Drowning in your to-do list, but can't afford the full-time help? Try a Virtual Assistant!
Your to-do list looks like the Manhattan telephone directory, and you know you desperately need some help. You not only have no space in your small office for another person, you don't have the cash flow to add a full-time staffer to your payroll. What's a business owner to do? Consider hiring a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant (known as a VA) is a professional service provider who specializes in remote administrative office support (a VA doesn't even need to be in the same time zone as a client). He or she is an independent contractor who can offer you key support without ever needing to set foot inside your office. A VA's skills are varied and can include everything from administrative tasks to data management and customer support. In many cases, a VA can also provide additional specialty services such as human resources, accounting or marketing. A superior virtual assistant will come well equipped with a phone system, Blackberry, high-speed Internet access, fax, scanner, printer and whatever office systems and software are required for his or her specialty. Some VAs operate independently in their own business; in other cases, VA firms act as a liaison between clients and VAs by coordinating payment and providing training and resources to VAs. VAs can be contracted at competitive rates ($30-$50 an hour) for short-term projects or for a fixed number of hours per week or month with a negotiated retainer. Typically, you will call or e-mail your VA first thing each morning and discuss a task schedule, which may be as complex as creating a new PowerPoint presentation or as simple as making lunch reservations and sending a few e-mails out to prospects. During the course of a day your VA might be taking care of business travel arrangements, establishing a PR campaign for clients or developing your website or blog. You may also ask for a progress report from your VA so you can get a sense of where he is in his workload, and see if it needs to be adjusted accordingly (and to see if your VA is accomplishing tasks in your expected time frame). You should not expect your VA to be available for staff meetings, nor expect instant availability every time you call (parameters should be established at the outset regarding how frequently you expect phone calls and e-mails to be returned).
A good VA can free up a business owner's time, allowing the owner to focus on what really matters: growing the business, developing new product ideas or taking that much-needed vacation.
November 1, 2007
By: Lucinda Cross
Source: The New York Enterprise Report
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