Office Help from Afar
More business owners are
hiring virtual assistants to handle tasks
from bookkeeping to buying gifts for Mom.
Val Williams' executive-coaching business
grew so fast when she started it four years ago that she quickly
fell behind in billing. She got rid of the backlog by getting help
from someone she still works with but has never met in person --
a virtual assistant (VA) who lives in Michigan and communicates
with Williams' Edison (N.J.) office by e-mail, fax, and telephone.
The VA, referred to Williams by a business associate, took
over "invoicing,
collections, personal errands such as sending flowers to my mother,
and getting train tickets," Williams says. As a result,
she is "now free to do the activities that only I can do
-- coaching, delivering a seminar, or marketing."
Williams is one of thousands of business
owners who are turning over administrative tasks to virtual assistants.
These helpers are self-employed, home-based workers -- usually
women -- who do anything from word processing and bookkeeping
to market research and meeting-planning for clients who live
far away or travel frequently.
Using a remote helper has a number
of advantages over having someone working down the hall. "I can hire someone who's
extremely professional, but I don't have all the expenses [such
as health insurance and maintaining office space] associated
with a full-time assistant," says Miguel Berger, president
of TechValley Homes Real Estate in Loudonville, N.Y. Berger,
who travels often, uses time in the air to create work lists
he can e-mail to two virtual assistants -- one in Albany, who
handles his accounting, and one in Dunnville, Ky., who designs
marketing materials. He's looking for a third VA to manage his
database.
VAs charge anywhere from $25 to $75
an hour, depending on their skills and the complexity of the
tasks they do. Most give clients the option of paying a monthly
retainer or an hourly rate.
Who hires these folks? Typically, "people in the coaching
industry, writers and authors, real estate professionals, all
sorts of consultants -- especially people who are working solo
from home," says Stacy Brice, the Cockeysville (Md.)-based
president of AssistU, an organization that offers training courses
for virtual assistants. Often, clients' businesses are growing
faster than they can manage alone.
Karen Duester, who owns a food-consulting
firm in Del Mar, Calif., says she was overworked and gave up
vacations for years because she didn't want to hire someone to
work in her home or move the business to a separate office. She
learned about VAs at a women's networking meeting in 1999 and
soon hired Christine Barnes in San Diego to take on jobs such
as responding to voicemail, sorting e-mail, and maintaining a
newsletter mailing list of 1,600 names. Barnes is so much a part
of Duester's business that at noon and 5 p.m. every day, she
sends Duester an electronic to-do list. Now that she has help,
Duester says she takes quarterly vacations, many to accompany
her microbiologist husband to international meetings.
VAs come from a wide range of backgrounds.
Angela Allen, president of International Virtual Assistants Assn.
(IVAA) and one of Berger's VAs, worked in marketing, advertising,
journalism, and human resources. Jill Chongva of Berwick, N.S.,
was a medical secretary and also worked in a camera shop, and
Janet Winter of Cumming, Ga., had been a math teacher, school
financial-aid director, and a travel agent. "A VA should be able to handle anything
for you," says Brice. "If you need to buy a condo in
Hong Kong, she should be able to figure out how to help you to
do it." Among the assignments that Winter has completed
for clients, she says, was creating an inventory system for an
aromatherapist who bought fragrant essential oils in large bottles
but sold them by the drop.
To find a VA, you can start with
an Internet search for "virtual
assistant," which will turn up Web sites of individuals
and organizations. There's no universal certification, though
credentials from a VA group that trains or certifies members
offer some assurance that the person has passed an ethics or
skills test.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS
Exams sponsored by the IVAA lead to three
types of certification: one in business ethics ($25 for members,
$50 for nonmembers), one on skills and issues related to
real estate ($25 or $50), and one for members only based
on proficiency in word processing, spreadsheets, and other
administrative skills ($100). Brice's AssistU offers a Certified
Professional Virtual Assistant (CPVA) and Certified Master
Virtual Assistant (CMVA). To become a CPVA, a student must
complete 20 weeks of classes by conference call and pass
an exam based on performance in simulated experiences with
clients ($2,295 for group classes; $3,195 for a one-on-one
trainer). The CMVA designation, for an additional $250, requires
proof of 1,500 hours of work as a VA and documentation that
clients find the assistant's work to be effective.
Staffcentrix, which functions as
a referral agency for military spouses who are VAs, doesn't test
those on its list on specific skills. But it offers a free 15-hour
training course on some military bases. That training focuses
on customer service, ethics, and practical knowledge necessary
to start and operate a business.
Even if you choose a VA who has completed
some type of training or received certification from a trade
group, before making a commitment, you should test out the relationship
by working on a short-term project together. Even
if you don't see the person in the office every day, you still
have to know that your work styles are compatible.
By Ellen Hoffman
Copyright Business Week
