Can a Latin American Executive Assistant Run Your Business Operations?

Short answer: yes.

If you’ve ever tried coordinating with someone in Manila while you’re in California, you know the pain. Your morning is their midnight. 

Real-time decisions become async delays. Urgent questions wait 12 hours for answers.

Latin America solves this. Mexico City runs on CST. Colombia operates on EST. 

Your workday overlaps with theirs by 6-8 hours minimum.

That overlap isn’t just convenient. 

It’s what lets someone actually run your operations instead of just executing tasks you assigned yesterday.

What “Running Operations” Actually Means

Let’s be specific about what we’re talking about.

Basic admin work: Calendar management, email sorting, data entry. Anyone can do this. It’s not running operations.

Coordinator work: Assigning tasks to others, tracking project status, making sure deadlines get hit. Better, but still not operator-level.

True operations work: Making decisions about priorities. Proactively declining meetings that don’t serve your goals. Building systems and SOPs so things run without you. Identifying problems before they escalate. Keeping the entire business moving forward.

That third level is what you need if you actually want someone to run your day-to-day.

Most hiring posts ask for that third level but pay for the first. Then they’re shocked when they get task-takers instead of operators.

Three Skill Levels of Executive Assistants Explained

Not every Latin American remote worker can run your operations. You need to hire at the right level.

Level 1 – Task executor: You tell them what to do, they do it. Calendar gets updated when you say so. Emails get answered after you write the draft. They wait for instructions.

Level 2 – Coordinator: They keep projects on track. They chase people for deliverables. They maintain the systems you built. They ask good questions about priorities. But they still escalate most decisions to you.

Level 3 – Operator: They make judgment calls. They see problems coming and solve them. They build systems without being told. They escalate only what truly needs your input. You review their decisions, you don’t make every decision.

If you want someone to run your operations, you must hire for Level 3 and pay for Level 3.

Most job posts describe Level 3 work but pay Level 1 rates. Then founders wonder why their “executive assistant” keeps asking permission for everything.

Here’s the new H2 section to add after the current compensation section:

How Much Remote Workers Cost in Each Latin American Country

The “Latin America” label hides massive variation in actual rates.

Here’s what you’ll actually pay by country.

Mexico

Mexico’s local minimum wage sits around $2-3/hour equivalent, so English-speaking VAs charging $5-15/hour to foreign clients is standard. Most generalist VAs fall in the $6-12/hour range.

For true executive assistant work with operations capability, expect $10-18/hour when hiring directly.

Colombia

Colombian VAs are consistently mentioned as having strong value. Entry-level VAs start around $5-8/hour. Mid-level experienced VAs with good English typically charge $8-12/hour.

Sample marketplace profiles show Colombian VAs around $8-10/hour ($1,000-1,200/month for full-time work). For senior executive assistant work, you’re looking at $10-15/hour.

Colombia offers one of the best quality-to-cost ratios in Latin America for operations work.

Argentina

Argentine VAs typically charge $5-15/hour, with most experienced, English-speaking talent landing around $8-12/hour. Job posts targeting Argentina often offer $5-8/hour for customer service and general VA work, with performance bonuses.

For operations work, budget $10-15/hour.

Brazil

The Brazilian market is less oriented toward US remote work than Mexico or Colombia. Finding English-fluent operations talent takes more effort, but the quality is excellent when you find it.

Expect to pay $12-18/hour for operations-capable Brazilian talent.

Chile

Chile shows one of the widest spreads in marketplace data. Lower rates ($3-6/hour) correlate with minimal experience and limited English. 

Most competent, English-speaking Chilean VAs cluster in the $8-15/hour range. For operations work, expect $10-15/hour.

What You Need to Set Up Before They Can Run Anything

Here’s what kills most operations relationships: the founder hires someone capable, then provides zero framework for decision-making.

So they ask you about everything. Which defeats the entire purpose.

Here’s what you actually need to document:

Decision authority chart: What can they approve alone? What needs a quick heads-up? What requires your explicit sign-off? Be specific. “

Priority framework: What are you trying to accomplish this quarter? What matters most? What can wait? Give them the hierarchy so they can make trade-off decisions.

Communication guidelines: How fast should they respond to different types of requests? What tone should they use with customers versus vendors? When should they loop you in versus handling it themselves?

Standard operating procedures: For anything that happens regularly, document the process once. How you handle customer complaints. They can execute and improve these without asking.

Access and tools: Give them the keys to everything. Email accounts, calendars, project management, password manager, financial systems. If they don’t have access, they can’t operate.

This setup takes maybe 10-15 hours spread over the first month. But it’s the difference between someone who runs your operations and someone who waits for your instructions.

The Latin American Work Culture 

Latin American business culture is more relationship-oriented than transactional US culture.

Your remote worker isn’t going to challenge your ideas in week one. They’re not going to push back on unrealistic deadlines immediately. T

hey’re building trust first, understanding how the relationship works.

This isn’t a weakness. It’s a cultural communication style.

The relationship-first approach also has massive upside. Once trust is built, loyalty and discretionary effort go way up. 

Your Latin American EA will go to bat for you, work late when it matters, protect your interests like they’re their own.

But you have to invest in the relationship. That investment pays off in someone who truly owns your operations instead of just managing tasks.

Giving Your Executive Assistant Authority

The biggest complaint from Latin American EAs: “My boss says they want me to run operations, but then questions every decision I make.”

You can’t have it both ways.

Here’s how to structure this:

Start with small decisions and expand: Week one, they can reschedule internal meetings. Month two, they can reschedule client meetings with 24-hour notice. Month four, they can decline meeting requests on your behalf. Build trust progressively.

Use “decision + explanation” updates: They don’t need permission, but they should tell you what they decided and why. 

Create a “no surprises” culture: Problems should surface immediately, even without solutions.

Review decisions weekly, not daily: Your Friday ops review should cover the 20-30 decisions they made that week. 

Explicitly encourage pushback: “If you think I’m wrong about something, tell me. If you see a better approach, propose it. I’d rather be challenged privately than make preventable mistakes.”

Most Latin American professionals will adapt to direct US communication styles. But you have to explicitly create that culture instead of assuming it happens automatically.

How to Test if Someone Can Handle Operations Work

Resumes don’t tell you if someone can run operations. You need practical assessments.

The inbox simulation test: Send them 15-20 sample emails of varying urgency. Ask them to triage, draft responses, and create a priority list with reasoning. This shows decision-making quality and communication skills.

The priority and escalation test: Give them 10 tasks ranging from urgent to low-value. Ask them to prioritize, explain trade-offs, and identify which ones they’d handle versus escalate to you. 

The process documentation test: Record a short Loom walking through one of your regular workflows. Ask them to create a step-by-step SOP someone else could follow. 

These tests comprehension and systems thinking.

During interviews, listen for ownership language. People who’ve run operations talk differently than people who’ve taken orders.

Test their actual operation prowess and even their English proficiency with Trial Tasks.

You need both for operations work.

What It Actually Takes to Have Someone Run Your Business Remotely

Can a Latin American executive assistant run your day-to-day operations?

Absolutely. The talent exists. The time zones work. The cost-to-value ratio makes sense. The operational capability is there.

But the question isn’t really about capability. It’s about how you set up the relationship.

The difference between those two outcomes is entirely in your control.