Savvy Business Shopper
Virtual personal assistants can be a real help
Austin Business Journal - by Mie-Yun Lee
It's 8 p.m. You've just updated your accounting ledger and put the final touches on tomorrow's big client presentation. But you're still stuck behind your desk licking envelopes for the invitations to your client meet-and-greet holiday party while simultaneously holding a conversation with your travel agent.
If you can relate, you're due for a personal assistant. Sure, you say, you'll hire one right after you get that personal trainer and personal chef. But thanks to a rapidly growing service field known as virtual assisting, you can get nearly all the same services provided by an in-house personal assistant at a fraction of the cost.
The first big distinction between a regular in-house personal assistant and a virtual personal assistant, or VA, is that a VA completes your office tasks from his or her own office. The VA does this by using typical communication methods such as the telephone, fax machine and, of course, the Internet.
VAs can take your calls, prepare documents, manage databases, handle sales and Internet marketing projects, manage your mail flow, book your travel arrangements and keep your schedule. The only thing a VA couldn't handle, given the distance, is paper filing and getting your coffee.
With a little creative collaboration, like having your calls automatically forwarded to your VA's office, or establishing a P.O. box at their location, your VA can be based hundreds of miles from your office. I've even come across VAs who offer such specialized services as designing and updating your Web site and creating PowerPoint presentations.
The second distinction is that a VA isn't a temp or full-time employee. A virtual assistant is a contractor. You won't need to provide any office space, purchase any equipment or offer any benefits.
Fees can range from $15 to $40 an hour, depending on geographic location. A VA based in Los Angeles, for example, likely will charge a higher hourly fee than one in a more remote region of the country. Some might offer a discounted rate if you agree to use a minimum amount of hours each week.
Although it usually doesn't matter where a VA is located, it can in some cases. If your VA will be scheduling your local off-site appointments, for example, you'll want one who lives in your area and knows how long it takes to drive from point A to point B.
One way to find an experienced VA is through AssistU (http://www.assistu.com) or the International Virtual Assistant Association (http://www.ivaa.org).
And above all, take your time to get to know a VA's personality before you hire him or her. The best VAs often are the ones who take an interest in your particular business and take great pride in watching it grow.
MIE-YUN LEE is editorial director of BuyerZone (http://www.buyerzone.com), a virtual purchasing adviser for small businesses, and author of "The Essential Business Buyer's Guide." Call (800) 938-0088 for more information.
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