VA Research
One-line description. Vendor research for hiring a written-only VA to support me as team lead. Two 4-hour shifts, 8am-4pm CT, ops + coaching ops.
Why
I'm spending hours on calendar, email, CRM hygiene, and 1x1 prep. That work is trainable. It doesn't need me.
Pre-vendor-call homework matters. If I walk into a sales pitch without knowing what I want, I get sold what they sell. This doc is the spec I take into every vendor call. Walk in knowing what I want.
Current state
6 decisions locked. Vendor calls pending. Three vendor categories on the table (RE specialists, general EAs, direct marketplaces). Gut says general EA.
- Status: in-flight
- Last update: 2026-05-02
- Blocked on: vendor calls scheduled
Next 3 actions
- Book 3 vendor calls (one per category: Pearl Talent or Athena, MyOutDesk, OnlineJobs.ph).
- Run each call with the standard question list. Capture answers in this doc.
- Pick a category and a budget. Move to a hire.
Decisions log
- 2026-04-26 Portfolio organization — vault structure (meta)
In-project decision log:
| Date | Decision |
|---|---|
| 2026-04-13 | 6 decisions locked: who it's for (me), 2 lanes, written-only, 2 VAs on 4hr shifts, same work / shift handoff |
Open issues
Decided:
- Who it's for: me. Team lead support. Not Marissa. Not one agent.
- Lanes: ops/admin AND coaching ops (both)
- Communication: written only (Slack, email, docs, CRM). 2-3x cheaper than phone-capable.
- Hours: 8am-12pm CT + 12pm-4pm CT. Two VAs. 20hr/week each.
- Work split: same work, shift handoff. One queue. Not split by lane or agent tier.
Still open (resolve on vendor calls):
- Industry experience: RE specialist ($10-15+/hr) vs general EA ($6-12/hr) vs direct marketplace ($4-8/hr). Gut says general EA.
- Budget (need vendor input)
- Managed service vs direct hire
- Start date
- Tools confirmation (Google Workspace, FUB, Obsidian, BigQuery read-only, Ghost, maybe Mojo view-only)
- Timezone confirmation (CT, 8am-4pm)
Vendor questions to ask every call:
- What's included in base price (recruiting, training, QA, replacements, management)?
- Individual placement or team/pool?
- Bad fit handling and replacement timeline?
- Can I split one seat across two part-time VAs (4hr shifts)?
- Training process for non-RE stack (BigQuery, Obsidian, Ghost)?
- Timezone and holiday coverage?
- Typical VA tenure?
- What I own vs. what you own (device, tools, SOPs, tax forms)?
- Security: password sharing, CRM access, agent data?
References
- Related: VA Training (VA-attached-to-agent training script)
- Related: Recruiting Setter (similar role type, different purpose)
- Related project: Appointment Setter Hiring
- Mulrenin VA hiring source files:
Work/Sales Team Playbook/Source Files/ - Vendor categories on the call list:
- RE specialists: MyOutDesk, Virtudesk, REVA Global, TransActly
- General EAs: Pearl Talent, Athena, Magic, Time Etc
- Direct marketplaces: OnlineJobs.ph, We Work Remotely
Why two VAs instead of one full-time
- Redundancy. If one washes out I still have coverage.
- Lets me compare two hires in parallel.
- Easier to scale back if the pilot fails.
Why same-work split
- One queue is simpler than two.
- Either VA can cover the other when someone's out.
- Cleaner management. One set of SOPs, not two.