First, what’s the difference between a freelance network and a virtual assistant firm? Freelance networks (like Elance, Odesk, etc.) are directories of freelancers, where you can post jobs for technical or creative projects (usually limited-complexity web design, development, and copy writing projects). The freelancers listed are all independent, with varying specialties and expertise. Virtual Assistant (VA) firms are companies that employ individuals whose time they rent to you as an assistant. Although they will tell you they handle the same types of tasks as the freelancers in a freelance network, in my experience it’s best to outsource more technical or specialized tasks to the specialist freelancers, and leave the administrative task to the VA’s, who tend to be more generalists. With that said, know that you can find independent VA’s, and even some VA firms listed in the freelance networks!

Now, here is an evolving summary of my personal experience with various freelance networks and Virtual Assistant firms

Freelance Networks:

These sites are great for more specialized or technical tasks that are beyond the expertise of more generalized VA’s skillset (ie: graphic design, copywriting, or small programming jobs). The websites below allow you to post job descriptions to describe the work you need done, set a budget, and have freelancers bid on the job. In my experience, these networks are best for smaller tasks (fewer than 40 hours of work).

• Elance – Simply the best professional services outsourcing website I have used. Elance has been around since the late ’90s (that’s a long time in internet years), and their experience is reflected in the both the vastness of their offerings, the number of freelancers listed on the site, and the well developed project workflow (the process you, as a buyer, go through from project creation, to bid selection, to deliverable acceptance, to payment). If I’m being nit-picky, their user interface could be simpler, but overall it is very good (especially compared to competitors like Rent a Coder and WriterLance) – and they keep making improvements. The real strength of the service is their user base; thousands of service providers bid for jobs large and small. And if you take the time to carefully explain the work you want done and review the bids you get (they give you good tips how to do this), you can find very competent and fairly priced providers to do your work. They also handle 1099 tax forms for you (only necessary if you spend more than $600/year with any one provider), and offer an escrow payment service that ensures that you don’t have to pay the provider until agreed milestones are reached. Like most of these services, Elance makes their money by charging service providers to be listed on the site, so the website is free for you to use.
  Search Providers on Elance >>
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• oDesk – The concept is very similar to Elance, in that this network handles all kinds of projects, from technical to administrative. The oDesk interface looks nice, and I know a lot of people swear by this network, but for me response to the job I posted didn’t yield the results I was hoping for. Honestly I’ve only posted one job on oDesk…it was a small web-page design project. So I can’t claim to be an expert on oDesk. But I posted the exact same project on two other sites, including Elance and Joomlancers (a specialty outsourcing site dedicated to the Joomla content management system (CMS))…and got better responses on both of the other sites. I was impressed with the oDesk interface and usability (very intuitive) and the number of responses/bids I received from oDesk was high (about 15 bids). But respondents indicated a very low level understanding of my project’s requirements, they under-bid the work, and ultimately the bids I received on both Elance and Joomlancers were much better. I awarded a Joomlancers provider this particular project, and it’s worth noting that the winning provider was also an Elance provider…but is not on oDesk. My one-off experience notwithstanding, I continue to hear from people who prefer oDesk to Elance. It’s free to use, so what do you have to lose to try it for yourself? Here are some links to popular services on the site.
  Virtual Assistants on oDesk >> | Web Developers >> | Graphic Designers >>
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• vWorker (formerly Rent a Coder) – RentaCoder feels like it was created for programmers by programmers. If tech talk makes you queezy, this site is not for you. Need a programming project completed, but don’t know how to define it very clearly, in programmer lingo? Then look elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you know the tech lexicon, and understand how to talk to programmers, then there are some extremely talented individuals to be found on this site. [Update, 10/14/2010]: By re-branding as vWorker I have to assume that RentaCoder is making more than just a name change…revamping their user experience and targeting more of a business audience as job posters. This is a good thing in my opinion – their previous .
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• WriterLance – This service is supposedly one of the more popular freelance network sites just for writers. But a clunky interface is all it took for me to say goodbye to WriterLance. I just didn’t want to spend any more time trying to make sense of their limited workflow features and communication interface. I have only published a couple jobs on this site – both generated disappointing results. If you have had good experience with WriterLance, by all means let us know by commenting on this post. Based on my own experience, however, I just can’t recommend the service.
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• Do My Stuff
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• Kasamba
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• Guru
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• iFreelance
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• Get a Freelancer
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• ScriptLance

Virtual Assistant (VA) Firms:

VA’s can be great resources for ongoing, repetitive tasks (such as weekly reports) or well defined administrative tasks (such as data entry). Technical, creative, or otherwise subjective work is best left to the freelancers (see above)…but a good VA can save you a lot of time on admin work. Keep in mind that you can find VA’s on some of the networks above, too.

• Brickwork India (India) – Still one of the best VA firms in India. If you’ve been doing your VA firm homework you’ve probably heard of Brickwork. They’ve gotten a lot of press in The World is Flat, The 4-Hour Workweek (review), and countless blog posts like this one. I’ve had quite a bit of experience with multiple Brickwork VA’s, and I’ve written much more about my experience with them in another post >> read more about Brickwork…
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• Get Friday (India) – I had mixed experience with these guys. Get Friday’s parent company, Your Man In India (YMII) told me they’re no longer handling tasks for customers outside of India, and I was referred instead to their Get Friday division. Apparently the volume of work they were receiving from stateside customers justified the new division, so they must be doing something right. But my Get Friday VA was just so-so >> read more about Get Friday…
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• BPovia (China) – I previously knew nothing about this firm. I just saw it included in a list of VA firms on another website, so I figured I’d give them a shot. They beat me to the punch, contacting me for a free trial. The drawn-out experience was less than exceptional >> read more aout BPOvia…
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• AskSunday (US?) – After seeing Tim Ferriss speak in October, 2008, and hearing that the only virtual assistant firm he still uses is Ask Sunday, I had to give them a shot. They specialize in small, short timeframe, objective, well-defined tasks. I have yet to figure out whether I’ll have a use for such a narrow area of assistance. Update 1/19/2009: I signed up for the free trial month with these guys, and I didn’t find a single opportunity to take advantage of their services. The types of tasks that they offer to do are simply too small to justify the time it takes to make the request. It’s so easy to book a flight these days; it’s so easy to make a restaurant reservation; it’s so easy to order flowers for someone – how could a remote assistant save me any time on these tasks? I mean, in order to have someone do tasks like these for you, you still have to take the time to describe the requirements of the task. Unless you’re doing the same type of task over and over, you might as well just do it yourself. These types of tasks are well suited for a personal assistant who works closely with you, understands your needs and preferences, and can ask clarifying questions in person. For me, a remote assistant like AskSunday wasn’t the answer.

• Catch Friday (Philippines)
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• Tasks Every Day (India)
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• Hi Tech Export (India)