Virtual Assistants: Elance vs Odesk

[Frantzces Lys]

Hi,

I just wanted to take a poll to see if any investors had a preference between Elance or Odesk or do some of you use them interchangeably? I started with Odesk and now I'm exploring Elance.

Does it come down to a matter of preference?

Is one really better than the other?

If anyone could share their experiences that would be awesome!

Thank you in advance

[Joseph Ball]

I prefer Odesk because I think it attracts the kind of people I want o work with. I have used Elance, but I think it attracts more expensive workers. People-Per-Hour is very expensive. I have no connection with Odesk, other than customer.

The Guide to Working with VA’S

Joseph Ball

352-217-8854 cell

352-429-0026 office

1.Define a specific task that can be done remotely. Such as, “Find all the little old blue-hair ladies in Arkansas.”

2.Perform the task yourself, preserving each step, each link, each phone number (although, I have yet to ask VA’s to use phones.) Time your work.

3.Write up the job, and save it, as a WORD document. You will use this over, and over. I have a WORD document for every VA task.

4.Time yourself. Be liberal. You don’t know-your VA might work with a cat in her lap.

5.Double the time (or at least time and one-half.)

6.I use an average of $4/hour, as prevailing wage rate. Apply that rate to your task.

7.If you have a problem, say, “My other VA’s do this job, and this is what I pay.” Never allow VA’s to communicate with one another. Always tell them that they are part of a large team. (They aren’t the only fish…Pool boys are everywhere.)

8.I don’t think you will find many US or UK workers you will want to hire. (I have hired a few, for very short-term, specific tasks.) However, I have found some remarkable workers through Fiverr.com. I have hired VA’s from India, Bangladesh, Philippines, St. Louis, UK, Jamaica. I always have a team at work. Today, my team is only three.

9.Advertise your job on Odesk. I have used others (Guru, People-per-Hour). I find Odesk attracts the VA’s I want to hire.

10.Don’t try to circumvent Odesk on fees. They provide a valuable service. I gladly pay 10%. I prefer to pay the Odesk fee myself, but some have the VA pay the fee. I try to motivate my VA’s all the time. This costs very little, and they do a lot for me.

11.When you advertise, give the rough description of the job. State how much you are willing to pay. State you are not willing to pay more. Applicants must understand this is the pay. (This screens out applicants who want more. This will reduce your applicant pool from 2,400 to 24.)

12.Odesk suggests you just advertise the job and ask for “bids”. Standby for a full inbox, if you do. (I don’t recommend that, unless you are advertising for Pool Boys.)

13.When you receive applicants, screen for experience. Odesk will show you what they have done. Pick one, and send your WORD document. Ask the applicant to do two or three samples and submit them. Review and hire, or move on. I have found it is likely you will try two or three before you settle long-term for one (or two). You will find two kinds of applicants: Individuals, and Teams. I have worked with both. Teams are good for fast work-short fuse. Individuals are great for long-term solid work. With teams, however, quality of work may vary, depending upon which team member does your work that day. For my part, I prefer individuals. Exception: Something highly technical, such as “Build a website”, you may be better with a team. I find, in India, there is at least one community that consists of many technical workers. They have a local University that turns out Internet Experts.

14.For some reason, they always want to talk with you, via Skype. I don’t want to talk with them. I just want them to work. I always insist upon email. You may feel different about Skype.

15.Don’t pay too much. What you pay, you will be stuck with long-term, unless you hire someone else. I think it is better to be conservative, and pay periodic bonuses. I send my ladies $10, pretty often, and tell them to go to the beauty parlor. $10 goes a long way in India, or the Philippines.

16.Diversify. I often hire two people to perform the same task. That gives backup-often error checking. There is one task I do that is technical and detailed. I hire two VA’s to do the same task. It is easy to compare output. Errors pop up.

17.Don’t “lend” your VA’s. You have a business relationship you have developed. Someone else may screw this up.

18.Be reasonable. Sometimes, a VA may have a “My wife, she; my dog, It.” These people are of great value.