I do a lot of networking, and recently I met a Virtual Assistant (VA). That’s very uncommon because, well, they’re virtual and generally don’t venture into the wild (i.e., networking events). I was intrigued by her as one would be with say a peacock or a Richmond Birdwing Butterfly(yes, I know what that is!) and asked her what her skill set was. “Well, I don’t do bookkeeping, and I won’t cold call. I don’t do or even understand social media, and I won’t get involved in marketing material. Oh, and I don’t do notarizing. Who does that anyway?” As she told me all of the things she doesn’t do, I couldn’t help but say (in the most eloquent way I could), “So, you’ve told me all things you don’t do, is there anything you do do?” She looked at me blankly, probably wondering if it would be appropriate to slap me. It was a valid question; how would it benefit a company to pay separately for a VA, separately for a bookkeeper, and separately for someone to do their social media? That’s a lot of money if you ask me. At this same event, I happened upon a gentleman who I had seen a few months before who had brushed me off with “Yea, I could hire you, but I’ve got this girl doing everything for me out of the Philippines, and she only charges $10 an hour. I just don’t see the value in what your company offers” (yes, he really said that).
I reintroduced myself to said gentleman and asked how things were going with his Filipino VA. He complained about how much time he spends just trying to get her to understand what he needs, and how many times he has to send things she writes back to her because they just don’t make regional sense. She speaks perfect English, don’t get me wrong. She just doesn’t speak Northern Virginian. People don’t get how important that is! Yes, of course you can spend pennies on someone overseas to do the same things you could pay an American to do, however, just because they speak English, doesn’t mean they speak Tyson’s, or Richmond, or Maryland. The words we use here, and the way we intercommunicate here in the DMV is vastly different than people back home in Michigan. I don’t communicate with people in Massachusetts they same way I do here, and how would someone halfway across the world know that where you live it’s called the Metro, and elsewhere it’s called the subway (in Michigan it’s called a People Mover-go figure!)
At VersaTel, we keep things local on purpose. Not only does it feed the American economy (which is EXTREMELY important to me), it also ensures regional intercommunication (basically, when you say something specific to the area, we know what you’re saying. Or, if you need scheduling, we know the area and where to take you first so you’re not driving all over the state). We don’t pretend to know what we’re doing, or say “Oh yea, we can do that” and hope for the best. We are highly skilled professionals, CPA’s, with a plethora of experience ready to service your needs. Our flexibility is the beauty of our business, and because WE are a small business, we have a vested interest in YOUR small business. It’s small business that built this country, and small business that will rebuild this economy, so the next time you think “Oh, I’ll save money if I cut corners here and there” remember you ALWAYS get what you pay for, and with VersaTel Solutions, you get a ‘Justice League’ of telecommuters at your service!