Why would I ever use a virtual assistant?A recent article I came across suggests an emerging trend in where and how people work. If you've been working in "Corporate America" for any length of time recently, you've most likely noticed this fundamental shift. Our bosses aren't working in their offices most of the time, they are working out of their cars, their homes, and in Starbucks on their blackberries. Gone are the days of fax machines, and snail mail, replaced with .pdf's and e-mail. These changes have caused us to conduct business in a manner in which everyone is adapting, some more quickly than others. For example, you know you've come across an e-mail at some point where the sender wrote their eloquent message in all capital letters, and you've discovered you barely want to read what they've sent because you're annoyed. Not only are we changing our communication, our workplace locations, and our technology, but the business industry is changing as well. With the fall of our gigantic corporate conglomerates (Enron, Lehmen Brothers, etc.) we have begun to see a new crop of employees taking their financial security into their own hands, and becoming entrepreneurs. This not so subtle shift has led to a new set of challenges, needs, and business options. Hence - the invention of the business service category of Virtual Assistance. Was there a need for virtual assistance back in the "Mad Men" days? No - your secretary sat outside your office waiting to assist you with your every need. Do we need assistants sitting at desks outside the offices our bosses are never in? No... We need someone who can assist us in a new way, that is flexible, understands technology, is able to work on our timeline, not theirs.So what is a virtual assistance? The International Virtual Assistants Association explains:A Virtual Assistant (VA) is 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."Why is this industry growing in popularity? Well - given that we have a changing workforce, our needs have changed. Gone are the days of the need for a salaried employee who drains your company financially with payroll taxes, benefits, health care and equipment. Now you can find practically anyone within the virtual assistance community who can do what you need, faster, cheaper and better than your traditional employee who needs to figure out how to accomplish this new fangled task you've requested of them, before being able to undertake the task. An example of this is - a small office has 3 employees, one of them works the accounts at the firm - whether it is calling, selling or working on an account, while another takes care of the books and office needs, and finally the third person is perhaps the owner, the professional, etc. who oversees everything but doesn't touch the daily needs of the business so much. Now in this example - the 3 person company decides they need a web-site. They have one of two options:1) Ask the person who handles the office needs to learn how to build a web-site, build it, and then launch the site. This person now needs to learn how to drive traffic to the site, how to measure the statistics of the site, and be able to alter the site when needed. This likely takes up a considerable amount of time, on top of the already assigned job duties. This project also likely takes a long time to complete.or2) Hire a virtual assistant skilled in building web sites. Contract the project out to the virtual assistant, and project launches within a reasonable amount of time, while normal working environment continues.Which option costs the organization less? Option #2. Basic economics - the opportunity cost of utilizing the existing employee to do something outside of what that employee is qualified to do is simply too much.While this way of working is foreign to us...so were blackberries, e-mail and the internet. The key to business is adapting. If you can adapt quickly, you will survive and thrive. Do you want to not only survive but also thrive? Of course you do - so start adapting and out source your business to someone who can help.Have no idea where to turn? Good news. The Virtual Assistant Chamber of Commerce is just the place for you. Head on over there to get started. Not only will they educate you on what else a Virtual Assistant does, but you'll be able to choose one of two ways to get started working with someone - either a "quickie gig" where you will have a fast turn around time or you can submit an RFP (Request for Proposal) to the Chamber of Commerce who will invite their assistants to bid on your project. Good luck and happy hunting.
