s capital, my revenues. If you aren’t personally taking those kinds of risks, you aren’t a Virtual Assistant…you’re a telecommuter, a work-from-home Mom, an employee, what-have-you, but you are NO professional Virtual Assistant. Period. Calling yourself such is the same as my attorney’s paralegal calling herself a lawyer, or the lady in charge of A/R, A/P at the dealership where I bought my Jeep calling herself an accountant. The line of work my be similar, the tasks each do might overlap, but that does not make them interchangable.

If you don’t want to take the risks required to go it alone in your own business, that’s fine. There’s no shame in that. (Lord knows, there are days I wish I wasn’t responsible for every single detail about my business – it does get draining at times!) If you don’t want to do all of that, then don’t. Be happy and content working for someone else, but don’t expect to be entitled to call yourself something you’re not. And if that’s the route you plan to take, by all means first take a long, hard look at the companies you plan to align yourself with. Are they playing by the rules, or skirting their legal obligations? Do you really want to be associated with a company who isn’t completely above-board in terms of how they classify & treat their workers? If they can make it okay in their mind to pay sub-standard rates from which you still have to pay all your own employment-related expenses, knowing full well the consequences when the IRS catches wind of it, what are they going to do to YOU if there’s ever a dispute? Hmmm…not a smart situation to involve yourself in, is it?

Danielle, girl, I have to applaud your willingness to always seek clarification & stand strong where others might prefer to remain quiet! You’re always putting yourself out here, directly in the line of fire, to ensure that there is accurate information for prospective clients & fair treatment of those of us who do choose to risk it all to build our businesses! Thank you for being the kind of saucy business owner who isn’t afraid to rock the boat!

If a person working from home finds their work by being a member of Team Double Click, TDC is more like an employer. If I became a member of a virtual staffing agency, I would be subject to their rules and terms because they are the ones finding the work. They are the ones that make contact with business owners needing assistance and they are the ones who basically decide which clients to funnel through to me. And they could just as easily yank a client from me should they decide to do so.

If someone chooses to work for a virtual staffing agency, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, I think what most people are missing is not only the fact that a true Virtual Assistant owns their own business, but that a true Virtual Assistant works for herself / himself, period. They find their own clients and manage their businesses on their own terms. They stand on their own two feet and do not rely on someone else to do the hard part – which is marketing their business and securing clients. They are 100% in control and do not take direction from or answer to anyone else.

It seems to me that people who work from home want to be considered Virtual Assistants, simply because they work from home. Or, because they started their own business, which anyone can do. Just because someone works virtually (from home) does not make them a true Virtual Assistant.

I too work for TeamDoubleClick, and I too disagree w/your some of your statements.

Yes, TeamDoubleClick provided me w/some of my clients, but in reality, they have little to do with them beyond the sales process and overseeing that everything is running smoothly. I understood when I signed on that I would be working w/TDC clients and that TDC staff would be over me. What I have found though is that TDC has played a vital role in finding and providing me w/clients (something I do not wish to take on, on my own at this time), along with providing me with support and help when needed; but they are now for all intense purposes “my own clients.” Just because I, the “Virtual Assistant” am not business owner in the relationship and I don’t handle payroll for what the cleints owe me, or their contracts, does not mean that my relation with my clients is not “relationship-based”. It’s quite the opposite in fact.

I believe you are correct when you said that its “fundamentally about the unique and intimate working dynamic that happens only between two people–the Virtual Assistant professional and the client” I could not agree more!

I have established that dynamic w/all my clients (and one imparticular) and that was solo-based (between the client and myself). The fact that TeamDoubleClick provided the client for me, has little else to do with my working relationship with the client. Trust me when I say, had I not lived up to the expectations of my client, I would not be working for him any longer; and that has nothing to do with TDC.

I have been w/on particular client for over a year now. On a daily basis, I am the one who is available to handle all my clients travel, program bookings, contracts, accounts payable/receivable and many other things. My relationship w/my clients is far from “transaction based”. I am his second right hand, eyes and ears. I have final say over pricing for his programs and bookings and over his talent agency proposals and bookings. He relies on me to make decisions for him both professionally and personally based on the trust we have both acquired in the building of our relationship. He does not refer to TDC for answers – he refers to me, and if there is any sort of problem; he comes to me with it. On a regular basis, my client and I also discuss how I can further help him in his business and be a part of growing his business in the future.

Just because a Virtual Assistant is not the “business owner” in the relationship does not mean they are not the true meaning of a “Virtual Assistant”.

I am thankful for the opportunity TeamDoubleClick has provided me with. Without this opportunity I would not be able to call myself a “Virtual Assistant!”

As with any industry, it is (and should be) client driven. The client does not distinguish what to call a VA based on where they obtain them. The client simply wants a Virtual Assistant who can provide good quality service. The client will shop around to find what they perceive to be the best bang for their buck. In the end, the client has a Virtual Assistant providing a service they want. This is why there won’t be a distinction made in the virtual industry vernacular.

“They are business owners.” – True. Some are.

“You are a temp for a virtual staffing agency.” – If true, still providing virtual assistance.

“So what? If that’s what you want to do, more power to you. But that doesn’t make it Virtual Assistance.” – Not true. Just as CPAs, bookkeepers, lawyers, graphic designers and many, many more are self-employed freelancers/contractors, employees, or run their own practices, so are Virtual Assistants. And as pointed out in many of these comments, they might be a combo of these at any given time. Take a look at the smaller VA firms that are made up of the owner-operator plus one or more team members who might also have their own businesses. Those “team” VAs might be subcontracting, freelancing, or even be strategic partners who each service and bill the client directly.

“Why the hysterics?” – I think this has stirred such indignation because we can’t force everyone to fit one neatly wrapped definition.

I enjoy your column Gritty VA – even quoted you on my own blog last week – but it might be time to respectfully acknowledge the many legitimate ways to deliver this thing called Virtual Assistance. It’s a growing, changing, dynamic thing that can’t be solely defined by the originator(s) – at least not in the marketplace.

I’ve just looked at the Team Double Click website. One benefit to the client really stood out for me:

“An additional representative who shadows the admin to be sure they’re performing well and taking good care of you.”

I run my own VA business. I do NOT have a supervisior, I manage myself, my client work and my business.

Looking at the section of the website for those interested in working for Team Double Click I found the following:

“How we work: All client contact is funneled through our main office to ensure quality control and timely responses. We are not a freelance opportunity company or a bidding board. We are a virtual staffing agency. Any work you perform on behalf of Team Double-ClickSM will be for one of our clients. Think of us as you would Kelly Temporary Services only virtually.”

If VAs want to work on a contract basis through Team Double Click, kudos to them. However, bottom line I have to agree with The Gritty Virtual Assistant that this IS different from creating your own business, building it and being fully responsible for your own client relationships.

Interesting dicussion, thank you everyone…

Kate