Virtual Workers are Like Plastic Wrap

There are a lot of virtual workers out there from many different countries.  If you’re a US business, you’ll find that your in-country VAs can charge anywhere from minimum wage up to $25 per hour or more.  The “offshore” worker will charge you $1-$3 per hour.  If it was all a numbers game, you know who you’d choose.  But I’m here to tell you there’s a lot more than numbers at stake.

I bought a roll of plastic wrap while out grocery shopping.  I had a million different choices in wrap, but I decided to buy the cheap one that happened to also be on sale.  As soon as that roll made it to my kitchen, I knew I had made the wrong choice.

My husband opened the box…which didn’t really open.  It bent.  It tore.  And then he struggled getting the plastic out to pull.  And it never really pulled.  It stuck together.  And when you finally got a decent length to cover up some leftover food, it would become bound and mangled on the cheap metal teeth (that were bent along with the box).  So you had a stretched out wad of plastic instead of a nice sheet.  The worst part was that you had to tear the plastic up toward you, instead of down, like I was always used to.

Day after day, we’d grumble each time we’d have to wrap something up.  I got the idea to take the plastic roll out and put it in another box (my wax paper no longer has a home).  That sort of worked, but it never really fit well into the box, and it doesn’t pull out the way it should.

So the last time I was in the kitchen fighting with this plastic wrap, it occurred to me that plastic wrap and virtual workers are a lot alike.  (I make some of the weirdest connections of things!)  There are a lot of choices out there when you’re shopping around.  And it’s easy to go with the cheapest offer, because who doesn’t want to save money?  But what happens when you do?  You get stuck with something that’s not quite up to par.  It’s not what you wanted.  It’s not what you expected.  But you’ve already bought it, so you’ll struggle through to try and make it work.

And then eventually, you’ll just go out and buy the expensive plastic wrap that does exactly what you need it to do.  Which means you’ve paid twice for something you just needed once.

You need someone that will understand your language, your business nuances (business functions differently in different parts of the world) and will “get” all the little idiosyncrasies that make up you and your business.

It doesn’t necessarily pay to be cheap.  I’m not talking about a couple of leftover chicken legs.  I’m talking about your business.  

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