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Last week, I published a post as part of the My 4-Hour Workweek series describing how I’ve begun using Sandy as an electronic version of a Virtual Assistant. I began a discussion thread about this topic at Personal Development Partners and Patricia, one of the most articulate, thoughtful, and active members of that community posted a short reply “in defense” of her profession, which happens to be working as a VA! Here is an excerpt from that post:

Well… what can I say… your post has been extremely interesting to me! I have just learned by reading it that I may turn jobless any day!

I have been a Personal Assistant for years and today most of my work is virtual … but there are tons of other things I do that a program can’t do.

I hire personnel, I teach personnel and fire them when necessary, I go shopping, I look for the best possible services: from repairing appliances to doctors or fireworks. I organize parties for 10, 20 or 50 people. I choose and rent houses for the summer and many etceteras.

You can have a program to remind you today is someone’s birthday, but it’s a little bit more difficult to have a program suggesting presents and wrapping them nicely.

I thought Patricia made some excellent points and invited her to write a guest post to explain more about what a “real” VA does and how one can help you grow your business. This is a topic of much talk and probably even more confusion since people like Tim Ferris and AJ Jacobs have published material talking about VAs organizing their dating lives and reading bedtime stories to their children. Like all trends, some people are trying to push it as far as possible. The result is that lots of average Janes and Joes (like me) are unsure about how to create a proper working relationship with a VA. Patricia does a great job in shedding some light on this issue. If you like what she has to say and find yourself in need of the services of a great, experienced VA, you can contact her at much.happiness (at) gmail.com.

There are words or expressions which have a certain and definite content, which meaning is more or less limited and all of us get approximately the same idea when we hear them. One example would be the word “sugar”. Although there are, of course, different types of sugar, and sugar means something different to a person who suffers diabetes than to a person who is healthy and can eat as much sugar as she wants, still there is no much room for misunderstanding when talking about sugar.

The expression “Personal Assistant”, however, gives place to a baffling array of interpretations, depending on the employer. Yet, adds are placed in classified sections and people go to interviews, expecting to get the job.

But what is the job like? What does a Personal Assistant (PA) do? It depends on the person she assists!

• Some employers demand their PAs to answer the phone, bring coffee, type letters & make bank deposits.
• Other employers demand the above plus correcting in 24 hours a report which took 3 months to be written by other people. “Oh yes, time is tight, but you can do it. And please make sure that there are no mistakes present as the report is decisive for the enterprise’s survival next year.”
• Other employers demand the above plus reminding them of their spouse’s birthday or buying Christmas presents for their children and their spouse. No! Not any present. It must be something that shows that he has long thought about them and he knows them well. But, how? Does his PA know his family so well? Of course not, but she’s efficient and these are the perfect opportunities to demonstrate it.
• Other employers demand the above mentioned tasks plus: finding a house to buy in 10 days; finding the perfect employee for that difficult task overnight; delay the departure of a vessel because his merchandise is not there on time; translate the fridge’s manual; heat his lunch; make an appointment with that famous doctor for this afternoon; water the plants; respectfully and politely receive his visitors; organize the office celebration making sure no one at the office realizes about it; buy that exclusive leather bag which can only be found in Paris… but make sure the cost is reasonable and it reaches the destination on time; organize that business trip… making sure that the branch Manager is there that day and that the hotel room is number 241… “Oh! is it already reserved? You’ll find a solution! You are so good.”

All this on the same day and with a smile on your face that shows how much you appreciate and love the job, because attitude is crucial.

The possibilities are infinite, and when that PA believes that he or she has seen it all and there’s no probability to get surprised… then comes the request to get a copy of the yet unpublished Harry Potter last book, to use one example from the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” which illustrates one of the realities a PA can face.

Can your Personal Assistant be replaced by a computer program?

If your answer is yes, then you have full responsibility on your life, you like managing your own stuff, and you enjoy finding your own solutions to your own problems. The only thing you need is some window opening at your screen reminding you there’s something to remember today at this time.

As far as decision-making is concerned, a computer program cannot do that, no matter how politely the reminder “You must have lunch today!” gets to your screen.

Of course you’ve all heard about the 4-Hour Workweek by now. Tim Ferris’ runaway best seller and internet phenomenon is one of the most talked about books of the last twelve months. My 4 Hour Workweek chronicles my progress in using the ideas in this book to streamline my own life and move closer to my ideal lifestyle.

In Part 1 of this series, I shared how I streamlined tasks in my personal life and automated in several places. In this installment, I’ll share how I have found alternatives to hiring a Virtual Assistant.

One of the Holy Grails of the 4-Hour Workweek community is having your own Virtual Assistant, or VA. Thanks in part to the book’s popularity, there are hundreds of firms in India, the Philippines, China and Eastern Europe offering to screen your email, do your Internet research, and wait on hold on the phone for you. Sites like Elance, Guru.com and Odesk are swimming with individuals providing business and personal assistance. Frankly, it’s very overwhelming and there are a lot of stories on the 4-Hour Workweek forum about the struggles of finding a decent VA.

Based on my own previous experience, I decided that there had to be other alternatives.

Get Sandy
Meet my new personal assistant. She’s prompt, reliable, never gets sick, and has a great sense of humor. I don’t pay her a dime, but she shows up at 7:00am every morning, ready and willing to help. Her name is Sandy. Isn’t she cute?

Did I mention that she’s a web application?

Sandy is a member of a growing genre of web apps that is designed to keep your appointments, to-do lists and contacts organized in a way that is a lot more intuitive and user friendly than a standard calendaring app. Remember the Milk is another popular site in this genre, but I prefer Sandy because “she” has, well, personality.

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