Executive Virtual Assistant Providers: Top 3 in 2024

A lot of executives, business owners, and high performers prefer to hire their executive virtual assistants through business consulting and outsourcing companies like HireHarbour.

After all, working with these companies can relieve you from the burden of hiring, onboarding, and even training your executive virtual assistant.

Many of them also have ready-made plans, detailing the skills, availability, and suggested responsibilities in one convenient package. The question is, of all these companies, which one should you choose?

In this article, we are going to compare the top three executive virtual assistant providers: HireHarbour, Boldly, and Athena.

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What Is an Executive Virtual Assistant?

An executive virtual assistant is a type of VA that specifically specialises in providing next-level support to the needs of executives, business owners, and other high performers.

They don’t just have the capacity to perform general administrative work, but they can also handle other critical tasks that require advanced management and leadership skills.

Some of their responsibilities can include:

• Task delegation

• Inbox management

• Travel management

• Project management

• Calendar management

• Next-level executive tasks

Their assistance allows their clients to focus on more important aspects of their business such as strategic decision-making and business growth, without getting slowed down by other tasks.

Executive Virtual Assistant vs. Personal Virtual Assistant

There is a lot of overlap between the tasks performed by executive virtual assistants and personal virtual assistants. As such, it is not a big surprise that a lot of people often get confused by them.

That said, there are two key factors that differentiate them: the scope and level of support that they provide.

Personal virtual assistants have a wider scope of support as they cover both the professional and personal aspects of their client’s life.

That said, they can’t make decisions on the client’s behalf that relates to their work, such as those pertaining to task delegation and project management.

These more complex functions fall within the level of support that an executive virtual assistant can offer.

That said, your EVA might not be the ideal person to handle your personal errands.

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The Top 3 Executive Virtual Assistant Providers in 2024

Best Overall: HireHarbour

While still the youngest company of the three to date, HireHarbour really started out strong in terms of the quality of service that they provide and their business model.

HireHarbour provides business leaders, executives, personal brands, and other high performers with premium level assistance on a fractional basis. This means that you can get the right level of support you need, exactly when you need it.

Why HireHarbour?

HireHarbour gives you the best of everything. Their executive virtual assistants are well experienced and fully trained to provide a wide range of services. They also provide access to an in-house team of specialists in various areas such as sales and marketing that significantly expands their services further.

This allows their clients to get any task done, without being limited by their training capacity or their EA’s specific area of expertise. This eliminates the need for hiring independent contractors for every new project or venture, and outsourcing tasks to agencies.

You won’t even need to worry between the difference of scope and level of service between an EA and a PA because HarbourAssistants can take on both roles.

The fractional basis also adds to this cost efficiency. Unlike other models, fractional remote services will allow for more flexibility, especially if your needs vary daily, weekly, or monthly.

After all, you will only need to pay for the hours served, and not the amount of downtime that part-timers and full-timers consume while being on standby for their next task.

Pros

• Executive virtual assistants are fully trained and vetted

• Multiple packages offered on a fractional basis

• EVAs have access to specialist support such as copywriting and graphic design

Cons

• Relatively new company compared to others

Harbour Features

• More selective than Harvard. With a rigorous recruitment and vetting process with an acceptance rate of only 1%, you are guaranteed to enjoy premium services from a highly qualified executive virtual assistant.

• Hires from the Philippines. According to recent statistics, Filipino virtual assistants have the highest literacy rate of 96.2%. As such, the Philippines is considered the VA-capital of the world, known for their efficiency, excellent work ethic, and competitive rates.

• Ongoing training and support. Their executive assistants initially undergo a 120-hour training program. This is then followed by weekly training sessions on various areas of specialisation. They also have access to a team of in-house specialists for guidance and support.

• Happy and healthy team with personal interest in providing client satisfaction. The HireHarbour team enjoys competitive compensation and above-market benefits such as paid leaves, annual all-paid off-sites, and health coverage for them and two of their dependents. In addition, full-time employees are also granted the benefit of equity incentives. Being shareholders of the company, they are personally invested in ensuring your satisfaction.

HireHarbour Pricing

HireHarbour’s fractional plans range from £250 to £1350 per month. Check out this pricing page for more information.

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Best for Experienced VAs: Boldly

Boldly is another provider of executive virtual assistant services. They provide their services on a monthly subscription basis with hours and costs that can vary according to your needs.

Why Boldly?

Boldly takes pride in having executive virtual assistants with mostly over 10 years of experience in the field. In addition, they are also great for demanding executives who prefer their EVAs to be exclusively US-based.

Pros

• Monthly subscription basis

• More experienced EVAs

• US-based talent pool

Cons

• More costly compared to others

Boldly Features

• Flexible, personalized approach. They don’t have fixed plans. Instead, their clients undergo a personalized pricing process according to their specific monthly needs.

• US-based employees with benefits. Their US-based talent pool receives W2 employment and benefits.

• Buy-out program. Finally, one of the unique features of Boldly that we rarely see elsewhere is their buy-out program that allows their clients to hire their assistant full-time beyond Boldly, later on.

Boldly Pricing

According to their website, Boldly's pricing starts at $2360 per month for 40 hours of service.

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Best for VA Resources: Athena

Athena is also another popular executive virtual assistant provider. They offer their services on a monthly basis with a fixed rate.

Why Athena?

You don’t have to be a master delegator in order to enjoy any of the services of the companies we’ve featured here. That said, if you are looking to expand your skills in this aspect as well and would want to work with a company that already has an extensive library of VA resources, then Athena might be your best bet.

Pros

• EVAs undergo a 4-week training program

• Exclusive access to Athena’s AI tools

• Extensive delegation resources

Cons

• Only offers a fixed-rate monthly plan

Athena Features

• Athena AI. Aside from equipping their executive virtual assistants with the expertise and access to popular AI tools, they also give them access to Athena AI, an exclusive set of AI applications designed by the company to serve as “assistants to their assistants”.

• MBA program. Aside from their 4-week VA bootcamp, their qualified EVAs also have the chance to enjoy their accredited 5-year MBA program with tuition coverage. This places them in a better position to grow with your business.

Athena Pricing

According to their website, you can get a full-time Athena Assistant for $3000 per month.