Glossary: Hire Your First VA

Every key term from the course, in plain English. When a lesson says a word you don't know, it lives here.

The $10 Test

If someone else can do it for $10 an hour, you shouldn't be doing it. A filter for your attention — not a comment on the VA's worth, but a rule for what stays on your plate.

The Paid Audition

A small paid test project — about 30 minutes of real work — that every candidate completes before you hire them. Resumes lie and interviews flatter; the audition shows you the actual work.

The SOP Rule

If you explain it twice, write it down. The second time you walk someone through a task, that walkthrough becomes a written standard operating procedure — so the third time, you don't have to.

VA (virtual assistant)

A remote contractor who handles admin, operations, and support tasks for your business. Not an employee: no payroll tax, no benefits, flexible hours, and you can scale up or down as needed.

Async

Working without being online at the same time. You leave a task, your VA picks it up hours later, and the work moves forward without a single meeting.

SOP

Standard operating procedure: a written, step-by-step recipe for a recurring task. A good SOP has the goal, numbered steps, one visual per tricky step, and a "when stuck" line.

Task audit

Seven days of logging everything you do, with minutes attached. The raw material for delegation — you can't hand off what you haven't named.

Leverage

Getting more output per hour of your time. A VA is leverage: you pay $10 an hour to buy back an hour worth $100 to your business.

Onboarding

The first week of a VA relationship: tools access, tiny win tasks, shadowing, and the first SOPs. Most VA relationships die here — not from bad hiring, from bad onboarding.

Red flag

A warning sign in an applicant that predicts future problems: skipping your application filter, vague answers about past work, badmouthing previous clients, no questions for you, or promising they can do anything.

Standup

A short async update your VA posts at the start of their workday: what got finished, what's happening today, where they're stuck. Three lines, five minutes, replaces an hour of meetings.

Trial period

The first 30 days of the VA relationship, treated as a decision date. At day 30 you score reliability, quality, communication, and initiative — and commit or part ways.

Contractor

How a VA works for you legally: they invoice you, handle their own taxes, and work per your agreement — not your payroll. Simpler and more flexible than employment for a first hire.

Handoff

A task moved from your plate to your VA's, with "done" defined. A handoff isn't complete when you assign it — it's complete when the VA can do it without asking you.