By now you’ve written and updated all of your procedures, and you’ve possibly recorded them all too. You’re almost ready to begin your search for a subcontractor, but first there are a few more things to consider:
- How much are you willing to pay a subcontractor?
- What is the maximum amount of time you want to pay for?
- Do you have an appropriate contract ready to go?
First of all, you need to decide how much you’re willing to pay someone to fill in for you. When I started researching this I discovered that there were so many different formulas and options, so here are a few of them listed for your consideration:
- 17% – 20% less than your regular hourly rate
- $5 less than your regular hourly rate
- anywhere between $15 – $18 USD
- $20 CDN
And the list goes on and on. I would suggest that you do a few calculations of your own, do some research for your area/country and then settle on a range in your head so that you have an idea of what you’d like to pay BEFORE you talk to any potential subcontractors. If the sub you find has already done sub work in the past for others, you can always ask them what their rate is first and then decide whether it fits within your range.
Secondly, how many hours are you willing to pay for? Keep in mind that your sub will almost definitely NOT be as fast as you are with the tasks that they will be assigned, simply because they haven’t performed them ten thousand times every day like you have! You should think about how long it would take you to perform the tasks you will be assigning, add what you feel is the appropriate amount of extra time they should need, and have your maximum firm in your head. When you find your subcontractor you will have to make it clear that this is the maximum amount that you will pay.
And thirdly, you will need to have a contract ready to go. You can either create one from scratch and put in all of the sections that you feel are important such as who owns the work after it’s done, the hourly amount that will be paid, the maximum, non-competition, etc., or you can find an online example and then tailor it to fit your needs. As always, I find that both VAnetworking.com and CVAN are excellent resources when it comes to finding this kind of information.
Now you’re ready for Part 5 – beginning your search for the perfect VA subcontractor!