As the Virtual Assistance industry continues to evolve, more and more organizations are promoting and endorsing the use and growth of the Virtual Office Professional.
The March issue of the NBEA’s (National Business Education Association) Newsletter was focused on “The Virtual Office Professional (VOP)” and featured several of my client’s views, as well as those of my colleague, Terri Orlowski of Beyond the Office.
Not yet being provided electronically, here are the highlights of the article: “The Entrepreneur’s Entrepreneur: The Virtual Office Professional (VOP), The Client’s View”
“Solopreneurs, such as life and business coaches, independent legal and real estate professionals, and consultants, are among the businesses that hire virtual office professionals. Keying In interviewed some of these solopreneurs to get insights on their expectations of and their experiences with virtual assistants.
We hope this information will be useful to you as you guide and advise individuals aspiring to this profession and or build a course or a curriculum around this career. This sidebar offers additional insights on a company that provides “hybrid” services to small businesses that need an extra pair of hands, on-site or virtual, as they hurdle through growth spurts and the impacts these spurts have on their business processes (see “Providing a Hybrid of Services”).
Eve Siegel
Kailas Career & Life Transitions Coaching
EI Cerrito, California
www.Kailaslifecoaching.com
Eve Siegel is a certified life coach. Three years ago she decided to hire a virtual assistant to help her set up a newsletter and send it to her mailing list so she could keep in touch with clients and potential customers. Now her VA handles Siegel’s Internet marketing efforts to expand and diversify her audience.
In her own words…
I found my first VA through a local agency. She lived 2,000 miles away. I worked with her for a couple of years [until she] moved on to something else. A friend recommended my second VA — [she lived] 1,000 miles away. I began to find out that there are VAs who specialize in certain things … and [this one] was savvy with e-marketing.
She helped me learn how I could use Facebook and LinkedIn. I gave up the newsletter, began blogging, then went to Twitter.
In the beginning I thought I’d learn how to do [Internet marketing from my VA], then do it myself. Then [it dawned on me]: Why should I do it myself? She’s more interested and eager [to do it], whereas it was tedious for me.
When hiring a VA, it’s always with the understanding that they’re good at what they do. Communication is very important: How quickly do they respond to emails from me, and how do they respond? Are they professional, friendly, and on time? And I think about what I really want someone to help me with and how much would that cost. I have in mind a certain [financial] limit per month. Which of these items can [she] do for that amount this month?
My current VA, [Jeannine Clontz] is very current on how to market business on the Internet. She’s always thinking of other ideas, building on things that I started. At first it was overwhelming. Then I got a sense of her vision. She didn’t do “just jobs.”
As an entrepreneur, there’s a limited amount of time in the day. Factoring in sleep and a social life, how much can I do and what’s it worth my time to do? This is where VAs come into one’s life. It’s not that I have extra money floating around. It’s just that it’s worth putting some of the money I do here, to further extend and maintain my business.
Laura MacDonald
The Laura MacDonald Team
St. Louis, Missouri
www.theLauraMacDonaldteam.com
A real estate agent, Laura MacDonald works predominantly in the St. Louis corridor. She sought a virtual assistant when she felt the business model for real estate shifting from a staffed office to a technology-driven market.
In her own words…
[In the past], I had paid, salaried employees — a closing manager and a listing manager. I was responsible for their livelihoods. When the market shifted, I decided to create a strategic approach to increasing my bottom line by adjusting my business model and hiring a VA.
From the beginning, Jeannine [Clontz] was familiar with our industry, [which is] driven by Internet marketing. Reports are Internet based. [You don't] set up an appointment to see a property, [you take a] virtual home tour on the Internet. Anything that was once a paper trail is now a paperless model. Jeannine is comfortable operating in that environment. She is also good at creating newsletters and postcards and sending [mailings] to our immediate database to keep them abreast of what we’ve done.
She helped us streamline our communication. An example is social media. She had the knowledge and wherewithal to tap into all that content with one simple process. Anything behind the scenes that could help us keep our position in the market, she’s done.
When hiring, I looked for qualities other than expertise: knowledge of the industry, talents, past [experience] with other realtors, familiarity with [software] programs that realtors use. Also [how the VA can] bring value to us.
You also have to do due diligence. There are a lot of VAs out there. You get what you pay for. Really follow up on references. Look at work samples. Find out how long they were in business, and whether they can offer a wide palette of services and comprehend the language [that’s used], depending on the field.
In an ever-changing economy when you have to shift and adapt, change, or restructure your business model, I think a VA makes you shine like a star and keeps that overhead intact. Her value is immeasurable.
Kelly Eckert
KellyEckert.com
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Like many solopreneurs, personal and professional development coach Kelly Eckert works from home. And like other solopreneurs, she has spent a lot of time doing tasks that were necessary to build her business — website and blog updates, online store maintenance, and general marketing — but that took her away from her core businesses.
In her own words…
As an entrepreneur, I had hesitated about hiring a VA because I worried that it would take a lot of time [to train the VA] and I wondered if it would really be worth it to pay someone rather than do the tasks myself. As a former marketing consultant and graphic designer, doing these tasks is not difficult for me, just a time burden.
Right away, though, Terri [Orlowski] freed up a huge amount of time for me. Not only that, I felt unburdened and light. I was able to focus on coaching and writing again.
Terri’s specialty is website creation. She came up with a great vision for my Positivity Girl™ website right away. When that is done, I plan to continue working with Terri, especially on web issues.
I hired a second VA, Lee Drozak, to help me with my coaching club website and online payment system. Terri really got Positivity Girl™. And Lee understood how to support my work on my coaching club.
When hiring, I looked for someone [who gets me] and someone I could easily communicate with. I don’t expect my VA to be available 24/7. But I do want emails and calls to be answered quickly. I also want to feel that my VA is closer to being a partner, rather than being someone on whom I’m dumping work I don’t want to do. I appreciated the glowing testimonials about Terri and Lee from other women who had hired them.
[I'd advise] anyone who’s considering this career to be very clear about how you can help your clients. Don’t overstate your abilities. I would definitely hire a new VA, but I would want to know that she is new. In fact, as long as she can do what she says she can do, the fact that she’s just getting started would be a selling point, as I like to help new businesses. Also, find out exactly what the client’s expectations are and be clear about your boundaries. I imagine some clients would have unreasonable expectations. But you can prevent misunderstandings by clarifying expectations and boundaries upfront.
Source: “Keying In: The Newsletter of the National Business Education Association”, March 2011, Volume 21, Number 4
I want to congratulate my clients, Eve Siegel and Laura MacDonald, for their contributions and kind words about our relationship. It’s always helpful to get some perspective from clients to gain perspective on their needs and how a Virtual Assistant fits into their business plan.
For more information about NBEA visit: www.nbea.org
Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan request her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvcs.com
