Okay, so I did a scary thing. I joined the VA craze.
And I mean terrified. Sweaty palms, second-guessing myself at 2 AM terrified. What if they steal my information? What if the work is terrible? What if I can’t manage someone halfway across the world?
But what was scarier was the reality I was living. It was 11 PM on a Tuesday, and I was still responding to emails, editing videos, and preparing proposals. Exhausted. Burnt out. Resenting the business I’d built.
I used to have a full-time assistant when I worked corporate. Those were my most productive years. But as a solo entrepreneur, that $60,000+ price tag wasn’t happening.
So I took the leap. And it’s been one of the smartest moves I’ve ever made.
The Game-Changing Strategy Nobody Talks About
Here’s the revelation: don’t hire one virtual assistant to do everything. Hire multiple VAs, each focused on their zone of genius.
This is what Tom Rath talks about in StrengthsFinder 2.0. When people focus on their strengths, they thrive. The same applies to your virtual team. Match specific tasks to specific strengths.
Instead of one person juggling research, design, admin, and video editing, I have:
A Research Specialist who loves deep dives
A Design Wizard who makes visuals pop
A Video Editor who turns raw footage into gold
An Admin Maestro who lives for organization
A Social Media VA who thrives on engagement
Each person excelling at what they do best. No compromises. Just excellence.
The Ethical Question
Let me address the elephant: “Is paying $5–$10 an hour ethical?”
I wrestled with this until a client from Ghana shifted my perspective. She explained that $10/hour in places like the Philippines or India can provide a comfortable lifestyle relative to local costs, equivalent to significantly higher purchasing power in the US according to cost-of-living data.
You’re not exploiting. You’re creating opportunity. You’re fueling someone’s ability to work remotely in a skilled field where local opportunities are often scarce.
As Sara Blakely says, “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength.”
Where to Find Your Team
After testing multiple platforms, here’s what works:
Fiverr ($5–$100 per task): Great for project-based work like video editing and design. Look for 4.8+ ratings and 200+ completed orders.
Upwork ($10–$100 per hour): Best for ongoing relationships and specialized skills. The Top Rated badge matters.
OnlineJobs.ph ($3–$10 per hour): Strong for long-term Filipino VAs. You hire directly with no platform fees.
The Tricks That Changed Everything
The Time Zone Hack: I send tasks at 7 PM. My VAs work overnight, and I wake up to completed work. It’s like running a night shift without losing sleep.
The Double-Up Test: Hire two VAs for the same task initially. Compare results before choosing your A-player.
The AI Combo: Use ChatGPT or Claude for initial drafts, then send to VAs for humanization and enhancement.
The Morning Review System: VAs draft proposals, emails, and content overnight so your morning starts with review and approval, not creation.
The Reality
My current setup: five VAs, 80 combined hours monthly, specialized expertise across five areas.
Total cost: $720 per month. That’s less than one week of a full-time assistant’s salary in the US.
According to Harvard Business Review, business owners who delegate effectively grow their companies faster.
There’s a learning curve. Your first hires might not be perfect. But as Mel Robbins says, “If you only ever did the things you don’t want to do, you’d have everything you’ve ever wanted.”
Make the Leap
Start small. Hire one VA this week for one task you hate. Give it a month.
What’s the worst that happens? You learn what doesn’t work for a few hundred dollars. What’s the best? You double your output and reclaim your time.
Remote work unlocked global talent. You get to be the visionary instead of the taskmaster. Your future, less-stressed self will thank you.
Welcome to the VA revolution.
