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Running a business, whether large, small or in
your home, is full of challenges. Getting
the day-to-day tasks completed, e-mail, faxes and
telephones answered, bills and statements sent
out, reports run, schedule updated, travel arrangements
made, marketing pieces and website
updated, as well as a plethora of other tasks, can
be downright daunting.
In swoops the
"Virtual Assistant" to handle these and many other
tasks for you and help your company's bottom line.
In case you're still working out of a cave (as you
may be if you're still doing it all yourself), a
Virtual Assistant, who has been touted as one of
the must-haves of the modern entrepreneurial
arsenal of time and money-saving tricks, is a
highly skilled independent contractor who handle client's administrative (and sometimes
personal) needs in a large variety of ways.
Because Virtual
Assistants (VAs) are business owners themselves,
they have a vested interest in your company's
success -- your success leads to their success.
They really aim to please because their business
depends on it. And who better to understand
the trials and tribulations than another business
owner? Also, most VAs came from the
corporate world and were executive or
administrative assistants (secretaries), customer
service managers or representatives, paralegals,
project managers or coordinators, database
administrators, or bookkeepers.
Here are just
some of the services a Virtual Assistant can
provide:
- Typing / Word
Processing
- Database
Management and Entry
- Proofreading
and Copy Editing
- Accounts
Payable and Receivable
- Calendaring /
Scheduling / Reminder Services
- Travel
Arrangements
- Customer
Service (including answering forwarded phones,
making outgoing calls and answering e-mails)
- Presentations
- Event Planning
- Research
- Web Services
- Ordering
Supplies and Equipment
- Project
Coordination / Management
- Marketing
Projects
- Incoming and
Outgoing Mail
- Expense Reports
- Reporting
You have a lot of work you could
delegate to a Virtual Assistant, but you're still
not convinced one would be right for your
business. According to Hackett Group, a
Hudson, Ohio consultancy, "outsourcing, in
general, can cost 50% less than hiring a full-time
employee." Because your VA is an
entrepreneur and not an employee, you don't have
the extra expense of paying additional taxes,
providing insurance, purchasing office supplies
and equipment, updating
software, sick, vacation and personal
time, office space to provide, and you
only pay for the time the VA actually works
(you're not paying for coffee breaks,
downtime, etc.).
Hiring a temporary can come with a whole host
of problems including their lack of skills, the need
to provide equipment, supplies, and office space, as
well as going through several temps (or agencies)
to find one that can adequately provide the skills you need!
Also keep in mind that temporary
services normally take about 1/2 of the monies you
pay them -- when the temp only receives $7 - $11
an hour, you really can't expect a high quality
person. If you still think it's best to do
it yourself, you'll find that your time is much more
profitably spent on revenue-generating activities. Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant adds
to up increased profits for your business.
Work is transmitted via e-mail, fax, mail, overnight
service, etc. -- they will coordinate with you to
provide the work to you in the most timely and
inexpensive manner possible. You can also
keep in touch via telephone, e-mail and instant
messaging.
Costs of a Virtual Assistant run from $15 - $50
per hour (depending on the scope of the work and
their skill level) and some work by the project or
on a monthly retainer. I know of a few VAs
that are willing to barter for the right products
and/or service. Always read any potential
Virtual Assistant's website and take a look at
their testimonials, client list, etc. If you notice grammatical and spelling errors
anywhere on their site or newsletters, you
can be assured that your work will come back with
spelling and grammatical errors. A highly
skilled VA will be very detail oriented and will
not put out work with these errors.
I recommend contacting a few VAs via e-mail,
then by telephone to see if the rapport is there,
which is very important for anyone you work with.
The one you are most comfortable with that charges a
reasonable cost is the one to try first. You
may want to keep the contact information of your
second pick where you can easily find it in case
your first pick is unavailable for any reason.
Then give them a small project and work up from
there.
Soon you will find that a dependable,
accomplished VA will become your indispensable
partner for years to come.
(c) 2005 Nita Helping Hand?, all rights reserved.
You are free to use this material in whole or in part as long
as you include the following:
About the author: Nita
is a professional proofreader, copy-editor and the President
of Nita Helping Hand? Please visit Nita's website
for information about proofreading, copy-editing
and other administrative needs available at
www.NitaHelpingHand.com.
Nita is your 'Partner
In Perception'.
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