Dedicated Virtual Assistant: One VA Who Works Only for You
"Dedicated" is the most abused word in this industry. Here's what it means here, precisely — and why it changes the economics of hiring a VA.
What dedicated actually means
- One VA, assigned to you. They work for your business, learn your tools, your clients and your preferences, and they're not split across a pool of strangers.
- Direct line, no layers. You communicate with your VA directly. Our team supports them — cover, quality, escalation — without sitting between you and the work.
- Long-term by design. The whole model is built around keeping the same person: matched carefully at the start, replaced free within 30 days if the fit is wrong, so knowledge compounds instead of resetting.
Dedicated vs shared: the real difference
A shared or pooled VA serves many clients in rotation. Every task starts cold: re-briefing, re-explaining, re-checking. A dedicated VA starts warm — they know that your biggest client gets a same-day reply, that invoices go out on Fridays, that a certain report is always wrong in the same way. That context is the asset. It's also why VA-hopping is so expensive: every restart throws the asset away.
Our founder spent five years watching clients lose money switching VAs. This company exists to end that: the correct VA from the start, in a long-term working relationship.
What a dedicated VA takes on
Inbox and calendar, research briefs, CRM and data, client operations, content support, and process documentation — the recurring operational load. Full list on our services page. On the AI Manager plan, they also run and improve your AI-assisted workflows.
Dedicated VA vs freelancer vs task service vs in-house hire
Most founders searching for a dedicated virtual assistant have already tried one of the alternatives. Here is the honest comparison, based on how each model is structured rather than on anyone's marketing.
| Dedicated VA (agency) | Freelancer | Task service / pool | In-house employee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | One assigned person | One person, shared with their other clients | Whoever is free | One employee |
| Learns your business | Yes, compounds over months | Partly, if they stay | Rarely; context resets | Yes |
| Cover for leave or sickness | Agency provides cover | Usually none | Built in | You arrange it |
| If the fit is wrong | Replacement (ours: free within 30 days) | Start the search again | Ask for someone else | Performance process, notice, rehire |
| Commitment | Month-to-month (ours) | Varies | Usually prepaid hours | Employment contract, payroll, benefits |
| Best for | Recurring operations you want owned | Defined one-off projects | Occasional, simple tasks | Roles needing on-site presence |
If your work is recurring and depends on context, such as your inbox, your clients, your CRM or your weekly reporting, a dedicated VA is usually the right model. If you need a logo or a one-off data project, a freelancer is fine and probably cheaper.
Signs you need a dedicated VA, not ad-hoc help
- You re-explain the same tasks every time someone new picks them up.
- The work is daily or weekly, not occasional: inbox, scheduling, follow-ups, reporting, CRM updates.
- Mistakes come from missing context, not missing skill.
- You have hired and replaced more than one VA and every restart cost you weeks.
- You want someone who notices problems and suggests fixes, not only someone who completes tickets.
Three or more of these usually means the cost of re-briefing is higher than the cost of a dedicated person. Our checklist of signs you need a virtual assistant goes deeper.
How we match your dedicated VA
- You tell us the job. Tasks, tools, hours, time zone and timing, through the short form on this page.
- We shortlist 2–3 candidates within 72 hours. Each has already cleared skills checks, reference checks and a trial task.
- You interview and choose. You meet them directly. No obligation, no recruitment fee.
- Your VA starts, and billing starts with them. You pay nothing before the start date.
- The first 30 days are protected. If the fit is wrong, we replace them at no cost and hand over the documented context so the next VA does not start from zero.
For the week-one plan once your VA starts, see how to onboard a virtual assistant.
What a dedicated VA costs per hour
Our prices are flat monthly fees, so the hourly figure depends on hours worked. Using our published plans and a standard full-time week of 40 hours:
- Essentials, $899/mo for 20 hours a week: roughly 87 hours a month, or about $10.40 an hour.
- Executive, $1,599/mo full-time: roughly 173 hours a month, or about $9.20 an hour.
- AI Manager, $2,599/mo full-time: roughly 173 hours a month, or about $15 an hour, for a VA who also runs and checks your AI workflows.
Those are estimates from monthly averages, not separate hourly rates. For how this compares with the wider market, see how much a virtual assistant costs and VA hourly rates by country.
Dedicated virtual assistant near me?
Most people who search for a dedicated virtual assistant near them want two things: someone who works their hours and someone who stays. Neither needs a local postcode. Your VA works your time zone (US, Canadian, UK, European, Australian or New Zealand hours), joins your calls and stays with you month after month. If you need someone in your office in person, our virtual assistant near me guide explains when local is worth it.
One function or everything?
A dedicated VA can own one function, such as customer service or bookkeeping prep, or be your general right hand across inbox, diary and admin. One function is easier to measure; general support saves more of your own time. Most owners start general on 20 hours a week and move to one function when a second VA joins.
Pricing
Dedicated, flat and published: $899/mo part-time (20 hrs/week), $1,599/mo full-time, $2,599/mo for a full-time AI-fluent AI Manager VA. Month-to-month, no recruitment fee, free shortlist. See pricing for what's included in each plan.
Dedicated VA FAQ
Is my VA shared with other clients? No. Your VA is dedicated to your business for the hours in your plan.
What happens when my VA is on leave? Our team provides cover so the essential work continues, and your VA's documented processes mean cover isn't guesswork.
Can my VA grow into more responsibility? That's the point of the model. Most clients expand scope over the first months — from tasks, to owning workflows, to (on the AI Manager plan) improving them.
How is a dedicated VA different from a part-time VA? Dedicated describes who does the work (one assigned person); part-time describes how many hours. Our Essentials plan is both: one dedicated VA for 20 hours a week.
How fast can a dedicated VA start? You get a shortlist within 72 hours of your request. Start dates after you choose depend on the candidate's notice, and we agree them with you up front.
Do I sign a long contract? No. Every plan is month-to-month, with no recruitment fee.
What is a dedicated virtual assistant? One person who works only for you, on fixed weekly hours, in your tools, rather than a pool of assistants sharing your tasks.
Can I hire a dedicated VA for 20 hours a week? Yes. Essentials is 20 hours a week of one dedicated VA for $899 a month.
Get a free VA shortlist in 72 hours.
Tell us what you need. We send 2–3 hand-picked, vetted VAs to interview. $0 recruitment fee, and you pay nothing until your VA starts. Essentials $899/mo, Executive $1,599/mo, AI Manager $2,599/mo, month-to-month.