How to hire a virtual assistant and stop doing your own admin.
I’ve got 6 or 7 virtual assistants now. Admin, marketing, video editing, content scheduling, the lot. It’s the single thing that has bought back the most time in my business — and let me run a few things at once without losing the plot.
This playbook is the system I’ve refined over the years. What a VA actually is, why it’s worth it, the ethics question (yes I’ve thought about it, and yes I also hire Aussies), the full task list, where to find them, and how to onboard them so they actually stick.
Read it end to end in about 30 minutes. Or skip to the section you need.
Written by
Brando Hasick
Kaizen Collective · 7 VAs deep
The maths
What a VA actually saves you.
Drag the sliders. Watch the numbers move.
20 hrs
Admin, content, follow-ups, the boring stuff.
$250/hr
Monthly revenue ÷ hours worked.
$12/hr
$8–18 offshore (Upwork). $40–60 Aussie (Airtasker).
Saved per week
$4,760
Saved per month
$20,611
Saved per year
$238,000
Assumes 50 working weeks/year. The honest answer: most people under-estimate their own hourly rate by 2–3x. Run the maths on what you billed last month divided by hours you actually worked — not the rate on your website.
The 12 sections
What a virtual assistant actually is
Not a marketing manager. Not a strategist. The person who runs the playbook you've already written in your head.
Open sectionWhy you actually need one
Your time is worth $300/hr. Theirs is $10. The maths is rude — and it's the only way to scale without burning out.
Open sectionIs it ethical to hire offshore?
Short answer: yes, if you do it properly. Here's how I think about it — and why I also hire Aussies.
Open sectionAdmin tasks — start here
The first 20 hours a week you should hand over. Inbox, calendar, CRM, follow-ups. The boring stuff that eats your day.
Open sectionMarketing tasks — the next layer
Once admin is off your plate, this is where the leverage gets serious. Editing, scheduling, repurposing, reporting.
Open sectionThe full task list
Every task I've ever offloaded, sorted by function. Use it as a checklist when scoping your first role.
Open sectionWhere to actually find them
Upwork for offshore. Airtasker for Aussies. The exact filters and search terms I use for each.
Open sectionWriting the job description
Templates for an admin VA, a marketing VA, and the Aussie videographer post that's worked for me on Airtasker.
Open sectionWho to hire (and who to avoid)
The green flags and red flags. What I look for in the first 3 messages — and the ones I dismiss instantly.
Open sectionThe paid test task
Skip the interview. Pay them for one hour of real work. You'll know within a day if they're the one.
Open sectionOnboarding them properly
Where most people drop the ball. Looms, tools, the folder system, and the first-week structure I use every time.
Open sectionScaling from one VA to a team
How I went from one to seven. When to hire the next one, how to layer roles, and the org chart I run.
Open sectionDon’t want to do the hiring yourself?
We’ll hire your first VA for you.
Source, vet, test-task, onboard. Done in 14 days. You meet 2 finalists and pick one. Money back if they’re not a fit.
Kaizen Collective →