A business owner can hire a brilliant Virtual Assistant and still end up with a working relationship that doesn’t last. And a highly capable VA can find themselves working with a client who never quite allows them to do their best work. Sometimes, the problem isn’t the person on either side. It’s what happens, or doesn’t happen, after they agree to work together. We often talk about hiring the right people, finding the right clients and making sure the skills match the job. All important considerations, of course. But what actually makes a professional relationship work well enough for both parties to want to continue? That’s the question at the heart of this special episode of Moving the Needle Forward®. On 28 October, Chinelo, alongside other panellists, joined Cory Blumenfeld’s live panel discussion titled “VAs Aren’t Cheap Labour: Fair Pay and Real Fit From Both Sides.” The conversation brings together perspectives from business ownership, business support and the VA profession, raising questions that deserve attention from both sides of the relationship. Hiring support and knowing how to use it are two different things For many business owners, hiring a VA is a significant decision. Perhaps the business has grown, the workload has become difficult to manage, or there are simply too many tasks competing for the owner’s attention. Bringing someone on board seems like the logical next step. But hiring support doesn’t automatically mean the business is ready to make good use of it. If processes haven’t been documented, responsibilities aren’t clear or important information is still sitting in the business owner’s head, even an experienced VA may struggle to deliver what’s expected. The business owner ends up frustrated because things still require their attention. The VA becomes frustrated because they’re expected to figure things out without sufficient direction. Neither is necessarily getting what they hoped for. And it’s worth asking whether the problem is really the person who’s been hired, or the way the work has been set up. Fair pay matters. So does the value being delivered. One of the central themes of this panel is fair compensation. It’s an important conversation, particularly when Virtual Assistants work with clients across countries with very different economic circumstances. For business owners, keeping costs manageable is a legitimate concern. Every expense has to make financial sense. But there’s a difference between being thoughtful about business expenditure and treating professional support as something that should cost as little as possible. The lowest rate doesn’t necessarily represent the best value. Equally, VAs have a responsibility to demonstrate why their services are worth paying for. Experience, reliability, initiative, communication and the ability to understand a client’s business all contribute to the value of the work. Fair pay and professional value shouldn’t be treated as opposing arguments. They’re two parts of the same conversation. The right fit is about more than a list of skills A VA might be excellent at managing calendars, organising projects, handling customer enquiries or working with technology. But having the right technical skills doesn’t automatically mean they’re the right person for every business. How someone communicates, approaches problems, responds to feedback and manages responsibility can make a considerable difference. And the same is true in reverse. A business owner may have interesting projects, a growing company and a reasonable budget, but that doesn’t automatically make them a good client for every VA. Working styles, expectations and professional values matter. Sometimes, two capable people simply aren’t suited to working together. Recognising that early can save a great deal of frustration. Delegation requires something from both sides One of the mistakes business owners can make is assuming that delegation means handing over a task and no longer having to think about it. Ideally, effective delegation does reduce how much involvement is required from the owner. But getting to that point often requires an initial investment of time. Someone needs to explain the desired outcome, provide access to the right information and establish how progress will be communicated. The VA, meanwhile, needs to take responsibility for understanding the assignment, asking questions when necessary and keeping the client informed. There also needs to be room for feedback. A business owner shouldn’t have to follow up constantly to find out whether something has been done. And a VA shouldn’t have to guess what success looks like. Good delegation isn’t about removing responsibility from one person and placing it entirely on another. It’s about making responsibilities clear enough for both people to do their part. Systems have a role to play in good working relationships This is an area I find particularly interesting from a business strategy and technology perspective. It’s easy to assume that when a working relationship becomes difficult, the answer is better communication. Sometimes it is. But sometimes the business simply needs better systems. Think about how much unnecessary back-and-forth happens when instructions are scattered across messages, files are difficult to locate or nobody knows which version of a document is current. A well-organised business makes it easier for people to work together. Clear workflows, sensible automation, documented processes and appropriate technology can remove some of the friction that would otherwise be mistaken for poor performance. Of course, systems won’t make an unsuitable working relationship successful. But they can give a good working relationship a much better chance. A lasting relationship needs room for growth Businesses change. So do the people who support them. The tasks that made sense when a VA first joined a business may not be the same ones that need attention a year later. New technology becomes available. Processes evolve. Responsibilities expand. For VAs, continued professional development is part of remaining valuable to the businesses they support. For business owners, it’s worth recognising when someone has developed capabilities that could benefit the business beyond their original responsibilities. That doesn’t mean every VA needs to become a manager or take on increasingly complex work. It means remaining open to the possibility that the relationship can develop as the needs and capabilities of both parties change. The real question is whether the relationship works for both people It’s possible to have a business owner who pays fairly and a VA who works diligently, yet still have a relationship that isn’t particularly effective. And that’s worth remembering. Compensation matters. Competence matters. So do communication, mutual respect, realistic expectations and the working environment. No single factor can carry the entire relationship. Perhaps the better question isn’t simply whether a business owner has hired the right VA, or whether a VA has found the right client. It’s whether both people are creating the conditions for a professional relationship that can continue to work well. TAKEAWAYS (but not in a box 😁) A few moments from the discussion worth remembering: * “You need to get your processes straight first. You need to know what your business is doing before you bring somebody into it.” - Chinelo * “The key that made me last for a very long time working with Chinelo is because there’s mutual trust and understanding, transparency, respect, and open communication.” - Rein * “The only way you get your time back is when you invest it.” - Cory * “Get out of the mindset of I’m being interviewed and get into the mindset of I’m interviewing somebody I want to work with.” - Chinelo * “Our professional growth is our responsibility.” - Rein A good VA–client relationship doesn’t happen simply because two capable people agree to work together. It’s something both parties have a hand in building. And when it works well, the benefits go… This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit entrepremums.substack.com
