Fancy Hands is a popular virtual assistant company that has been around for a decade now. But, how does one become a part of it, and is it really worth working for the company?
There are so many works from home jobs out there. In fact, the outsourcing industry or work from the home jobs industry is currently worth over $105 billion according to a report by Outsource Workers. In the same reports, it says that of all the virtual assistants there is today, 69.3% of them are married, and that this is mostly comprised of stay at home moms.
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With so many home-based jobs to choose from, one of the most common work from home jobs especially among stay at home moms is a virtual assistant. It basically is a kind of job that is open for anyone regardless of educational attainment or expertise.
Virtual assistance jobs are just one of the few works from home jobs that are not exclusive for a specific group of people with specific expertise only.
Amazingly, virtual assistant jobs are also one of the few works that never run out of opportunities. It is in-demand to put it simply.
If you are going to search on Google for a virtual assistant job opportunity, we bet you will be bombarded with a lot of options. This is not surprising though because a lot of businesses today, whether small or big, hire virtual assistants to help them with their day to day jobs.
Still from Outsource Workers, it says that having a virtual assistant can help employers and businesses save up to 78% on operating costs per year. Now we know why this industry is booming.
Anyway, of all the many companies or online sites providing home-based job opportunities, one of the most popular ones is Fancy Hands. Fancy Hands though is more focused on providing virtual assistance jobs.
Today, we are particularly going to review what Fancy Hands is all about and if it really is worth it.
To be more specific, we are going to tackle – particularly answer some of the most common questions about Fancy Hands, which include:
- What is Fancy Hands?
- How does Fancy Hands work?
- What do Fancy Hands virtual assistants do?
- What are the requirements to land a job at Fancy Hands?
- How does one become a virtual assistant at Fancy Hands?
- How much does a Fancy Hands virtual assistant make, and how do they get paid?
- What are the pros and cons of Fancy Hands?
WHAT IS FANCY HANDS?
Fancy Hands is a virtual assistant company that was founded back in 2010 by Ted Roden. The company is based in New York and is specifically comprised of US-based virtual assistants. Basically, the company hires individuals to complete simple web-based tasks for other people.
As stated on their website, Fancy Hands is “pioneering a new labor model for a rapidly evolving workforce”. More so, their “growing virtual assistant platform, with thousands of virtual assistants across the US, handles tens of thousands of interactions and requests every day, and counting”.
Unfortunately, there is nothing much written about the company. They have a very simple, and direct website that does not really talk about themselves.
Before moving on, here’s an insightful review by EntreResource regarding Fancy Hands. We thought it’s an informative video wherein you will get more idea about what Fancy Hands is all about and if it is worth signing up.
HOW DO FANCY HANDS WORK?
When people have so many things to do, and they do not have that much time to do everything, that is usually the time they ask help by means of hiring virtual assistants. Normally, they make them do tasks like making telephone calls, booking flights, and so much more.
As part of the Fancy Hands virtual assistants’ team, you basically are paid to do tasks like these. If you come to think of it, you are paid to make life easier for busy people — which usually are comprised of businessmen and company bosses.
Fancy Hands virtual assistants are basically “in the cloud”. Their team is composed of individuals who either work remotely on a part-time or on-demand basis, which means, they do tasks as they come in. It’s not a regular job kind of thing to put it simply.
Fancy Hands clients would basically send requests through their mobile app, email, or via text, and then everything gets dumped into a common task feed, wherein virtual assistants claim their work depending on their qualifications.
What’s nice about Fancy Hands is that the team-based approach is 24/7/365 coverage for all the requests from clients. Meaning, anytime they need help, someone will do it for them. Unlike in the case of having a real assistant, there may be days when she would take an off, and the client has no choice but do the task on her own.
This, we assume, is the very reason why more people are getting Fancy Hands’ services. This is in all its aspects – very convenient and efficient.
WHAT DOES FANCY HANDS VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS DO?
If you are someone who’s not that familiar with the work of a virtual assistant, then this one is for you.
At Fancy Hands, all its virtual assistants are expected to do any of the following jobs:
- Make phone calls to set-up a meeting, an in-home appointment, or whatever the client needs whether it be for personal (like canceling cable service, etc.) or business purposes
- Schedule business meetings, and other appointments like a visit to the doctor, etc.
- Research on the best price of an item needed by the client by visiting various websites to find the best deal there is
- Find restaurants or hotels with particular criteria, as well as make booking reservations
- Data entry work
- Managing social media accounts
Note that these are just some of the sample work a virtual assistant may be asked to do. Basically, you are acting like the client’s secretary – doing him or her a favor to make life easier for him or her, and then getting paid in return.
Also, it doesn’t mean that you will do all these every time – because, at the end of the day, your workload will depend on what specifically the client requires. So, yeah, it may vary every time.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO LAND A JOB AT FANCY HANDS?
If you are interested to be part of Fancy Hands’ pool of virtual assistants, you need to meet a few requirements, which include:
- Excellent communication skills — This probably is the most important qualification you need to have in order to be considered for the job. Remember that you will be asked to communicate with different people on the client’s behalf. You will serve as a representative of the client, thus the need for excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Wide-range of knowledge in different fields — Having such qualification will allow you to receive more tasks, and in turn, earn more.
- A self-starter, and must have initiative.
- Must be willing to take on responsibilities, as well as to try new things.
- You must be living in the United States.
Apart from these set or list of qualifications, you must also be able to meet the following technical requirements:
- A reliable laptop or personal computer
- A high-speed and reliable internet connection
- An audio headset (with a microphone) — preferably with noise cancellation to avoid distractions
- Google Chrome browser
- A Google Mail account
HOW DOES ONE BECOME A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT AT FANCY HANDS?
Now that you already know what Fancy Hands is plus the requirements for the job, the next thing is how to become one of the company’s pools of virtual assistants.
The process is simple. All you need to do is follow this very simple and easy steps:
- Go to the website of Fancy Hands.
- At the homepage, look for the “Sign Up” button, which is located at the upper right-most of the page. When signing up, you can either link it to your Facebook account or choose to create one using your Google Mail account. Click whatever option based on your personal preference.
- Once done, you will then be directed to their application process. You will have to undergo a test using search engines like Google Chrome. The test is done to check your grammar skills, as well as your verbal communication skills, and your ability to complete a sample task. Don’t worry about the test though as it’s very easy and can only take a few minutes.
- Once done with the test, the company should get back to you within one to seven days if you passed the test.
We just want to reiterate that Fancy Hands is exclusive to those living in the US. So, if you are living elsewhere, unfortunately, this won’t work for you.
HOW MUCH DOES A FANCY HANDS VIRTUAL ASSISTANT MAKE, AND HOW DO THEY GET PAID?
Initially, you will get paid on a per-task basis, which depends on how fast you finish a task, the time of the day you did the task, and how complicated the task is. Tasks are worth anywhere between $3 and $7 per week, and it could go up eventually as more and more tasks come in.
To give you an idea, each task usually takes up to 20 minutes to finish. Again, how much you make will entirely depend on how long you are able to finish the task, and the number of tasks you are assigned to,
With Fancy Hands, you can take as many tasks as possible, make sure though that you can really do everything in a timely manner. Some Fancy Hands virtual assistants say that they earn up to $12 an hour on good days (which pertains to days when there are many tasks available).
In addition, Fancy Hands offer bigger opportunities to their pool of virtual assistants. They also offer promotions to managerial type positions, wherein the job is particularly on helping manage other assistants, and also, to help ensure that everything runs smoothly in the company.
Of course, it’s a virtual job opportunity as well.
Anyway, take note that payments are done every other week (specifically on Tuesdays) exclusively through Dwolla, which means you will have to create an account on this payment channel to ensure you get paid for all the work you’ve done.
WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF FANCY HANDS?
Before anything else, we just want to clear this up — Fancy Hands is a legit company. Some people were quite doubtful about its legitimacy and thought it’s a scam, but no, it’s not. It is a legit way to make money online and from home. However, the amount of money you make will depend on your capability.
Having said that, it is important that you manage your expectations when you get into this — unless of course if you are someone with previous virtual assistance work experience.
Also, while this is something that lets you earn money, it may not be enough to make a full-time income. So, you better check that out first before signing up for Fancy Hands.
Overall, we have to say that the main pro of working as a virtual assistant for Fancy Hands is the fact that you can work anytime and anywhere you want. You can work on your preferred hour of the day.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the cons, one of the main complaints of people working at Fancy Hands is the pay rate. It is a little low compared to other virtual assistants’ jobs.
Another thing is the fact that jobs or tasks are on a first-come, first-served basis, which means you will need to constantly monitor the jobs as they come in, otherwise, you will be left with low paying job options.
Another probable red flag is — there are reports from people who have worked for Fancy Hands before as virtual assistants that some tasks take longer than the estimated time for completion, which means, there is a risk of getting less value for your time, and that is something that nobody would ever want — considering the pay rate as well.
So basically when deciding whether or not to work as a virtual assistant for Fancy Hands you have to look into your goals. The main point why you want the job. If you are looking into making extra money, then this is good. However, if you are looking at income, this may not be the perfect job for you.
TIPS FOR THOSE WHO WANTS TO WORK AS A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT ON FANCY HANDS
For newbies, whether it be for Fancy Hands or elsewhere, you will need to, first and foremost, be comfortable in making calls, talking to people, asking the right questions, and taking down notes. Also, you must be able to navigate the internet with ease. When doing virtual assistance jobs, it is probably safe to say that you will find Google is your new best friend at the end of the day.
Furthermore, you have to be knowledgeable about where to look for stuff online. Note that everything must be done online. Yes, you will call people, and transact via phone, but ultimately, your job is like 95% online. So being internet savvy would greatly help.
Overall, to be good at virtual assisting, you have to be willing to learn. While admin work history would be an advantage, at the end of the day, your being competent for the job will be a big plus.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FANCY HANDS
Here is some additional information about Fancy Hands that may be helpful for you as you decide on whether you will consider signing up or not:
Claiming Tasks – Note that at Fancy Hands, you will be the one selecting or in their language, claiming tasks based of course on your qualifications. You will find the tasks in the Dashboard, which is what you will find once you log in to your Fancy Hands account. Note that alongside the task is the corresponding payment for it. You can preview the task prior to claiming it to ensure that you are able to do it.
Task Completion – When claiming a task, you have to immediately work on it. It’s not like you can get everything you want and then work on them later on. Also, you can only work on a task one at a time. Meaning, you cannot log in and accept five tasks and then start chipping away at each of them. That is not possible. Accept a task, complete it, and then, you can work on the next one. Thus, the reason why they look into how fast you can complete a task.
Dealing with Clients – Once a task is completed, the client receives it and then review. They can respond to it and let you work on some revisions if needed. However, time is quite crucial. Because if you are not able to respond to them the soonest possible, your effort will be forfeited. The task will go back to the dashboard for other VAs to work on, and you won’t get paid for it.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON FANCY HANDS
Overall, just like any other company, Fancy Hands is not perfect. It has its benefits but it also has flaws.
Now, having read all that, what are your thoughts so far about Fancy Hands jobs?
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