Are you a new entrepreneur or small business owner? Do you have a small staff and just learned that you are going to have an open staff position in two weeks? Or because of overload of work, you need temporary assistance?

If this sounds like you, I have the perfect answer for you. A Virtual Assistant (VA) can be the solution in all of the above-mentioned scenarios. Due to downsizing, company closed its doors, can’t find employment, whatever the reason is, you have decided to start your own home-based business. You realize that you need administrative assistance; however, you have limited funds, as well as no space to accommodate another person. A Virtual Assistant is the answer for you. You will pay only for the actual time used; not for a part-time or full-time salary. Plus, you will not have to provide any benefits or office equipment. With your limited funds and space, this is the perfect solution.

Maybe your situation involves the next scenario. Billy Bob has just handed you his two weeks’ notice of resignation. So, in two weeks you will be understaffed. Should you outsource the tasks involved with this position or should you hire a replacement? Your other choice would be to hire temporary assistance, which will give you more time to select another candidate for the position. A Virtual Assistant is the answer. A VA also provides temporary service. If you work with a VA rather than hire a temp agency, you will not have to pay the surcharge fees.

Perhaps you are aware of a huge project coming down the pike, and your current staff will be overloaded with work as a result of this project. Once again, a Virtual Assistant is the answer and can assist you with the overload of work on a temporary basis.

Whichever situation you may find yourself in, a Virtual Assistant can come to your rescue.

Small businesses have already realized the many benefits of outsourcing their administrative functions and tasks to virtual assistants. Some of these advantages include not having to provide space for an administrative assistant. Since the majority of these businesses operate from home offices, there is simply not enough room to accommodate another body. Some zoning laws prohibit having employees or clients on the premises. These small business owners also don’t have to share their computers and other equipment nor have to provide office supplies.

Due to the dire situation of the economy, other types of businesses, for example, mid-size businesses are faced with having to find ways of reducing operational expenses. One solution is to reduce labor cost. Working with a Virtual Assistant rather than hiring an employee for office support can save you approximately $40,000 over the course of one year. Please visit Cost Comparison Chart for a detailed breakdown on how to save this amount on labor cost. When you outsource to a Virtual Assistant, you don’t have to pay for employee-related expenses, benefits, as well as down time. Small business owners and entrepreneurs have already discovered this method of saving money.

There are also intangible benefits in outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant. A Virtual Assistant is also an entrepreneur and business owner; therefore, they also can pass along business tips to you. These tips can be anything from how to improve the operation of your business to certain tax information. Virtual assistants are faced with the same business issues that you are.

Overall, with the downturn in our economy how to cut back on expenses has become one of the top issues. Working with a Virtual Assistant is a possible solution to reducing your labor cost.

I heard a news report today indicating that by the fall season, gas will cost an average of $6.00 per gallon here in America. Businesses are going to have to come up with alternatives for their employees who drive back and forth to work on a daily basis. One alternative could be to reduce the work week. Another alternative would be to allow their employees to perform their duties from home. Of course, there are certain businesses that cannot operate off-site, as well as certain tasks that cannot be completed virtually.

On the other hand, if you are an entrepreneur, small business, or a small business owner and need administrative assistance, you have the alternative of working with a Virtual Assistant (VA). As a result, you and your Virtual Assistant are able to “go green.” Your Virtual Assistant doesn’t have to purchase as much gasoline, because he or she works from their home office. You “go green” by choosing to work with a VA rather than hiring an administrative assistant who would have to drive to your office. Both you and your VA are helping to preserve our planet by not adding to the levels of carbon monoxide.

This is just another great benefit in working with a Virtual Assistant. “Go green” work with a Virtual Assistant.

We are pleased to announce that we have recently added marketing services to our current list of virtual assistant services. The newest member of our team will handle the marketing services for our clients, in addition to assisting me with my marketing needs. Yvone has over 10 years of experience in advertising, marketing, and sales-related fields. She also has experience in event planning. With the addition of Yvone’s marketing services, we are able to better serve our clients with “one-stop” shopping. The other members of our team specialize in bookkeeping, transcription, website and graphic design, and word processing services, including ACT! Database management.

Our goal is to be able to assist entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, single-person business owners, and small business owners with everything on your plates, freeing up your valuable time. With the extra hours you gain, you can focus on developing and expanding your business. As business owners, we understand how much time is required to take care of daily administrative tasks, as well as the value of time. In addition to assisting you with your administrative assistant needs, we are thrilled to be able to assist you with your marketing needs.

For those entrepreneurs and small business owners who have heard of this great new concept called virtual assistants; but, you are not sure what type of functions you can outsource, Elance has a blog post with 25 different projects that virtual assistants can take care of for you. Please visit http://www.elance.com/p/node/2842 to learn more.

Jonathan Roberts wrote a blog post, which is a rebuttal to my post, “Disadvantages of Outsourcing to Offshore Virtual Assistants.” You can read his rebuttal at Outsourcing to Foreign Virtual Assistants.

Apparently, there is a lot of discussion regarding this hot topic. What is your opinion?

Due to the tremendous popularity of this blog post, I decided to republish it.

As an onshore Virtual Assistant and small business owner, I feel obligated to inform small business owners about the disadvantages of outsourcing to offshore virtual assistants (VAs).

When you choose to outsource offshore, you are going to encounter virtual assistants who are not familiar with our culture and language. Although, they speak English, generally, it is not their first language. This causes language barriers, communication gaps, and lack of understanding. Is the frustration worth the money you save? Keep in mind, offshore VAs’ cost of living is much lower than ours. They can afford to work for less money. If you choose to outsource confidential personal data offshore, it may not be protected. Firms in India currently are not equally subject to any extensive legislative or regulatory data-protection controls.

Offshore VAs work for an outsourcing firm and are not business owners. They do not have a vested interest in your business other than getting more projects. Most of us, onshore virtual assistants, are business owners; therefore, we understand the operations of a small business, as well as what is required to develop it. Our goals are to establish an ongoing business relationship with you in order to help you reach your goals. We want you to succeed in your business. Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC stated in her blog, “These companies are working day and night going through a wide variety of tasks just to get them back out the door. They aren’t spending the time to strategize and become a partner in your business. They are simply providing cheap labor.”

Another disadvantage is offshore virtual assistants can’t operate without access to the Internet. On January 31, 2008, India had an Internet outage due to snapped cables in the Mediterranean Ocean. You can read the entire article here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326988,00.html. Onshore virtual assistants’ Internet providers are their phone companies, cable companies or satellite providers. We are not at the mercy of a cable under the ocean.

There are several disadvantages to offshore outsourcing, including drastic differences in time zones. The one main advantage to outsourcing to offshore virtual assistants is saving money. The old adage is true. “You get what you pay for.”

Rita J. Cartwright, Owner

RJ’s Word Processing Services
Your Business Success Is Our Success
http://rjswordprocessing.com
866-651-3073

Although the popularity of Virtual Assistants is growing, there are questions that yet exist regarding them. I will attempt to answer some of those questions.

Who is a Virtual Assistant (VA)? A Virtual Assistant is an entrepreneur and/or small business owner who assists other entrepreneurs and small business owners with everything on their plate.

What is a Virtual Assistant? Virtual Assistant Networking Association (VANA) description of a Virtual Assistant is the following:

“A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a highly-trained independent entrepreneur who provides a myriad of business support services virtually via phone, fax and internet based technology to support and meet the growing needs of businesses worldwide.

Partnering with a VA reduces stress, protects cash flow, eliminates administrative hassles, and enables business people to find the success they originally set out to achieve.

A VA is your right hand person helping you to succeed in your business. The irony is you may never meet your VA as odds are they live nowhere near you!”

What can a VA do for me to ease my workload? Business owners’ workload consists of administrative tasks, attracting new business, converting leads, and servicing current clients. A VA can take care of the administrative portion, as well as assist you in the remaining areas.

Why should I work with a Virtual Assistant? If you are an entrepreneur and/or small business owner and you find yourself spending more time working in the business rather than working on the business, you should retain a Virtual Assistant. He or she can assist you with your daily, time-consuming tasks. These tasks are generally administrative in nature and require attention; however, they divert your focus away from working on your business. Working on your business requires just as much concentration and is necessary if you want to grow your company.

When should I retain a virtual assistant? When you find yourself spending more time working in the business rather than working on the business, it is time to retain a VA.

Where can I find a VA? There are several virtual assistant forums, which have directories listing their members and how to contact them; for example, Virtual Assistant Networking Association and International Virtual Assistants Association.

Where does a VA work? Virtual assistants complete their clients’ tasks from their own offices. It is not necessary for our clients to provide equipment, space, or supplies.

How do I tell her what to do? How do I train her to handle my affairs? Technology has created the ability for us to virtually communicate. Communication can take place via telephone, teleconferencing, Instant Messaging (IM), e-mail, SKYPE, PDAs, and the list goes on. In addition, VAs don’t require training; just an explanation of how to handle your tasks.

How do we exchange my projects? Lynette Chandler recently wrote a blog post on GoogleDocs, which is an online office suite. Please visit Tech Based Marketing to read her informative post. In it, she explains what GoogleDocs are and the many benefits associated with them. You and your VA both have access to the documents created with GoogleDocs. A VA creates the document and at that point, it can be saved to your computer or remain online. Another option is you can submit your project to your VA as an e-mail attachment, and he or she returns the completed document to you via e-mail attachment. There is also the option of a VA accessing your computer to complete certain tasks. GoToMyPc and LogMeIn are programs that provide a VA the capability of gaining access to your computer.

I hope these answers help you in your quest to find the right virtual assistant to work with.

Rita J. Cartwright, Owner

RJ’s Word Processing Services
Your Business Success Is Our Success
http://rjswordprocessing.com
866-651-3073

We use the terms entrepreneur and small business owners interchangeably. I decided to do some research to see if they are the same or if there are any differences. I found this definition at QuickMBA:

Entrepreneurship vs. Small Business

Many people use the terms “entrepreneur” and “small business owner” synonymously. While they may have much in common, there are significant differences between the entrepreneurial venture and the small business. Entrepreneurial ventures differ from small businesses in these ways:

1. Amount of wealth creation - rather than simply generating an income stream that replaces traditional employment, a successful entrepreneurial venture creates substantial wealth, typically in excess of several million dollars of profit.
2. Speed of wealth creation - while a successful small business can generate several million dollars of profit over a lifetime, entrepreneurial wealth creation often is rapid; for example, within 5 years.
3. Risk - the risk of an entrepreneurial venture must be high; otherwise, with the incentive of sure profits many entrepreneurs would be pursuing the idea and the opportunity no longer would exist.
4. Innovation - entrepreneurship often involves substantial innovation beyond what a small business might exhibit. This innovation gives the venture the competitive advantage that results in wealth creation. The innovation may be in the product or service itself, or in the business processes used to deliver it.

In addition, I found a blog post entitled The 10 Crucial Differences Between Being a Small Business Owner and an Inspired Entrepreneur written by Nick Williams over at SuperWAHMZ’s blog. It gives a more detailed listing of the differences.

According to the above definition and blog post, which are you? Are you an entrepreneur or a small business owner? I look forward to reading your comments.

Rita J. Cartwright, Owner
RJ’s Word Processing Services
Your Business Success Is Our Success
http://rjswordprocessing.com
866-651-3073

Due to the tremendous popularity of this blog post, I decided to republish it.

As an onshore Virtual Assistant and small business owner, I feel obligated to inform small business owners about the disadvantages of outsourcing to offshore virtual assistants (VAs).

When you choose to outsource offshore, you are going to encounter virtual assistants who are not familiar with our culture and language. Although, they speak English, generally, it is not their first language. This causes language barriers, communication gaps, and lack of understanding. Is the frustration worth the money you save? Keep in mind, offshore VAs’ cost of living is much lower than ours. They can afford to work for less money. If you choose to outsource confidential personal data offshore, it may not be protected. Firms in India currently are not equally subject to any extensive legislative or regulatory data-protection controls.

Offshore VAs work for an outsourcing firm and are not business owners. They do not have a vested interest in your business other than getting more projects. Most of us, onshore virtual assistants, are business owners; therefore, we understand the operations of a small business, as well as what is required to develop it. Our goals are to establish an ongoing business relationship with you in order to help you reach your goals. We want you to succeed in your business. Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC stated in her blog, “These companies are working day and night going through a wide variety of tasks just to get them back out the door. They aren’t spending the time to strategize and become a partner in your business. They are simply providing cheap labor.”

Another disadvantage is offshore virtual assistants can’t operate without access to the Internet. On January 31, 2008, India had an Internet outage due to snapped cables in the Mediterranean Ocean. You can read the entire article here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326988,00.html. Onshore virtual assistants’ Internet providers are their phone companies, cable companies or satellite providers. We are not at the mercy of a cable under the ocean.

There are several disadvantages to offshore outsourcing, including drastic differences in time zones. The one main advantage to outsourcing to offshore virtual assistants is saving money. The old adage is true. “You get what you pay for.”

Rita J. Cartwright, Owner
RJ’s Word Processing Services
Your Business Success Is Our Success
http://rjswordprocessing.com
866-651-3073