Thousands of women (and men) are now offering their professional office skills and talents over the internet. This new industry is called "Virtual Assistance" and can save small businesses countless dollars.
SB Informer
Thursday, May 18, 2006; 02:51 AM
Brampton, ON - Office Support 911, a Brampton,
Ontario based Virtual Assistant service, is now open for business.
Owner, Karen Braschuk, has joined the thousands of women (and men) who
have decided to offer their administrative and secretarial skills from
their home offices.
“We can do practically everything…except make the coffee!” is Braschuk’s slogan on her web site: http://officesupport911.ca
Says Braschuk, “Many small business owners have at least one thing in
common: limited financial resources. These entrepreneurs have a solid
vision and the drive to succeed, yet may not have the funds on-hand to
hire someone on a full-time basis to perform the administrative tasks
that are vital to the ultimate success of their business. This is where
the newly emerging Virtual Assistant (VA) industry appears to be
stepping in nicely to fill this gap.”
The Catch-22 for these small businesses may be that without the
expertise and administrative services they need right now…their
businesses may never fully get off the ground. They may not hire
someone because they believe they can't afford it, and yet hiring
someone to achieve their goals might just be a lot more affordable than
they think.
Because virtual assistants work from home as independent contractors,
there are none of the usual employee-related costs to the small
business owner such as medical/dental benefits, paid vacations, and
sick-leaves. There is no new equipment to buy, no extra overhead or
office space to rent, and no lengthy salaried ‘learning curves’ that
new employees would normally require as they settle into their new
roles.
Using the latest in computer software and hardware technologies, Office
Support 911 offers its clients services such as word processing,
spreadsheet preparation, visual presentations, marketing materials,
proofreading/editing, calendar management and live telephone customer
service. All of these services are provided ‘virtually’ via email, fax,
telephone and courier.
Braschuk, a 48-year-old mother of two teenage sons and a veteran of the
corporate world since the age of 16, adds: “I’ve been employed by both
a major Canadian bank as well as a computer software company for many
years combined. As I worked my way through the ranks, I learned about
finance, customer service, time management and people skills. I think
my past experience, coupled with my current technical abilities, would
definitely be an asset to small business owners and entrepreneurs
needing someone to take the initiative to get the job done - without
paying an ‘arm and a leg’ for that service.”
Virtual assistants may charge by the hour, by the project
(pay-as-you-go), or on a monthly retainer basis. This type of
flexibility can be invaluable to small business owners whose operations
may be seasonal, or to those who are experiencing the inevitable waxing
and waning of cash flow.
'Virtual assistants' endeavor to find out as much about their clients
as possible. This way they can provide exactly what their clients need
-- exactly when they need it.
For more up-to-the-minute information about the emerging Virtual Assistant industry in Canada, please visit the following sites:
http://www.cvac.ca/ (Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection)
http://www.canadianva.net/ (The Canadian Virtual Assistant Network)