Virtual Assistants Save Time/Money
Consultants and Other Independents - VAs Can Help
Using Virtual Assistants can help busy consultants and other independents manage the must-do tasks of running a small or home business.
As an independent consultant who travels three or four days a week, returning to the office means the mail, the phone messages, the billing and the bills are now stacked higher than your four-wheeled computer case. What’s a busy, small but growing one or two person company to do to free up more time to do business while keeping the business in tact? Hire an administrative assistant or contract with a virtual assistant to save time and money.
Virtual Assistants to the Rescue
According to the International Virtual Assistants Associates web site (www.ivaa.org), virtual assistants are defined as “…an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery, a professional VA assists clients in his/her area of expertise from his/her own office on a contractual basis.”
Virtual Assistants (VAs) have been around since 1995. They work from their home using a fax machine, telephone, computer, Internet and email to help manage small or home-based businesses. Virtual assistants work from their home and may never come to your office – unless you need them to and they are local to your office.
About Virtual Assistants
The Virtual Assistant Networking Association (VANA) at www.vanetworking.com conducted a survey of hundreds of virtual assistants and the results show that most VAs are female, married, have children at home, have attended or graduated college or trade school, were in the workforce for some time before becoming a VA, became a VA because they wanted flexible hours, work from a marketing and business plan, charge an hourly rate, and most limit their work to one or four clients.
All of this data plus many other findings from the survey show the level of commitment and professionalism of virtual assistants. Of course, checking references is a must do before you sign on the dotted line.
Costs and Savings of Using Virtual Assistants
Costs of virtual assistants can range anywhere from $15 to $100 an hour for their services. On the savings side – no payroll taxes to pay, no benefits to pay, no additional furniture or equipment to buy.
Finding Virtual Assistants
Many virtual assistants do have their own websites can be found by google searching at or other search engines. Type in the search phrase: virtual assistants along with your city and state.
