What: Remote jobs as a virtual assistant, bookkeeper, writer or web master
Expected Pay: $15 to $30 per hour
Husl $core: $$$$
Where: National
Requirements: smart phone; home office with computer and high-speed internet access; bachelor’s degree preferred; other requirements vary by position
Review: Belay launched as a company providing virtual assistants to companies needing help managing email, schedules and projects, but moved into bookkeeping, content writing and web services with the purchase of MAG Bookkeeping among others. Now the company matches remote workers to companies needing service in four areas — writing, web design, virtual assistance and bookkeeping. Worker reviews are generally positive and the site promises pay ranging from $15 to $30 per hour.
If you’re looking for full-time work, you may also want to check out Indeed and Glassdoor, which are highly-rated job boards.
What their workers say:
“You are your own boss. You make your own schedule. BELAY encourages this standard between you and your client, and this ultimately creates the perfect life/work balance. Corporate style employee interface makes it easy for you to learn all the tools needed as a virtual assistant/bookkeeper/etc. Most importantly, the positivity and attention to company morale makes working for BELAY a delight. On the other hand, pay is not that great, and it’s ultimately based on an algorithm that BELAY as put together. In my opinion, this job is better as a supplement income to your partner’s income. Or an alternative to daycare and a part-time onsite job. There is a max $ you can make per hour, but then again. You have so much flexibility in your work/life schedule this is hard to complain about. I guess there are a lot of BELAY webinars you will be asked to attend, but they last maybe an hour so this is barely a con. Also, these webinars are very informative and you can gain a lot of knowledge to use when working with your clients.”
“I have been with MAG Bookkeeping from very early on, and have watched it grow. I count myself fortunate to be a part of this team! While I get the benefits of being an independent contractor – especially when it comes to schedule and workload management – I don’t feel like I am alone in my job. I very much feel like I have plenty of support, and that the company cares about both me AND my family. This job requires a considerable amount of self-motivation – no one is really checking up on you on a day to day basis. This isn’t a con, per se. But if working independently is difficult for you, this may not be the job for you. Also, working from home/remotely can take some getting used to. While it is great that I can work and also, for example, do the laundry – it took me several months to be able to establish good boundaries between “work” and “home”. Again, this isn’t a con, per se – but it is very different than working in a traditional office-based environment. Also, there is the whole tax thing – being a contractor means paying your own taxes, including the Self-Employed tax. That can be a bit of a shock, if you don’t know it is coming. But again, it can be a positive as you can only pay out exactly what you need to pay (assuming you have good tax advice) and no more.”
“They can terminate your contract at any time, without notice or reason. I had excellent reviews from the clients I worked with but changes required the one client to end their contract with Belay. Belay turned around and dumped me instead of giving me a new client. Pay is once per month so plan bills accordingly. To management: Stop overselling your company. You can’t put people with clients who turn out to have temp work and sell it as a set hours gig with no end date. You say you’re great at matching people but yet I was forced to work for one of most arrogant and obnoxious people I can imagine and I was not allowed to terminate from my end unless the client agrees to it. Might want to disclose that to people up front – the VA may not terminate unilaterally.”
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