Another 12-hour day. Another missed holiday with your family. All because you’re doing everything yourself: from selling moves to accounting, plus a dozen other repetitive tasks in between.

You didn’t sign up for this. Maybe you told yourself the grind comes with the territory, but it will get easier over time. Yet here you are, years later, and the grind hasn’t let up. If anything, it’s only gonna get harder if something doesn't change.

There is an easier way to run your moving company. Take it from Steven Reed, Founder of Big League Movers. Instead of grinding harder, Steven hired virtual assistants (VAs). VAs took repetitive tasks off Steven’s plate, built processes so his company could scale more easily—and above all else, freed up hours for Steven to spend with his family.

This isn’t a theory. It works. That’s why we interviewed Steven himself to tell us how to find, vet, and onboard VAs. We’ll also share more tips of our own, so keep reading.

Seeing my kids more often was my first taste of: ‘Wait a minute. There IS a different way to do moving where I don't have to be at work all the time and stay in the know.’

- Steven Reed, Founder and President of Big League Movers

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About the experts

Steven Reed

Steven is the Founder and President of Big League Movers, a Memphis-based moving company that runs 22 trucks every day. Big League Movers finished 2024 just shy of $10 million in revenue.

Steven also founded Ready Roles. It’s a company that connects you with virtual assistants and handles all the vetting, onboarding, and training in the background. You get a “ready role” who takes work off your plate on day one. It’s in the name!

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Elva Rosas

Elva serves as the Vice President at Ready Roles. She is Steven’s right hand, an entrepreneur, and a former Director of Customer Success at goLance (a freelance marketplace platform). Elva's career path taught her the ins and outs of scaling businesses and hiring freelance contractors, including VAs.

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What VAs can do for you

Virtual assistants can do everything from writing ads to managing your calendar. It depends on what they’re trained on. There’s no one-size-fits-all job description. You have to figure out what you need help with and find a VA who can do that.

That said, we like to divide virtual assistants into four tiers. The difference between them is the skills they have and how complex their work is.

The first tier is the generalist VA for simple, but repetitive tasks like:

- Sending follow-up emails to your leads

- Confirming your meetings to prevent no-shows

- Organizing and updating job calendars

- Entering customer info into your CRM or spreadsheets

- Taking notes on your meetings

- Responding to customer reviews

- Scheduling social media posts

Moving company owners hire generalist VAs to save time.

The second tier is the specialist VA. You call them for more technical work, like:

- Developing and maintaining websites

- Running your online advertising campaigns

- Integrating your tools like CRMs, accounting software, and email platforms to work seamlessly together

- Editing your marketing videos

- Building dashboards and reports

- Building complex automations
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Then you have the executive assistants (EAs). They usually work with just one executive or a small leadership team and take on bigger responsibilities. Think of it this way: if a generalist VA is your go-to helper for everyday tasks, then an EA is your right-hand person. They can do things like:

- Scheduling important meetings

- Booking your travel for industry events

- Picking up the phone and selling moves

- Drafting confirmation documents for your customers

- Handling your bookkeeping and payroll

Aside from simply saving you time on tasks, EAs can run admin parts of your business for you.
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At the top of the totem pole, you have a ready role. A ready role is a self-starter VA who can do everything ordinary VAs and EAs do and more. They know your company inside out: your standard operating procedures, your personality, your culture, and your internal structure. If you don’t have any structure, a ready role builds it for you. For example, Steven Reed’s ready role (VA) laid the groundwork for his HR function, so that Steven could later hire a full-time recruiter.

My VA built my recruiting process before hiring a recruiter. They even vetted different software. We went with BambooHR. I never would have spent the time of day looking at it, but it's greatly improved my recruiting organization.

Almost every system that I could build remotely, I rebuilt it with a self-starter VA, and then I felt comfortable with them managing somebody else.

- Steven Reed, Founder and President of Big League Movers

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How to prepare for hiring VAs

1. Get clear on why you need a VA

When you don’t have a specific reason for hiring a VA, you risk wasting time and money on someone who’s way out of their depth.

No two VAs are the same. So get very specific with why you need a VA in the first place, then search for VAs who have those skills. ”I need someone to save me time!” is a vague reason. Here are some that aren’t:

- “I need more leads from Google Ads.” —> Look for VAs with Google Ads skills and testimonials.

- “I don’t know how to edit my marketing videos.” —> Look for VAs skilled in video editing tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, Descript, or CapCut.

- “I want to outsource our bookkeeping.” —> Look for a VA trained in accounting.
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If you’re not searching for VAs but letting them come to you instead, then write a job description. Post it on freelance sites or remote job boards. Make sure it answers these questions:

- What’s your company, where is it based, and what does it do?

- Why do you need a VA?

- Which skills would a perfect VA have?

- What arrangement are you looking for? (e.g., Part-time work? Long-term contract?)

- In which time zones should your VA be available?

- What’s the pay?

You can write these answers on a scratchpad, and then ask ChatGPT to turn them into a polished job description.

2. Get clear on your biggest weaknesses

There are two main reasons to a hire VA: to save time on repetitive tasks or to have them handle things you're not good at. If you're going for the second option, lay out your weaknesses, then find VAs who have those skills. You don’t need two right hands. You need a left hand to balance it out.

3. Plan for automations to prevent double work

Virtual assistants are paid hourly, so be smart with their time. Don’t throw random tasks at them. Instead, plan the exact tasks you want off your plate, and then tell your VA set up automations for those tasks as soon as you hire them. The VA can set up automations in moving software.

This way, your VA won’t do the same tasks twice. Whatever the VA can automate, they should, so that they can go work on other stuff. You will get double the efficiency.

Think about hiring a tech-savvy VA who can be your Systems Admin. Those types can improve how things run in your business, instead of just following orders.

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Where to find VAs

Your network

Ask for recommendations in industry Facebook groups, local Facebook groups, industry events, conferences, and industry peers you have on your phone and email.

VA agencies

VA agencies connect you with VAs, so you don’t have to search for them yourself. You also get peace of mind knowing these VAs already went through background checks, skill assessments, and interviews. Agencies typically charge monthly retainers. Pricing depends on location. Agencies that connect you with offshore assistants start at about $20/hour, whereas U.S.-based agencies can charge from $30 to more than $100/hour.

Some VA agencies, like Ready Roles, specialize in the moving industry and even handle your VA training and onboarding.

Pros:

- The VAs are already vetted and screened

- Most VAs and VA agencies are looking for long-term partnerships

- The agency handles the hiring process—very helpful if you’re hiring a VA for the first time

Cons:

- VA agencies cost more than hiring a VA independently

- An agency is a middleman, which can make communicating with your VA slow and frustrating

- The process of hiring a VA can be slow

Freelance marketplaces

The most popular ones are UpWork and Fiverr. Here, you’ll find freelancers—independent contractors (including VAs) who set their own hourly rates. According to UpWork's data, the median hourly rates for VAs on UpWork are $10-$20/hr. Here’s how freelance marketplaces work: you make an account, post a job, and VAs start bidding for it. From there, you can review their profiles, past work, and reviews to decide which VA to hire.

Some freelance marketplaces work the other way around. Instead of posting a job, you browse through VA profiles and message the ones you like.

Be careful. Some say freelance marketplaces are overrun by bots lately. Always check whether your VA’s account is at least 6 months old, and whether their reviews and testimonials come from real people.

Pros:

- You get advanced search filters (e.g., VAs from a specific location, with a specific skill, etc.)

- Typically the cheapest option

- You have full control over who you hire

Cons:

- Freelancers usually aren’t available for repeat or long-term work

- Freelance marketplaces take a cut whenever you hire someone

- Many VAs aren’t good, since anyone can create an account

Remote job boards

Remote job boards are straightforward. You post a job opening with a clear description, wait for applications, and narrow down candidates to interview. Some boards let you pay for more eyeballs. While they’re commonly used for full-time roles, they’re also great for finding part-time or contract VAs. You can start by checking out Skip The Drive and FlexJobs.

Pros:

- Everyone’s looking for remote work, which means you’re targeting a pool of candidates already suited to virtual assistant roles like customer support, scheduling, or admin tasks

- Some boards are tailored to workers with specialized skills (like Remotive for IT talent)

Cons:

- Jobs on niche boards get fewer applicants

- The most popular job boards (like FlexJobs) are paywalled, which can repel many VAs

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Red flags to look for (according to Steven Reed)

1. VAs who only want project work. They’re usually more focused on landing their next project than helping you the best they can. You’re better off finding a long-term partner.‍

2. VA agencies that charge you 3x more than they pay their VA. Don’t be surprised if your VA doesn’t put in the effort and doesn’t stick around.‍

3. VA agencies that aren’t looking for a long-term partnership. Before you decide to work with them, you should grill them with questions like:

- "How are you vetting your VAs?"

- "What does your training setup look like?"

- "What's your process?"

- "Are you just leaving me to find out everything? What am I supposed to do next?"

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A great VA is a self-starter

Hiring a VA only to constantly micromanage them doesn’t make sense. Find a self-starter. Someone who doesn’t just manage themselves, but can also manage others, create processes, and write playbooks where none exist. This will free you to work ON your business.

Most VAs know that moving company owners prefer self-starters. They’ll say anything to convince you they are one. You need to test them. Here’s how.

Give your VA access to the tools and systems you use like Google Drive, Supermove, QuickBooks, and whatever else. Explain to your VA where you need help. Give them some helpful context, but don’t hover. Then step back, give them some time, and see how they handle it.

A self-starter will jump in, figure it out, and come back with questions, ideas, or even solutions. For example, you could ask your VA to review your lead booking system, explain how it works back to you, and suggest ways to make it better. If they’re just sitting around waiting for your step-by-step instructions, that’s a red flag. A great VA would see this as a chance to impress you.

If your VA doesn’t step up, it’s fine. Not everyone is cut out to be a self-starter. It’s better you find that out early and move on than to stick it out with someone who isn’t going to grow into the role.

A self-starter isn't someone who tells me: ‘You need to hire 3 people because this is what they need to do.’

A self-starter says: ‘Let ME do it.’ Later, you come back to find they’ve already written a playbook for the role.

- Elva Rosas, VP of Ready Roles

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How to train your VAs

Even though you want a self-starter VA, it’s unfair to expect them to know everything right away. You’d be setting them up to fail. They still need some training, especially for demanding jobs like sales or using unfamiliar software.
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Don't get it twisted. Training your VAs is a pain. It does add even more work to your already busy schedule. You can either hire a company like Ready Roles to train your VAs in the background, or you can do it yourself. If you're going for the second option, here’s how to do it.

Get on the same page

VAs can do a lot, but they can’t read minds. It’s your job to set expectations and spell them out. Lay it all out either verbally or in writing:

- “This is your job description.”

- “These are skills you need to know like the back of your hand.”

- “These are the tools you’ll use every day. Here are the passwords.”

- “This is why your role matters.”

- “Here are some behaviors I don’t appreciate, and here are some I really appreciate.”

- “Here are the hours I expect you to be available. “

- “Here’s how we’ll communicate.”

- “Here’s how much you will get paid, and here’s how you’ll get paid.”

- “Here are some things you are NOT allowed to do without my permission.”

Organize a simple training program around your SOPs

You should know exactly why you hired the VA and what they need to handle. Plan a training program around those key processes and tools.

For example, schedule 30 minutes on Monday to explain to your VA how you want your calendar and meetings managed. Then schedule another 45-minute session on Tuesday to show them how to use your most important software. Record these sessions so your VA can replay them. Rinse and repeat until you’ve covered all the basics. Try to get at least 5 hours of training in total. You can spread this out over a week or even two weeks.

(Alternatively) Document your SOPs and share them with your VA

Write down your SOPs in a Google Doc before you train your VAs on them. Go over every SOP that matters to you—how you respond to leads, follow up, send quotes—exactly how you want it done.

Once you have those SOPs documented, share the document with your VA and give them time to study. When your VA comes back, assign them a test task. Understanding your SOPs in theory is one thing, but applying them is a different story. If your VA isn’t there yet, you can correct them early on.

Here’s an example of a documented SOP:

Record step-by-step tutorials for unfamiliar software

Recording your processes on video saves you from explaining them a million times. You can use tools like Loom. For example, if you need your VA to create sales automations, record yourself creating one step-by-step. Narrate what you’re doing and explain why each step matters.

Before you send each video to your VA, let them know they can ask you anything to make sure everything is clear from the start.

Here's an example of a step-by-step video we made for building an upsell automation in Supermove:

Give your VA a test project

Start your VA off with a test project to ease them into the role and catch any mistakes early. Keep it simple. For example, ask them to write and send 10 check-in emails to your old customers. Then take a look at how they did. Were the emails good? Did anyone reply? Give them feedback and have them send another 10 emails. By the third round, they should be ready to do a full-blown email campaign for 100 customers. It’s a low-risk way to reassure both your VA and yourself.

Assign work to your VA

Be clear about what you need, set deadlines, and let your VA know where each task sits on the priority list. To avoid overwhelming your VA, we suggest breaking their work up into 3 buckets: routine work, ad-hoc tasks, and projects.

- Routine work should be handled every day with no questions asked, like responding to leads. The deadline for routine work is always today.

- Ad-hoc tasks are one-off things like taking an urgent call or updating a proposal on short notice.

- Projects are bigger tasks. They take more time and involve multiple steps. For example, asking your VA to research and recommend which HR software to buy.

Always make sure to assign work in advance, so that your VA can hit their deadlines.

Ask for daily status reports

You can’t message your VA non-stop, but you shouldn’t be out of the loop, either. A simple solution is to ask your VA to write daily status reports. Status reports are documents where your VA lists what they got done today, what they’re currently working on, and what’s next. Your VA can also note if they’re stuck on something and need your help.

You should bookmark your VA’s status report document so you can easily access it. Here’s a simple Google Docs template.

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Final thoughts

If I could go back in time, I would have invested in a VA on day one of starting my business. I know it makes you a better person. I know it lets you have vacations.

I would have grown a heck of a lot faster and made fewer mistakes.

- Steven Reed, Founder and President of Big League Movers