Bottleneck Distant Assistants (formerly Bottleneck Virtual Assistants)

Bottleneck Distant Assistants sources executive and administrative assistants who work remotely in the Philippines.

Jaime Jay, the founder, started sourcing Virtual Assistants in the Philippines in 2006 — before it was cool!

After helping peers and clients find talented VAs on an informal or private basis, one of Jaime’s business peers suggested he start his own business offering the services. Jaime decided to open Bottleneck Virtual Assistants with a very unique service offering to a broader audience.

About Bottleneck Distant Assistants

Bottleneck’s target customers are entrepreneurs that are experiencing growth in their existing company and are finding it more and more difficult to manage their tasks on a daily basis.

The majority of customers are based in the US, the UK, and Canada, while assistants work from their home offices in the Philippines.

“We are noticing a large amount of call center workers leaving that line of work for virtual assistant work,” Jaime explained. “While these people don’t have the same type of experience, they are eager to learn and they work hard.”

The Bottleneck Distant VA Sourcing Process

One of the biggest challenges facing the business leaders is finding great people to work with. Bottleneck understands this.

That’s why they promise to do all the hard leg work for you.

“We vet your executive assistant and make sure they are capable of completing the administrative tasks you need finished on a daily basis,” Jaime said. “We specialize in sourcing highly-skilled virtual assistants who are dedicated to your vision, mission and core values.”

Each candidate completes a 4-step hiring application that involves problem solving and gives them a chance to shine by highlighting three key areas:

1. English Comprehension
2. Technology Check
3. Soft Skills

English Comprehension

Reading, writing and speaking the English language is a MUST. All client and internal communication is in English.

Bottleneck Distant VA’s have college degrees and/or equivalents because 100% of the universities or higher education in the Philippines are taught in English. The road signs are in English and even the government documentation is written in English. 

Tech Check

Every Bottleneck Distant candidate not only provides the details of their current technology, but they document what their back up process is in case their computer breaks or the Internet goes down.

Soft Skills

Every candidate completes a DiSC® Assessment. DiSC® is a personal assessment tool used to improve work productivity, teamwork, leadership, sales, and communication.

DiSC profiles describe human behavior in various situations. For example, how you respond to challenges, how you influence others, your preferred pace and how you respond to rules and procedures.

Bottleneck Distant Assistant Services

The following items are different areas that your Executive or Personal administrative assistant will work on to serve you and your organization so you are able to focus on the high level activity needed to scale your business:

• Email management
• Schedule management
• Social media planning
• Project management
• Travel arrangements
• Event planning
• Graphic design
• Website management services
• Audio/Video editing services
• Research
• CRM management
• Sales development support
• Phone answering/support
• Customer service

How it Works

Each potential client completes a simple 9-question form to schedule a free consultation. These consultations are scheduled for 30 minutes.

During the consultation, a representative from Bottleneck Distant will answer questions and provide the details for next steps.

The next step is to complete a VA-Intake form, and after that, Bottleneck’s Distant recruitment manager begins the sourcing process. 

Bottleneck Distant will identify a candidate they feel is best suited for the position.

Next, a Bottleneck Distant representative will schedule a time to introduce the candidate to the client. If the client is not happy with the candidate, they’ll choose another candidate from their database and set up another video conference on Zoom. 

The company focuses on and specializes in fulfillment for full-time roles. “Our virtual assistants, for the most part, are seeking full-time pay,” Jaime explained. (Aren’t we all!) “If a position is only part-time, Bottleneck Distant will help them find another position.”

Once the candidate has been accepted by the client, they can begin work straight away.

The Integrated Services Program™

Bottleneck Distant Assistants is a full-service program. Naturally, one person can’t do everything, so Bottleneck Distant created the Integrated Services Program™ (ISP). 

The idea here is to give clients access to multiple levels of expertise. Bottleneck Distant Assistants provides you with a point person that you’ll be able to build a relationship with that specializes in a certain area.

Through your personal assistant, you’ll have access to four different areas of expertise through a single point of contact.

These areas of expertise are as follows:

• Website Management (WordPress)
• Social Media Management
• Graphic Design
• Audio/Video Editing

Clients using the Bottleneck Distant services on a part-time basis (up to 20 hours per week) will have access to 3 hours per week of the ISP. For those clients using the service on a full-time basis (up to 40 hours per week), they will have access to six hours per week of the ISP.

Other virtual assistant companies call this “team access,” and it’s a great selling point. It means you can tap into specialized skills as needed, without going out and making a new hire or posting a one-off freelance project.

It is important to know that if clients do not use the total hours for that week, they lose those hours. The hours do not roll over from week to week.

Bottleneck Distant Assistant Plans and Pricing

Bottleneck Distant Assistant has a few different pricing tiers based on the scope of work you might need.

Recurring, Automatic Billing – Minimum of 12 Weeks

Up to 20 Hours Per Week:

• One week of service: $300 
• Two weeks of service: $590
• Four weeks of service: $1,160

Up to 40 Hours Per Week:

• One week of service: $580
• Two weeks of service: $1,140
• Four weeks of service: $2,240

Project, Single Invoice – No Minimum

Up to 20 Hours Per Week: 

• One week of service: $442
• Two weeks of service: $871
• Four weeks of service: $1,716 

Up to 40 Hours Per Week:

• One week of service: $858
• Two weeks of service: $1,690
• Four weeks of service: $3,328

(You choose what package and how often you want to get billed. All packages are pre-paid.)

Bottleneck Distant Assistants Alternatives

When I asked Jaime what sets Bottleneck Distant Assistant apart from the competition, he mentioned their vetting process is designed to minimize risks for both clients and VAs.

“There are stories of VAs not getting paid and stories of clients not getting the work done that was promised and their assistant seemed to just disappear. While we can’t guarantee that will ever happen on either end, we do have a great system in place,” Jaime explained.

Another resource to look into is OnlineJobs.ph, especially if you’re comfortable doing the job posting and candidate screening yourself. The service costs $69 a month but you should have no problem finding the right person for the job within a month or two.

Once hired you’ll just pay your VA directly each pay period. You’ll find full-time candidates at a fraction of the cost of Bottleneck Distant Assistant, but have to forego the other benefits like team access.

Your Turn

Have you worked with Bottleneck Distant Assistants? If so, please be sure to leave a review of your experience below to help others with their decision.