FAQs

A VA provides services in an independent contractor capacity, not as an employee. The range of VA services typically varies, depending on the individual’s expertise and interests.

Some VAs focus on secretarial/administrative functions, others may offer social media and/or marketing support, while a smaller subset may have a more focused business or industry niche, such as legal, medical, or website services.

For a list of the virtual services offered through the Virtual Way Station, see General Services, Social Media/Lead Conversion, and Website Services.

The best way to determine how you will be best served working with the Virtual Way Station is to first have a clear sense of your area(s) of need. With that criteria framework in place, you can then measure the list of virtual services available, assess the terms of service, and learn more about the person you’d be working with.

Here at the Virtual Way Station, what you see^* is what you’ll get — a finished product that is clear, concise, and well presented, with attention to detail each step of the way.

Here at the Virtual Way Station, I use a web-based project management system which allows me the ability to keep each client apprised of the status of any given project. Emails and supporting documents relating to any given task are readily and centrally accessible to those involved, yet private and secure from those who are not.

For those clients who prefer, I can also schedule periodic status updates via phone.

Invoices include a detailed summary of how time has been spent, be it emails, online research, or completion of a task phase. Invoices are issued at the beginning of each month, but can also be sent on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to better meet your budgeting needs. Invoices are payable within 15 days of receipt.

I take the same care and pride in selecting project partners as I take in the day-to-day project tasks. All my partners are carefully vetted for reliability and expertise, through a partnership model that provides you the flexibility of one-stop service and accountability. You don’t have to manage several moving parts.

And if there’s ever a project that’s fully outside the scope of my service offerings, I’m always happy to at least offer suggestions and recommendations to those I believe hold the same professional values.

In addition to emails, the project management service I use provides a means of uploading documents, images, and other files. It keeps them with the related task for easy retrieval. For larger files or other situations, I also use DropBox.

Coming from a legal background, client confidentiality and information security is something that has been ingrained into my business practices.

A confidentiality agreement is executed by all involved parties prior to entering into any business relationship. My computers are secured by Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows firewalls to ward off viruses and hackers.

Staff employees require a lot of additional costs, such as office space, equipment, software, office supplies, and other essentials, as well as those frequently overlooked office perks, such as free coffee, subscriptions, and membership fees. In addition, you have payroll costs, bookkeeping costs, employment taxes, unemployment insurance, health insurance, vacation/sick time, holidays, retirement programs, and more.

When you work with the Virtual Way Station, you have the professional, caring individual who acts as a team member, but saves you the hassle and expense of carrying an employee.