Why Hiring a Virtual Assistant Makes Good Business Sense
The constant ringing of telephones and a somehow mountainous pile of paper work can slow down even the most organized start-up business or entrepreneurial venture. Yet for many, the cost of hiring a full-time Administrative Support Assistant is prohibitive and, for many people, simply impractical. Very few start-up businesses have the resources to pay employee related expenses such as vacation pay, health insurance, retirement benefits, etc. Ignoring the never-ending stack of paperwork could result in holding back your new business before it has even started. A possible solution could be to hire a Virtual Administrative Support Assistant. More and more people are turning to these highly skilled e-professionals for help. A Virtual Administrative Support Assistant (V.A.) is an experienced executive assistant who has their own business, with her/his own fax machines, computers, scanners and telephone lines, not to mention a wide array of popularly used software programs, resources and skill. She or he can do secretarial and clerical duties including but not limited to: basic record keeping, database and contact management, keeping your website sparkly and up-to-date, calling your clients and confirming appointments, not to mention the hundreds of other useful tasks that can be lifted from your fingers into able bodied hands. But perhaps most important of all, she can do these things with the highest professional ethics and skill without ever stepping into your office. The V.A. has materialized as a result of a corporate downsizing, economic feasibility and the lure and attractiveness of many e-workers and e-entrepreneurs that enjoy the freedom of working out of their own office space. As more and more people have become self employed, developments in telecommunications have allowed them the ability to accomplish a vast amount of work from an off-site location. Apart from taking on your administrative overload, the V.A. can help promote your corporate creed, philosophy and image to clients, lending a professional stability that may otherwise be lacking. If you have V.A.'s in several time zones, you can have true 24/7 support for your company. Support such as this is especially important in the growth phase of the company, when the business is trying to get off the ground, and bringing in new sales is vital, at a fraction of the conventional cost of a full time administrator. Should you think about hiring a V.A.? If you are an entrepreneur, are self-employed or do not have the resources to justify an office with a full-time Support Assistant... than yes, possibly you should! People who hire V.A.'s are often people who are consistently traveling, or who need to have someone maintaining their business concerns while they are away or who are otherwise occupied, i.e.: Stockbrokers, Real Estate Agents, Coaches, Consultants, Salespersons and Motivational Speakers all commonly utilize the power of Virtual Assistants. The number of new V.A.'s grows every day, largely due to the increased presence of trade organizations that aim to benchmark and solidify the V.A. field. Many V.A.'s have the ability to service clients worldwide, so if your company has a London, Chicago and Manila office, you can have high quality administrative support in all locations! So, it makes sense to consider out-sourcing much of your administrative overload to a Virtual Assistant. Taryn Merrick, Owner Merrick Management And Media Services www.merrickmgt.com / taryn@merrickmgt.com
