IVAA

The International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) is an organization providing tools, resources, and professional education to help virtual assistants further their professional development and increase their employment opportunities.

It’s a non-profit organization that formed more than 20 years ago and their headquarters are located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About the IVAA

If you’re starting out as a virtual assistant or want more exposure for yourself and your business, joining the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) might be what you need to help you take your VA business to the next level.

When you sign up for their annual membership you get access to loads of virtual assistant-related tools and resources, but most importantly you gain access to a huge network of other VAs both experienced and new.

The fastest way to learn the ropes in any industry is undoubtedly by being able to ask questions of people who are already established and experienced. The IVAA also host conferences with guest speakers, run mentorship programs, and some other interesting programs designed to help Vas improve their skillsets and grow their businesses.

The only way to unlock all of their services is to become a member. There is an annual fee, and for as long as you keep renewing your membership, you’ll be a part of the organization.

I couldn’t find any conclusive information on how many members the IVAA have, but looking at their conferences and summits, and taking into account how long they’ve been active, it looks on face-value like they offer a good deal of value for their annual membership cost.

Services

Once you’ve signed up for their annual membership, some of their key member services include:

• Directory listing – You can list your business on their directory to increase your exposure to potential clients.
• Resources – You’ll get access to loads of resources such as forms, procedures, and other useful things to help you get your business started.
• Experts – The IVAA holds monthly sessions in chat rooms with experts in the industry.
• Summits – You’ll get an invite to the IVAA annual live and online conferences to help you learn new skills and keep up-to-date with industry movements.
• Facebook Group Access – If you like using Facebook groups to keep in touch with other VAs you’ll like having access to the IVAA’s private group.
• Website Exposure – You’ll have the opportunity to post links on the IVAA website from time-to-time.
• Mentorship Program – If you’re new to the VA industry you can find an experienced mentor to help you grow your business.
• And more…

Plans and Pricing

The IVAA operates on an annual membership model to gain access to all their virtual assistant resources, tools, and support.

They have a few payment options to help if you don’t have the full membership amount up front, along with trial and student memberships options as follows:

Regular Membership

With the regular membership, you receive all the perks. Those include conference discounts, access to educational activities, training, resources, tools, weekly chats, access to their Facebook group, directory listings, and more.

You have 3 payment options:

• Annual – a one-off payment of $137.
• Semi-annual – Two payments of $80 ($160 total).
• Quarterly – Four payments of $44 ($176 total).

Trial Membership

If you’d prefer to try before you buy, there is a Trial Membership option which costs $44 for 90 days but this comes with fewer perks.

Student Membership

Alternatively, you can pay $37 for a 6-month Student Membership which also comes with restricted access than the Regular Membership.

There are no refunds, so make sure you know what you’re signing up for before committing.

Hiring from IVAA

If you want to hire from the pool of IVAA members, you can!

There’s a Request for Proposal form you can fill out on the IVAA website, with checkboxes on the skills you need the most help with. To set your RFP up for the best possible responses, be sure to include:

• The number of hours you expect to need every week or month.
• If you have any preferences as to time zones / availability.
• The top two or three tasks you need help with or want your VA to take off your plate.
• If there is any specific software the VA should have access to and know how to use.
• If they need prior expertise in a specific industry.

It is free to submit this job post, and your request will be sent out to paying IVAA members. One advantage is that you know there’s at least one small investment these potential VAs have made in their business (their membership fee). That shows they’re serious about their virtual assistant business and theoretically more professional than non-members.

Though I certainly wouldn’t avoid holding non-IVAA membership against a potential freelance hire that was otherwise well-qualified!

IVAA Alternatives

The International Virtual Assistants Association is the only US non-profit dedicated to the continuing development of virtual assistants that I know of.

There are some other great resources for virtual assistants, however. The Virtual Savvy is a great resource for VAs starting out or trying to find new clients. The founder Abbey also runs a massive Facebook community for VAs.

Your Turn

Are you a member of the IVAA? Have you hired an IVAA member? If so, please leave a review below to help others with their decision.