Virtual assistants tackle myriad office jobs
07/16/2002
By KAREL HOLLOWAY / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
The question was: How much would it cost to move a 65-foot, custom-built teak sailing yacht from Hong Kong to New York, or maybe Miami. And once in the United States, how much would upkeep be, including an experienced captain on call 24-hours-a-day.
In landlocked Flower Mound, Suzanne Stemme had three weeks to find the answer for her client, an investment banker moving from Hong Kong to New York.
Ms. Stemme, 54, knew nothing about sailboats, international shipping or marinas, but she did know Lewisville Lake, so she called a boat dealer there who got her started on the right track.
"I had it done in three or four days," she says. (It was $97,000 for the move and $7,000 a month in upkeep. The owner decided to sell the yacht in Hong Kong and planned to buy a new one in New York.)
That was Ms. Stemme's first job as a virtual assistant.
Virtual assistants are a growing group of work-at-home professionals who provide just about any business support service. That can mean making appointments, organizing files, laying out business plans, calling prospective customers – anything that an administrative assistant might do in an office, virtual assistants do long-distance.
So you want to be a virtual assistant...
Here are some tips for setting up a virtual-assistant business:
Look to see what kinds of clients are available and what kinds of skills are needed by checking out organizations such as the International Virtual Assistants Association (
www.ivaa.org).
Make sure you have the equipment and business skills needed to do a good job. You'll need at least one up-to-date, high-powered computer with security features, a dedicated fax phone line, business-grade long-distance service and high-speed Internet access. Many virtual assistants also have specialized software packages used by specific clients. A comfortable chair is also a must, since you'll be spending a lot of time in it.
Make a business plan. Know how much your equipment will cost, how much monthly expenses will be and how much you need to make.
Network, network, network – many of the best clients come from referrals.
So you want to hire a virtual assistant...
Here are some tips for finding and using a virtual assistant.
Inventory your needs. What, exactly, do you need someone to do? Filing is not something a virtual assistant can help with. Bookkeeping, writing brochures, keeping track of appointments – a virtual assistant can help you there.
Check with a virtual assistant organization. The International Virtual Assistants Association offers certification as do several other agencies. These associations can help you find a qualified assistant.
Check references. The virtual assistant will ask for and check your references. You should do the same.
Check your comfort level. How comfortable are you working with people long-distance? Do you need to see the people you work with? Is a voice on the phone enough?
Karel Holloway
Their tools are e-mail, fax, Internet instant messenger, cellphones and old-fashioned land lines, too. Most are on-call for their clients 24 hours a day.
Ms. Stemme had worked in marketing and public relations for about 20 years and wanted to try something new.
She had just left her job four years ago, when she ran across a Web site offering training for virtual assistants and decided that was the job for her.
She worked out a business plan, signed up for training from Assist U, an Internet-based company, and set up shop in her home.
Her first client, the Hong Kong banker, came through Assist U. Her subsequent clients have come through networking and referrals. That's typical. As part of networking, she formed a practice with two other virtual assistants – Edwina Adams and Elizabeth Bentley. They cover for each other when one gets too busy or goes on vacation.
It is an unusual business relationship because the client rarely meets the assistant, even though the assistant may provide some very personal services.
"I had a client scheduled to get married in San Francisco in July. She wanted it outside at a winery with a reception inside. And she wanted it within 90 minutes of San Francisco," Ms. Stemme said.
This was in May, and all the bride had was a list of possible sites.
"Essentially, what I did was put together a huge spreadsheet. She sat down with her fiancé and picked four," Ms. Stemme said.
After Ms. Stemme did some more checking, the bride made the final choice, and Ms. Stemme finished the arrangements. And, she said, she was cheaper than a wedding planner.
Gaining popularity
The term virtual assistant was almost unknown until five years ago.
Assist U, a training and certification program for virtual assistants, began in 1997. Stacy Brice founded the online business after she worked several years with clients long-distance. She now offers training in what it takes to be a virtual assistant and certifies those who finish the course. Assist U also helps graduates find clients.
The International Virtual Assistants Association, started in 2000, also offers certification and help in finding clients. It has about 400 members.
Local virtual assistants estimate that between 50 and 75 are working in the Dallas area.
Typically, virtual assistants are career women with long-term business experience – many have worked in marketing or as executive assistants in large companies. They earn between $25 and $50 an hour, depending on their skills, the job and the market.
The arrangement offers advantages to both the assistants and the clients.
Clients can hire just the expertise they need for just the amount of time needed – no office or equipment to pay for, no benefits and no taxes to figure.
For the virtual assistant, the benefits are obvious.
"I'm sitting here working in T-shirt and shorts," Ms. Stemme says from her home office.
There is no commute time and the work often can be arranged to suit the assistant's personal life.
Work usually begins at a normal business time, say between 8 and 9 a.m., and starts by checking e-mail, faxes and phone messages. While there is leeway in the work, there must be schedules, several virtual assistants said. Because they often work for several clients, there are multiple deadlines to keep in mind, and specific times that specific work must be done.
"You really have to be able to keep 40 balloons in the air at the same time. And be comfortable with that," Ms. Stemme said.
The work is often varied. Ms. Stemme said she has done everything from critiquing a client's business plan to emergency mailings.
"I can't tell you how many travel arrangements I've made," she said.
That's OK, she says. A boring project today may lead to a more interesting project tomorrow.
Christine Whitman, a virtual assistant working in Sachse, is calling more than 2,500 real estate agents trying to sign them up for a new marketing program. She admits that's not the most exciting work. But she's also writing text for promotional materials and helping outline the company's goals. That is interesting to her.
She says it is the variety that she likes about the at-home work. "I don't work for anybody I don't find fascinating," she said.
She became a virtual assistant in 1987 by accident. She didn't call herself a virtual assistant then; she was a telecommuter. She began working from home after a horse-riding accident left her unable to walk or drive for a time. Her boss wanted to keep her and urged her to work from home. Later, she began seeking other clients.
Her client, David Oliver, who markets nutrition products from New Jersey, said he feels free to call Ms. Whitman from early in the morning until 9 p.m. Later in an emergency.
"She is the same as having four or five people," he said. "She can do so many things simultaneously."
Virtual assistants emphasize that they are not employees, but partners – they work with clients to find better ways to do things.
The biggest hurdle, particularly for clients, is having a close relationship with someone they may never see.
Ms. Stemme said she had a client in Coppell who really, really wanted her to come into the office just one day.
"So I put on the pantyhose–that was a big deal for me – and went."
She met a man in the parking lot and they had a pleasant conversation on the way into the building. It wasn't until they got to the company office that she realized the man had been her client for four years.
A good virtual assistant can become indispensable, taking care of day-to-day chores or pushing big projects through. Mary Ellen Kane, a California real estate agent, was skeptical. "I was hesitant at first using somebody off-site. I'm from a generation that is not good with computers. And real estate agents don't like to give up control. I gave up control a little at a time," she said.
Ms. Whitman, working from Sachse, helps supervise Ms. Kane's on-site assistant in California as well as keeping track of all Ms. Kane's important appointments.
"I don't know how she does it, but I leave my computer on at night and she comes in over the phone line and can see what's been done during the day," Ms. Kane said. Ms. Whitman, using a specialized software package, makes up a work plan for Ms. Kane's assistant.
"It says when you walk in the door you do this and then you do this and then you do this," Ms. Kane said. "I can pick up a sheet or two and see what has been done and what I need to get on."
Ms. Whitman's other clients include a computer network architect and an on-line chef who delivers organic, vegetarian and vegan foods nationwide.
"It's really neat work. I learn tons and tons of interesting stuff," she said. "I tell my husband at the end of the day, 'You won't believe what I learned.' "
Karel Holloway is a Terrell freelance writer.
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