Office Productivity
Virtual Assistants Arise to Help Virtual Office Users
Published February 24th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
I’ve noted the rise of virtual assistants in the past few months. As I’ve considered how more companies are forming to offer these services, though, I started to wonder how this might impact virtual office and serviced office providers.
Here’s what I am getting at. Let’s say an entrepreneur rents a virtual office to put on a more professional image. He could opt for any number of ancillary services. Same for serviced office users. There are many amenities a small business owner could opt for – at a cost. Sometimes that cost is upwards of $25 an hour.
With virtual assistant companies arising to meet the needs of companies that want to reduce the risk of hiring employees, what does this mean for the serviced office industry? And what does it mean for small business owners who use them?
Reducing the Risk
According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey, hiring expectations are the lowest they have been in four years. Unemployment is at its highest rate in decades, yet companies still need help getting tasks done.
The bottom line: Hiring full-time employees is not in the budget or in the stomach of some entrepreneurs even though they desperately need the help. Oftentimes that means working longer hours to cover all the bases rather than take on the risk of hiring and possibly having to fire employees.
Virtual assistant companies bill virtual workers as an affordable alternative to hiring employees. The virtual worker is available on an as-needed basis to handle the tasks a low level employee would usually be responsible for.
A virtual assistant can answer the phones, coordinate schedules, design and package promotional material, create travel plans, proofread and format documents and presentations, update blogs and create newsletters, handle customer support, transcribe dictation, create a new website or logo, and much more. If it can be done remotely using phone, Internet, email, and/or fax, a virtual assistant can take care of it.
Keep in mind these are a lot of the same services serviced office and virtual office providers offer for ancillary income. The issue is cost, reliability and dependability. You might not trust an individual to handle your tasks, but would you trust a separate company that charged less and offered the same opportunities?
LongerDays.com Offers
Virtual workers have long flown solo, but in this economy it seems they are banding together under a business umbrella to leverage the lead generation of a larger organization. In other words, virtual assistants that work for companies don’t have to beat the bushes for work.
LongerDays.com, a virtual assistant company in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the companies that appears to be gaining some ground – or at least making a push – in the down economy.
“It is unfortunate that so many small businesses are unaware that virtual assistance exists and how it can help their business,” says Brian Gladu, owner of LongerDays.com. “For micro and small business owners trying to keep costs down, there isn’t a more low risk and affordable way to get work done and continue growing.”
Due to the “virtual” nature of its relationship with clients, LongerDays.com offers its services to small businesses across the country. Unlike other virtual assistant companies, which are sometimes based overseas, LongerDays.com is 100 percent American so small businesses can feel good knowing that their money is staying in the U.S. economy and creating jobs for American workers.
The Business Model
Here’s how it works: A client purchases a time retainer of between 20 and 80 hours a month. The virtual assistant’s hours go against this retainer. As more work comes in, clients can purchase additional hours or, if work slows down, they can decrease the number of hours. Plans start at $411 for 20 hours a week.
A Longer Days virtual assistant only bills for time actually spent working on a task so business owners do not pay for downtime or task switching. This is a key differentiator. I have seen virtual assistants who work in increments of 15 minutes. So even if they make a phone call that takes literally three minutes, they charge for 15 minutes. After four consecutive three-minute tasks, you get charged for an hour of work. To me, that seems a little hard to swallow for most small businesses.
LongerDays.com virtual assistants work together at an office so clients have access to the resources of the entire company through their virtual assistant creating, in essence, a “super employee” that, for example, can speak Spanish fluently, produce professional quality graphic design, and write anything from ad copy to a screenplay and can take care of more mundane work such as data entry and basic accounting.
“Generally speaking, if it can be done in an office, we can take care of it,” Gladu says. “There is not a more flexible, affordable way for overworked small businesses owners to have access to a college-educated, tech savvy, and competent worker.”
This is one of the best-looking virtual assistant companies I have found. I’ve worked with my fair share of virtual assistants and they don’t tend to last because they either can’t do the job well or aren’t dependable. With a company behind you, you can be sure to have continuity in your help. This doesn’t replace virtual offices, but certainly could compliment the concept or perhaps even give it a run for its money on the services front.
Related posts:
- Davinci Virtual Explains Virtual Office Benefits to AP The Associated Press is the latest major media outlet to...
- My Virtual Project Puts Social Media Spin on VAs Virtual office assistants are getting savvier to the world of...
- Make sure to select the right virtual office service With today’s economic conditions, many businesses are looking for creative...
- The pros and cons of virtual offices Virtual offices can be the most professional officing option for...
- Office space for the mobile professional Many executive office suite companies are pouring more focus into...
- Virtual Office Spin-Offs Springing Up in Down Economy One of the downsides of a virtual office is the...
- Lakeland Virtual Office Market Heats Up Despite the growing prevalence of telecommuting and home-based companies, it’s...
- Virtual office reviews: Weber Media Partners manages virtual office with Onebox and Basecamp This is the first in a series of posts covering...
About the Author
Marcus Hester February 25th, 2009 at 5:55 am
From what I’ve seen out there in terms of virtual assistant companies, this is a good deal. The fact that the workers are in the U.S. is a major plus and the prices are reasonable. I think companies with this model may very well cut into the amenities list serviced offices offer. Why pay by the minute or some outrageous hourly fee for administrative help that may not be available the minute you need it when you could use a virtual assistant retainer model that puts the virtual workers at your beck and call? I guess it depends on how much help you need. If it’s a rare occassion, the serviced office set up with the add-on services is the better deal.
Bill Brookshire February 25th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Longer Days is saying all the right things about virtual workers — they even offer a free day trial. I’d be very interested to hear some feedback on a seven-day trial with this firm. I may even try it myself and report back. The only issue is this: it takes longer than seven days to build comfort and trust. But I still think you are better off with a virtual assistant company in this economy than an individual. Too many people are calling themselves virtual assistants because they are out of work, but have no experience.
Mike Sullivan February 25th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I’ve seen executive suite operators charge in increments of 6 minutes, rather than 15, for their virtual receptionists. I don’t know if pure virtual providers do the same thing or not. I’d like to hear from some of them to see how they do this…
Virtual Assistants « Downsize Your Office, Rather Than Your People March 9th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
[...] Article [...]