Hiring a Secretary / Digital Assistant

Cleveland, Ohio
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Hiring a Secretary / Digital Assistant

Nicholas CavatoPro Member
Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2024 · 44 posts · 38 votes

I am looking for help to hire my first employee for my real estate investing company. Does anybody have recommendations on where to being looking for a service that offers full onboarding of a secretary or digital assistant? I would like to have as many of the admin tasks taken off my plate but I would still like to conduct the interviews myself.

[email protected]602-529-6389
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  • Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
    3mo

    If you have somebody else on board this person, more than likely you will get very frustrated, as you should be the one that onboards them if they're working for you. You are going to want to show them how you want things done and when you want it by. Unless you already have videos or standing operating procedures they could learn from, having somebody else on board this type of person when they don't know your business or how you want it operated will be very challenging. 

    Regarding finding people, are you looking for people within the United States or offshore? If they're not in the U.S., are you looking for people in a similar time zone, or are you okay with people being across the other side of the planet? There are a lot of pros and cons to all of the above, but it really depends on you and your management style. 

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    • Nicholas CavatoPro Member
      OP
      Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2024 · 44 posts · 38 votes
      3mo

      @Chris Seveney thanks Chris, after reading this I agree... I'll be doing hiring. I do have an extensive SOP written up already but no videos.

      I understand hiring OCONUS is more cost efficient, locations like the Philippines or similar. That was my intent.

      [email protected]602-529-6389
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    • Nicholas CavatoPro Member
      OP
      Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2024 · 44 posts · 38 votes
      3mo

      @Chris Seveney I was basically referring to all the hiring documents. (1099/W2, Non-Disclosure Agreements, things like that)

      [email protected]602-529-6389
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  • Richard F.
    Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3mo

    Your first employee probably ought to be a bookkeeper, knowledgeable in RE/PM. If you feel you need a secretary/admin asst you probably don't have near enough solid systems in place.

    0Reply
  • Okechukwu Treasure C
    Virtual Assistant · Toledo, OH · Member since 2026 · 84 posts · 36 votes
    3mo
    Quote from @Nicholas Cavato:

    I am looking for help to hire my first employee for my real estate investing company. Does anybody have recommendations on where to being looking for a service that offers full onboarding of a secretary or digital assistant? I would like to have as many of the admin tasks taken off my plate but I would still like to conduct the interviews myself.

    Nicholas – I'm a remote virtual assistant based in Nigeria, currently working with real estate investors and agents on data research, lead generation, and admin support.
    I understand you want to conduct interviews yourself – that makes sense. If you're open to it, I'd be happy to hop on a quick call to discuss what tasks you'd like off your plate and see if I'd be a good fit.
    Let me know if you'd like to connect.
    0Reply
    • Nicholas CavatoPro Member
      OP
      Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2024 · 44 posts · 38 votes
      3mo
      Quote from @Okechukwu Treasure C:
      Quote from @Nicholas Cavato:

      I am looking for help to hire my first employee for my real estate investing company. Does anybody have recommendations on where to being looking for a service that offers full onboarding of a secretary or digital assistant? I would like to have as many of the admin tasks taken off my plate but I would still like to conduct the interviews myself.

      Nicholas – I'm a remote virtual assistant based in Nigeria, currently working with real estate investors and agents on data research, lead generation, and admin support.
      I understand you want to conduct interviews yourself – that makes sense. If you're open to it, I'd be happy to hop on a quick call to discuss what tasks you'd like off your plate and see if I'd be a good fit.
      Let me know if you'd like to connect.

      Thank you Okechukwu!

      [email protected]602-529-6389
      0Reply
  • Nathan FisherBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2020 · 305 posts · 260 votes
    3mo

    I've had a great experience with my VA through Virtually incredible. I can make a connection if you dm me.

    That being said, a VA should never be client facing. Any tenant or client interactions have to be done with a native English speaker.  

    [email protected]216-245-2901
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    • Nicholas CavatoPro Member
      OP
      Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2024 · 44 posts · 38 votes
      3mo
      Quote from @Nathan Fisher:

      I've had a great experience with my VA through Virtually incredible. I can make a connection if you dm me.

      That being said, a VA should never be client facing. Any tenant or client interactions have to be done with a native English speaker.  

      Thank you Nathan! Such great advice, I will DM you
      [email protected]602-529-6389
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    • Okechukwu Treasure C
      Virtual Assistant · Toledo, OH · Member since 2026 · 84 posts · 36 votes
      3mo
      Quote from @Nathan Fisher:

      I've had a great experience with my VA through Virtually incredible. I can make a connection if you dm me.

      That being said, a VA should never be client facing. Any tenant or client interactions have to be done with a native English speaker.  


       Nathan, that's a solid rule about VAs not being client-facing unless they're native speakers. I'll keep that in mind for my own work. I focus on the research and admin side – lead generation, data entry, and spreadsheets – so I can support property managers without stepping into client-facing roles.

      0Reply
  • Denise SuppleeBusiness Member
    Realtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 962 posts · 636 votes
    3mo

    I’ve actually had good luck hiring through Upwork for this kind of role.

    What’s worked best for me is posting a really clear job description, shortlisting a few strong profiles, and then do a quick interview before committing long-term. If you’re trying to offload admin work, I’d also be really specific upfront about exactly what you want handled so you attract the right type of assistant.

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    • Nicholas CavatoPro Member
      OP
      Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2024 · 44 posts · 38 votes
      3mo
      Quote from @Denise Supplee:

      I’ve actually had good luck hiring through Upwork for this kind of role.

      What’s worked best for me is posting a really clear job description, shortlisting a few strong profiles, and then do a quick interview before committing long-term. If you’re trying to offload admin work, I’d also be really specific upfront about exactly what you want handled so you attract the right type of assistant.

      Thank you Denise
      [email protected]602-529-6389
      0Reply
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