UnicornGO

Posted by Mica Harvey / Graphic and Web Design Services

UnicornGO is a subscription-based design service offering unlimited and unrestricted graphic design requests for a flat monthly fee.

They are one of the newer graphic design service companies to enter the space, and their head offices are based in Sydney, NSW Australia. Their designers work remotely all over the globe.

About UnicornGO

The first thing that jumps out about UnicornGO which separates them from a lot of the established graphic design companies is their business model. When you sign up with UnicornGO you pay a flat fee for unlimited monthly designs and unlimited revisions.

Their objective is to make their service “Like having a dedicated design team without the price tag.” As a client, you are assigned a team of designers to work with and as you see some of the designs from the team you can choose to work with individuals that best understand your vision if you wish.

The company is headed up by co-founder Francis Lee. With over 16 years of experience in the sales and marketing industry, hiring and working with designers on a regular basis, Francis saw a gap in the market for a subscription model design company and started UnicornGO.

UnicornGO’s target customers are mainly startups and small businesses looking for regular, professional, and dynamic designs, but can’t afford or do not see the need for their own in-house graphic designer.

VAA Exclusive: Use UnicornGO coupon code VIRTADIR17 for $10 off your first month of service!

UnicornGO Services

UnicornGO’s graphic designers are able to handle any form of the graphic design task. This includes:

  • Infographics
  • Website design
  • Logos
  • Mobile UI
  • Book covers
  • Banners
  • Blog post headers
  • Flyers, and more.

There is a simple 3-step process in place from ordering your designs to receiving the completed work:

  1. You send them your design request with all the details of the task. Your designer will give you an estimate of the time it will take.
  2. Your design is delivered within the time specified in the format you requested, and you have some time to review the work.
  3. You can submit as many revisions as feel necessary to get the design exactly how you want it.

Plans and Pricing

UnicornGO has a straightforward menu of pricing options, ranging from $399 to $999 a month.

I’ll do my best to outline the main differences between the plans here.

The $399 Unlimited plan affords you “unlimited” design requests for unlimited brands. The only real throttle or limitation on this is that you can only submit one design request at a time, and they promise to turn it around in 1-2 business days.

The $399 Unlimited plan affords you “unlimited” design requests for unlimited brands and the key difference is that you can submit two design requests at a time with the same turnaround times.

At the top of the line, the $999 Big Unicorn plan removes that submission throttle, letting you submit up to 3 design requests at a time, and promises an express 24-hour turnaround.

VAA Exclusive: Use UnicornGO coupon code VIRTADIR17 for $10 off your first month of service!

There are no contracts, you can cancel at any time, and there is a 14-day money-back guarantee to ensure you’re satisfied with the service when you first sign up.

UnicornGO Alternatives

Flocksy and Design Pickle are two US-based graphic design companies that also operate on the monthly subscription model and have very similar pricing plans. Penji is another great US-based alternative, they hire from the Philippines, which make their pricing plans attractive.

If you don’t anticipate having enough ongoing work to get value from a monthly plan I recommend checking out Fiverr for one-off tasks.

Your Turn

Have you had some graphics designs from UnicornGO? If so, please leave a short review below to help others with their decision.

 

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DesignEvo

Posted by Mica Harvey / Graphic and Web Design Services, Resources/Tools

DesignEvo is an online logo design platform developed by PearMountain Technology. Their AI-powered logo design technology makes designing and downloading unique logos quick with no design skills necessary.

About DesignEvo

The company is run by CEO David Lin. Their target customers are startups, small business owners, entrepreneurs, bloggers, or anyone looking for an affordable way to produce logos and branding images for their business.

AI-powered logo design platforms have increased in popularity over the last few years. The main benefit of using them is that you can produce logos for free in just a few minutes.

This cuts out the time spent finding a graphic designer and going back and forth on a design until it meets your requirements. And of course, it saves you money too.

The drawback is that AI-powered designs are more limited in the amount of control you have over the design.

DesignEvo’s Services

Designing a logo using the DesignEvo interface couldn’t be easier. There are really just three steps to follow:

  1. Either choose a logo template from their database of more than 10,000 logos or start one from scratch.
  2. Change the colors, fonts, etc, to personalize it to your preferences.
  3. Choose your plan and download your logo.

DesignEvo has thousands of images to choose from. After that, you can select your fonts and colors to have complete control over how your logo looks.

The modifications are easy to make using their online graphic design editor.

It’s nice they have the option to make your own custom logos, but unless you’re experienced with designing graphics, this process will probably take a lot longer than tweaking one of their professional-looking templates.

Where DesignEvo differs from some of the other AI-powered logo design services is that they don’t generate lots of different logos to choose from based on your preferences.

You’re building a custom logo based on the choices you make and downloading that logo.

DesignEvo’s Plans and Pricing

DesignEvo has three different pricing options as follows:

  • Free – As the name suggests, you can create and download logos for free. Free logos are limited to 500 pixels though, and you’re required to give DesignEvo credit. You don’t own the copyright for the logo.
  • Basic – $24.99. Logos can be produced with up to 5,000 pixels, and you can make unlimited edits and receive lifetime support.
  • Plus – $49.99. With a Plus purchase you get everything in the Basic package, plus extra file type downloads, copies of the fonts used, and complete ownership of the images.

 

The Free option gives you the opportunity to test their platform and create some logos without committing to a plan which is great.

Then if you want to produce a higher res image you can pay a one-off fee. You can also download samples of their higher-quality logos before paying.

Compared with competitors like Tailor Brands, the big advantage of DesignEvo is the pricing is a one-time fee instead of a monthly or annual license.

DesignEvo Alternatives

Two other companies operating on a similar business model producing AI-powered logos are Looka and Brandmark.

Both of these companies also allow you to produce logos for free on their basic plans, so give them all a try and see which logo designs you like best before committing to paying for a high-res download.

There are some obvious limitations to building your own AI-powered logos. If you can’t find a logo you’re happy with I recommend looking for a graphic designer on Fiverr for an inexpensive solution, or 48 Hours Logo for a crowdsourced solution.

Your Turn

Have you created and downloaded any logos from DesignEvo? If so, please take a moment to leave a quick review to help others with their decision.

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How To Let Go And Let Your VA Do The Work

Posted by Mica Harvey / News

image

TRUST ME – I understand how difficult it is being a small business owner who has a tough time offloading their work.

It’s your own creation – your baby.

But as your enterprise grows, the activities and tasks can become too many – that’s where a Virtual Assistant can step in.

Long hours and waking up in the night to check emails sound familiar?

With time, I’m getting better at letting go and so can you! My Virtual Assistant is winning my trust day by day and I am learning to depend on him & her much more than I earlier did.

Thanks to the emergence of the Virtual Assistant Services, offloading work to reliable committed people is now more easy and convenient. A Virtual Assistant can save you valuable money but also the most important asset – time.

Well, let me tell you about it from my own experience.

If you’re of the opinion that Virtual Assistant’s can only help you with admin assistance, it’s time to change your view. Indeed, this particular service may be the most commonly opted for but it is by no means the only one available. Virtual Assistant’s specialize in different fields such as:

They may not work in your country or time zone, but none of these come in the way of delivering their committed assistance. This free’s up your time for focusing on mainstream operations, doing what you are good at, and spending with the family. Now, who doesn’t want that?

I’ve been brave enough to be an entrepreneur – Why not be brave and hire a Virtual Assistant to see what the rewards are?

So, I got in touch with ClearDesk and Time ETC. As most of my outsourced work was related to writing, I sought a Virtual Assistant who was a trained and experienced writer and other tasks and two of the highest rated VA companies on our site.

We communicated via emails and over time, our understanding grew deeper and better. I found that Virtual Assistant’s love helping out their clients and often go above and beyond to ensure the same. They follow instructions diligently, provide timely output, and follow up regularly. Other than the fact that you cannot see them in person, there’s nothing to complain of really.

There are several Virtual Assistant companies around the world that offer their services to businesses of various sizes – it’s a big, wide world out there with plenty of choices. Virtual Assistant’s are no genies or mind-readers, which is why you need to maintain a consistent form of communication to specify your guidelines and follow up with modifications, if necessary.

The task list of Virtual Assistants can help businesses grow in many ways –  You only need to decide on what it is that you find you are spending time which could be spent elsewhere.

Ways To Let Go

Here are some tips on how to share your responsibilities and let your Virtual Assistant do the work:

  • Business Communication Platforms – Constant communication is key. Thankfully, the advancement in technology has brought forth several business communication platforms for smooth and safe communication. Slack replaces the idea of communicating via emails and the time wasted along with it. The platform facilitates direct conversation to ensure no detail is missed out. Asana and Trello are similar communication platforms that have high utility as well. Communication and tracking the progress of tasks becomes much easier with these, given the complete transparency between the two parties.
  • Time and Activity Tracking – Time tracking tools are very helpful for business owners who love the control over their own work and overseeing them to the fullest. These tools help in effectively tracking the time for the tasks performed by the Virtual Assistant. It helps in determining the efficiency of a virtual assistant. Time and activity tracking software show business owners the number of hours a Virtual Assistant spends on a task and how they utilize their time. MyTimeIn, WorkPuls and DeskTime are the most advanced softwares for monitoring the time and productivity of the Virtual Assistant’s. Hubstaff is an amazing tool for scheduling, reporting, payrolls, and invoicing purposes.
  • Document Sharing and File Management – Collaborating on documents and experiencing your Virtual Assistant’s work in real-time is now a breeze. Dropbox is a file storage platform that was initially introduced as Cloud storage. It can be used for storing all your content in a central location, to find and track content effortlessly, and to optimize workflow. Google Drive is yet another outstanding tool for managing work in real-time in coordination with the Virtual Assistant’s.
  • Sleep Apps – It is not uncommon for anxiety related to work and life to come in the way of your sleep and prevent you from relaxing. There are several sleep apps that help in evaluating your sleeping patterns, display analyses of sleep phases, and come with different soothing melodies to make the mind calmer. These sleep apps are handy in ensuring that you get enough rest while your Virtual Assistant takes care of your work. Getting the recommended hours of sleep can also help you to focus better on coordinating and collaborating with your Virtual Assistant. Some great sleep apps are White Noise, Relax Melodies and Sleep Time.

It’s okay to want to be in control when it comes to your work. But letting go a little or some more, depending on how bogged down you are, doesn’t hurt. I should know. In fact, hiring a Virtual Assistant and letting him & her assist me has been one of the best decisions I ever made.

I hope it helps you to arrive at better decision-making.

For all you know, your Virtual Assistant could be your best work buddy.

Best,

Mica

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Can you outsource your dating life? Yes – here is how!

Posted by Mica Harvey / News

How to Outsource Your Dating Life

Are you too busy?

Do you find searching through profiles and people and selecting a prospective match to be a task? 

Surprise! You can outsource your dating life!

There is a job profile out there for managing other people’s dating profiles on apps and sites. The advancement in technology has brought many dating options online, giving you a wide variety of options to choose from, filter, and connect with compatible matches effortlessly. The outsourcing of online dating helps people to brush up their profiles and make better matches.

It is not always possible for entrepreneurs to give time to the dating pool. This is where a Virtual Assistant managing their dating profile could take care of sorting through hundreds of profiles, connecting, and determining some of the ideal matches. 

The Convenience of Online Dating 

Online dating has become quite popular with an increasing number of people taking recourse to it. The biggest advantage of dating online is there’s no pressure involved. Here are some of the most common advantages of online dating: 

  • Getting to meet a vast range of people outside of the known social network, which would otherwise be impossible
  • Meeting different people more frequently, based on your preference 
  • Connecting with people with similar core values, interests, and priorities 
  • The most convenient way to easily meet a new person with the same mindset  
  • Easier to reach out and connect as it does not involve face-to-face / in-person interaction that can be a bit daunting  
  • Exchanging messages and pictures helps in knowing whether the sender and recipient are on the same wavelength 

Check out our reviews of Virtual Assistant Companies to see how they can help you filter through dating profiles and find your next match!

Worldwide Reputed Online Dating Sites 

  • eHarmony – This site is committed to helping people find love and improving their romantic lives. eHarmony takes matchmaking very seriously and has spent 35 years compiling a relationship questionnaire. eHarmony takes pride in matching users who are actually compatible with each other. This app delivers compatible dates directly to users’ inboxes for an outstanding experience.
  • match.com –  match.com is the most widely used online dating platform in the world with 9.8 billion users. It follows the most traditional form of social networking. Users need to create a profile, find matches, strike meaningful conversations with matches, and ask them out on conventional dates to meet in person. match.com app has multiple filters and is known to provide online dating advice as well. I personally know many success stories from match.com!
  • Tinder – Tinder is an online geo social dating app that enables users to swipe anonymously left and right on the options provided based on users’ preferences. People can exchange messages only when two users match.
  • Bumble – Bumble is a location-based social platform that enables interaction between two interested users. Only female users can send the first messages to persons of their choice on this dating app.

Statistics On Success Rate 

The success rate of online dating sites can be determined by the following facts and statistics that have been collected over the years: 

  • Studies show that on an average, up to 52.4% men use online dating sites and apps compared to 47.6% women.  
  • About 40% of Americans are known to use online dating apps. Recent studies show record increases of 27% users among young adults and 6% users in the age group of 55–64 years within a span of 2 years. 
  • There are approximately 20 billion registered users on dating sites worldwide. 50% of UK users use dating apps multiple times a week while 56% of US users do the same thing. 
  • Around 21% of LGB adults in the US have successfully married or got into relationships with people they met through online dating. 
  • 39% of dating app users admit to have gone on dates with someone they met on such apps.  
  • 1 out of 6 marriages is the result of online dating. 
  • 71% of online daters admit to finding easy and attractive matches. 

Paid Membership vs Free Membership 

It goes without saying in multiple industries that you get what you pay for – outsourcing your dating isn’t any different.  Free apps are readily available and have proven successes but, paid membership eliminates a lot of risk. There are a lot of fake profiles on free membership dating sites as compared to paid platforms. Also, using a free online dating profile can make you an easy target for obscene messages, inappropriate file-sharing, and other inconveniences. In contrast, paid membership apps are highly stringent with their policies and user profiles. The lack of serious goals on free dating apps and absence of proper audience policing can have a negative impact on online daters. 

Paid platforms do not negate the possibility of scamming altogether but narrow the chances. Since the users are spending precious bucks on connecting with and dating like-minded people, it generally involves earnest individuals and not “catfish’s”.   match.com, and eHarmony are paid platforms that can charge users USD$10-40 a month, based on the services they choose. 

Some of the apps like Tinder, Bumble, and OKCupid advertise a cost-free experience but require service charges or subscription fees for exercising more accessibility. 

Ready to find your next date?

Regardless of whether you use a free dating app or a paid one, outsourcing your dating life can help save your time and effort in finding that perfect match. Experts who have the time and skill can help you to successfully outsource your online dating life for good – putting in all effort while you reap the best results. 

Your Virtual Assistant can even order the flowers, cards, make the reservation and shop online for a new outfit – making you look like gold!

What are your plans this Valentine’s Day?

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Ask Data Entry (AskDataEntry™)

Posted by Mica Harvey / Dedicated Virtual Assistants, India Virtual Assistants, Project-Based Virtual Assistants, Task-Based Virtual Assistants, Virtual Assistant Companies, Virtual Employees

AskDataEntry is an India-based company offering a wide range of data entry services.

The company’s headquarters is located in Kolkata, India. They have two offices in this location, and all of their staff are based in their offices.

About AskDataEntry

askdataentry reviewThe company started operations in 2011 and is headed up by current director Joydeep Singha. (The parent company Vooraf Technology Pvt. Ltd has been around since 2003.)

Ask Data Entry has a team of virtual assistants, but what separates them from general VA companies is that they specialize in data entry tasks.

Anyone who has done any amount of data entry themselves will know it’s one of the most repetitive and challenging tasks. Which is why it’s often one of the first to be outsourced.

Most virtual assistant companies offer data entry as part of their services, but few truly specialize in it though.

With speed and attention to detail being two key skills needed for efficient data entry, if you have data entry tasks to outsource, I would try AskDataEntry.

How AskDataEntry Works

When I asked Ask Data Entry about their onboarding process and how they handle a workflow between themselves and their clients, they explained they’re flexible.

If you want to work with them, they’re willing to work out an arrangement that will work best for you and your individual needs.

This may mean arranging a dedicated assistant for long-term projects, or assigning a number of assistants to complete your tasks quicker.

All you need to do is explain to a member of their team what tasks you want to be done, and how you want them done.

They’ll then handle everything on their end, from assigning assistants to sending back the completed work.

Services

AskDataEntry has long lists of the types of data entry they take on. Basically, any tasks that involve the inputting, manipulating, cleaning, or processing of data, they’re willing to do.

To give you a better idea, some of the tasks they highlight on their site include:

  • Data Entry & Processing
  • Data Enrichment
  • Data Conversation
  • Data Cleansing & Validation
  • eCom Product Management & Enrichment
  • eCommerce Order Processing
  • Data Extraction/Migration
  • Online Research & Market Intelligence
  • Personalized Task Processing
  • Admin Support

The company also offers more traditional dedicated virtual assistant services.

Plans and Pricing

Ask Data Entry has packages ranging from $5-8 an hour:

  • 10 hours per month – $80 ($8/hr)
  • 50 hours per month – $350 ($7/hr)
  • 100 hours per month – $600 ($6/hr)
  • 200 hours per month – $999 ($5/hr)

askdataentry pricing

If you need more time, additional hours can be purchased at $7 an hour.

Virtual Assistant Assistant Exclusive: Mention code VAA25 for 25% off your first month!

They offer a free trial too, so you can test their service before committing to a plan.

AskDataEntry Alternatives

If you’re looking for alternative companies with similar pricing, I recommend checking out some of the other highly rated virtual assistant companies based in India.

Tasks Expert Wing Assistant TaskVirtual eLuminous
Customer Rating
Established 2017 2018 2016 2002
Hourly Rate $4.50-$9.50 $6.878.75 $6.24-15 $7.00
Minimum Package $95 for 10 hours $699 for 80 hours Pay as you go for $15 $140 for 20 hours
Dedicated Assistant
Best For Business Owners
Entrepreneurs
Professionals 		Small & Medium Business Owners, IT Services, Marketing Agencies, SaaS Data Entry, Digital Marketing, Website design & development, Administrative Work, Customer Service Development
Real Estate
E-Commerce
Marketing
Team Access
Free Trial *For limited range of services
Special Offer 10 hours free w/ code VAA10 N/A Free Trial $10 for 10 hours. Valid for 1 month. 20% off first month (mention VAA)
Learn More Learn More Learn More Learn More

*Well, it’s a $1.

My Tasker and VA Talks are two companies that offer VAs and include data entry in their list of services. Their rates are slightly higher, but they do have a good deal of positive feedback.

Your Turn

Have you worked with AskDataEntry? If so, please leave a review below to help others with their decision.

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Adminja

Posted by Mica Harvey / Resources/Tools

Adminja is a client management platform for Virtual assistants. This platform enables VAs to create their own dedicated workspace where they can keep all of their client information and workflow organized.

The company and Adminja’s support staff are based in Chicago, U.S.

About Adminja

The company started operations in 2016 and was founded by Bryan Lewis. Brian developed the software behind Adminja and is also a managing partner in web development firm Openmotive Inc.

Most virtual assistants face a number of challenges involved with managing the admin behind working with multiple clients, workflows, and different systems.

Brian recognized this, so he created the Adminja platform to provide a “one-stop shop” solution. A software where VAs can manage all of their day-to-day workflows in one place.

As a VA using Adminja, you can easily organize all of your tasks, client details, time, billing, and more, in one place.

The Dashboard is clean and easy to use, it populates charts and analytics, you can pull real-time reports, all do a number of things that will save you a lot of time.

Time-saving aside, streamlining all of your workflows will greatly reduce the chance of errors, which can be priceless. You can also easily add additional team members if you start to work with team members.

How Adminja Works

To get started, you need to sign up for a 30-day free trial for either a Solo or a Team plan.

After going through the setting up steps, you’ll be given a login to the Adminja platform. From here, you can start to customize and manage all of your workflows.

If you get stuck or want some help learning the ropes, Adminja has a help center and learning library. Here you’ll find FAQ sections, various articles, instructional, videos, and you can even book a 1-on-1 call with a member of their support team.

Adminja Services

Adminja has a number of features to help you manage all of your workflows, the core areas of this software are:

  • Custom dashboard – Creating a central hub where you can manage multiple clients is a huge time saver. No more switching between spreadsheets and folders, you can add all of your clients to your dashboard.
  • Time tracking – Most VAs bill time to multiple clients. Adminja makes it easy to track, manage, and see exactly how long you’ve spent working for each client.
  • Reporting – You can produce reports with your own logo for internal or external use.
  • Billing – Once you’re tracking time and the tasks you’ve completed in Adminja, you can easily bill your clients with a few clicks.
  • Team management – When you’re ready to grow your business, you can set up profiles for your team members. You can one-click assign tasks to them, communicate, check their workflow, and more.

Adminja integrates with some popular tools you might already be using, such as Zapier.

There is also a Chrome extension, which helps you capture notes and tasks without leaving your workflow which is a nice touch.

Adminja Plans and Pricing

Adminja currently has two pricing plans as follows:

  1. Solo – $29.99 per month, with this plan you get unlimited workspaces, client tracking, weekly reports, custom forms, and more.
  2. Team – $10 per month, per member, this plan includes everything in the Solo plan, along with a team manager, payroll reports, and priority support.

The Solo plan is aimed at VAs working for themselves. With this plan, you get access to all the tools you need to organize and manage all your clients through one dashboard.

If you’re running an agency or managing a team, you’ll need to sign up for a Team plan. This plan includes payroll, so you can manage paying your VAs, as well as a dedicated team manager.

There is a 5-member minimum for their Team plan, so that plan starts at $50/mo. Both plans come with a 30-day free trial and you can cancel at any time.

Adminja Alternatives

There are not a lot of other platforms designed exclusively for virtual assistants checking as many boxes as Adminja does.

If you’re currently managing your workflow with multiple systems, spreadsheets, and individual client systems, we recommend checking Adminja.

Your Turn

Have you used the Adminja platform? If so, please leave a review below to help others with their decision.

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Undullify

Posted by Mica Harvey / Graphic and Web Design Services

Undullify is a company providing graphic design support by way of improving your pre-existing visual content, or by creating brand new graphics for their clients.

The company has been in operation since October 2014 and is based in Australia.

About Undullify

The company was founded by a group of graphic designers and their headquarters is in Melbourne, Australia. Their designers are based all over the globe, to service clients worldwide. 

On their website, Undullify is keen to point out that, “Undullify is not a graphic design agency, and we are not meant to be used as a replacement for a full-time in-house designer.”

The target customers for Undullify are small to medium-sized businesses and nonprofits who do not warrant having their own full-time graphic designer but require day-to-day graphics like flyers, Facebook ads, or social media images.

 

Undullify Services

If you have any branding or graphics you want to be tweaked, improved on, or maybe you have a vision for some graphics you want to be created. Undullify is happy to take on the task as long as it takes 30 minutes or less; that is the maximum time allocated per task. This isn’t a hard limit though, and they’ll work on designs that take longer on a case-by-case basis.

When you sign up, you’ll have the opportunity to share a few details about your brand and what design style you’re looking for. Using this, Undullify will match you with your own dedicated graphic designer. You’ll work with the same designer in the future if you’re happy with the work, or try someone else if the fit wasn’t quite right.

Undullify’s business model is aimed at a larger volume of smaller jobs. This is what sets them apart from companies like 99designs who specialize in larger one-off design tasks like rebranding.

To request a design task, all you have to do is fill out a form on Undullify’s website to get the process started. After you receive the design work you can ask for any revisions, or accept the job. There’s no limit on the number of revisions you can ask for, so you’ll always get the design that you want.

Undullify Plans and Pricing

Pricing starts at $149 a month for unlimited small graphic design tasks. This comes with unlimited revisions, a 3 business day turnaround, and a dedicated designer, and design support and advice.

If the speed of execution is an issue, Undullify has you covered with the Monthly Entrepreneur Unlimited plan, which cuts that turnaround time down to just 1 business day for an extra $100 a month.

Unlimited graphic design tasks for $149 a month — very clear value proposition!

Both of these plans are “throttled” by a 1 request at a time limitation and you can only submit requests relating to one brand. You can submit multiple design requests at a time (which will sit in a queue) if that suits your workflows better.

If you work with several brands or businesses, you might consider Undullify’s Agency option. This package allows you and your team to submit design requests for unlimited brands and promise 1 business day priority turnaround times.

If you have a specific requirement in mind, there’s a flexible option of asking Undullify to create a Custom Plan tailored specifically to you.

You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your plan at any time, with no extra charge

Undullify Alternatives

The nearest competitors to Undullify that I can think of are UnicornGO and Design Pickle, which offer similar “unlimited designs” packages, but often at a much higher price point

Fiverr is another place I’ve turned to in the past for graphic design support, but the quality can be spotty. (And being such a subjective art, design services are one of the toughest tasks to outsource.)

Your Turn

Have you worked with Undullify? If so, please share your experience below and help others with their decision.

 

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Horkey HandBook Virtual Assistant Finder

Posted by Mica Harvey / Education, Freelance Virtual Assistants, US Virtual Assistants, Virtual Assistant Resources

The Virtual Assistant Finder is a free service by Gina Horkey of HorkeyHandBook.com to help entrepreneurs and small business owners get in touch with qualified VA help – folks that she has trained personally through her online education system. A former VA and freelance writer herself, Gina began training others to become virtual assistants in 2014. Most recently, she has partnered with an accredited university to bring her training to students in the traditional online college experience as well!

The complimentary VA Finder service came about as a way for her to connect her “graduates” with clients in need of their services. Nothing fills Gina’s “bucket” more than helping both sides win in business by finding and supporting each other!

About Virtual Assistant Finder

Gina launched the Virtual Assistant Finder in late 2016 and has already helped place hundreds of qualified VAs with clients around the world (though predominantly in North America).

 

How it Works

All you have to do is fill out a short questionnaire asking you to describe your business and the role you envision for your assistant. When I tested the service for a recent hire, it asked if I’d ever worked with a VA before, how many hours a week I projected this role to be, my expected budget, and the skills and qualities I was looking for in an ideal candidate.

Once you submit your information, Gina shares the opportunity with her network of vetted VAs and they’ll pitch you directly.

I ended up getting 4 or 5 responses, interviewed 2 candidates, and hired one. From what I could tell, the candidates included mostly work from home moms.

Services

Gina’s VA grads are primarily based in the US and Canada and are trained in social media, administrative tasks, and generally what it’s like to work with clients remotely. She has dedicated classes on becoming a freelance writer, email management, project management, social media management, and even co-created a program, niching down to helping clients with their Pinterest marketing needs, which is actually the role I was hiring for.

One advantage that I see is that each person in Gina’s talent pool has made a proactive investment in their business – both in time and resources to get started, grow, and scale over time.

If you’re looking for someone with that kind of specialist training, I think it’s a pretty compelling value proposition, especially at the current price point – FREE!.

Plans and Pricing

The recruiting service is complimentary, as her primary profit sector is through her #FullyBookedVA system.

After you make your hiring decision, you’ll pay your VA directly. (Mine invoiced me through PayPal.)

The interesting thing — and I liked this — was neither candidate I interviewed quoted me in terms of an hourly rate. Instead, they offered package pricing based on what I was looking for.

That made it an easier decision because in this case, I was trying to buy a result, not someone’s time. I don’t care how long it takes for them to get it done!

Horkey HandBook Virtual Assistant Finder Alternatives

At the end of the day, you’re still getting a freelancer, and you’ll certainly be able to cast a wider net on a global platform like Fiverr.

What I think sets VA Finder apart is it’s just a more selective candidate pool to draw from. You know each person who sees your job posting has gone through specific training and made an investment in their education.

Aside from the recruiting services mentioned above, your other options are to try a specialist writing service like Copywriter Today or to go with one of the larger VA companies like MyTasker or Time Etc.

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FlexClip

Posted by Mica Harvey / Video Editing Services

FlexClip is an online video editor that’s designed to make video creation and editing easy for anyone with any amount of video editing experience.

Their headquarters and all of their staff are based in China. The platform is self-service for the most part, although if you get stuck you can reach out to their support for help.

About FlexClip

The company started operations in 2006 and is headed up by Lin Xiao, the current CEO. Recognizing a gap in the market for an online video editor that’s easy to use, the team behind FlexClip set out to make an editor that anyone can use.

You can get started using their editor for free, you don’t even need to sign up for an account. This really is software for those with little to no graphic design skills, FlexClip does just about everything for you.

Within minutes you can be changing elements, adding your own text, and picking music from their library of templates, and making your own video.

This software is for anyone that doesn’t have the budget to pay an editor to make videos. Or, maybe someone who just wants to see what creativity they can muster.

Either way, FlexClip will do all of the heavy lifting for you while you make a video of your own.

How FlexClip Works

To get started, you can either sign up for an account or simply start using their video editor. You should be aware, if you don’t sign up for an account you will not be able to export or save your work.

You will get popup boxes showing you around the first time you use FlexClip. It’s really very intuitive and easy to get to grips with though.

You can either start with one of FlexClip’s templates or start creating a video from scratch. From there, it’s just a matter of selecting the element you want to use, such as text, media, music, etc., and putting together sections of your video.

FlexClip Services

FlexClip is an online video editor. They supply the tech, templates, stock footage, and music; it’s up to you how you use it and what types of videos you make.

That said, FlexClip is better suited to some types of videos over others. To give you an idea, some of the template categories they have includes:

  • Real estate video
  • Education videos
  • Tutorial videos
  • Birthday videos
  • Social media videos

FlexClip Plans and Pricing

FlexClip currently has four monthly pricing plans. As you’ll see, the higher the plan, the more features you have access to.

Most importantly, the higher the plan, the better the quality you’re able to download videos in.

A complete list of FlexClip’s pricing plans at the time of publishing are:

  1. Free – This plan is limited to 480p downloads, 1 stock video, a maximum of 12 projects, and a video length of up to 1 minute.
  2. Basic – *$8.99/mo – This plan enables you to download in 720 HD, up to 50 projects, a video length of up to 3 minutes, and some other features.
  3. Plus – *$15.99/mo – This plan enables you to download in 1080p full-HD, up to 200 projects, a video length of up to 10 minutes, and some other features.
  4. Business – *$29.99/mo – This plan includes everything in the Plus plan, plus up to 1,000 projects, a video length of up to 30 minutes, and some other features.

*These prices are for when you pay month-on-month. If you sign up for an annual plan and pay monthly, you can save up to 50%.

Click here for 40% off – FlexClip is having a super sale until April 23, 2021

FlexClip offers a 7-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied for any reason after committing to a plan within 7 days, you can reach out to their support and ask for a refund.

FlexClip Alternatives

If you’re struggling to create videos yourself, you should consider checking out a done-for-you video editing service. Vidchops and Video Husky are two highly rated companies I recommend taking a look at.

For alternative self-service video editing platforms, you should check out ClipChamp. They offer a similar video editor as FlexClip you can try for free.

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AnswerConnect

Posted by Mica Harvey / 24/7 Answering Service, 24/7 Chat Support, After Hours Call Service, Answering Service for Small Business, Customer Service, Dedicated Virtual Assistants, Legal Assistants, Live Answering Service, Live Receptionist Service, SMS Virtual Assistants, UK/Europe Virtual Assistants, US Virtual Assistants, Virtual Assistant Resources, Virtual Employees, Virtual Receptionist, Virtual Receptionist Services

AnswerConnect is a live answering service based in Portland, US. They provide virtual receptionist services so you always have someone available 24/7 to answer your calls, respond to live chat messages, and schedule appointments.

AnswerConnect helps you maximize your ROI by capturing more leads, improving your customer service and giving you more time off the phone.

The company started operations in 2002, and currently serves businesses across the US, Canada and the UK.

About AnswerConnect

AnswerConnect is the premier people-powered live call answering service. They provide a wide range of virtual receptionist services, all aimed at helping businesses stay human without spending all day on the phone. They work with businesses of all sizes across a range of industries throughout the US, UK and Canada.. 

 

How AnswerConnect Works

To get started with AnswerConnect, all you have to do is choose which services you’re interested in. They recognize that each business is unique, so they try to book a consultation with you to discuss the best plan for your unique business needs.

You can request a toll-free number to use as your dedicated line to their receptionists. Alternatively, you can forward your existing number so all calls to your business. Each account comes with access to their mobile and desktop app where you set your instructions, keep track of your minutes used, and contact their team if you have any questions.

AnswerConnect Services

AnswerConnect offers a range of virtual receptionist services which include the following core services:

  • Inbound call answering – Their receptionists answer your business calls using scripts developed by you.
  • Out-of-hours call answering – Want to answer your own calls during office hours? Set up out-of-hours call answering and their receptionists will pick up when you finish for the day.
  • Call forwarding – Set your calls to forward to their receptionists at specific times or when you’re busy.
  • Appointment scheduling – Their receptionists can set appointments on behalf of your callers to keep your calendar running like clockwork.
  • Live chat services – With an easy-to-integrate live chat widget, their receptionists can engage with your website visitors just as they do your callers.

Free Live Demo

AnswerConnect knows every business is unique. That’s why they offer a free consultation to learn more about your business and suggest the best plan for your objectives.

You can also book a free live demo to hear how they would answer representing your business!

AnswerConnect Plans and Pricing

AnswerConnect has a wide variety of pricing plans. Some of their plans come with a one-off set-up fee of $49.99. At time of publishing, the prices are below:

To see all of AnswerConnect’s pricing plans, click here.

All of their plans run monthly and there are no long-term contracts, so you can cancel anytime. 

Not only that, but the first 30 calls under 30 seconds are free. This means you won’t be charged for any misdials or spam calls.

AnswerConnect Alternatives

If you like to try services before you commit to a plan, Gabbyville and Ruby Receptionists are two highly-rated virtual receptionist companies that both offer free trials.

Ruby Receptionists Gabbyville DaVinci 1-888-GoAnswer
Customer Rating not rated not rated
Established 2003 2013 2006 2003
Minimum Monthly Cost $299 for 100 minutes $229 for 150 minutes $99 for 50 minutes $110 for 100 minutes
Price per Minute $2.99 $1.53 $2.00 $1.10
Set-Up Fee $99 $95 $75
Trial 14-Day Free Trial 14-Day Free Trial 30-Day Risk-Free
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