| The word is out. Many small businesses are finding | | | | - Spend many frustrating hours putting together |
| there is a new way to get the administrative help | | | | an important document or presentation. Only to |
| they need. They are realizing the benefits of | | | | find the typos AFTER you've presented it to your |
| partnering with administrative talent that not only | | | | customer. |
| knows their way around word processing | | | | New Way |
| software, but has also harnessed technology and | | | | - Ask a Virtual Assistant to show you how to |
| the internet to provide remote assistance in new | | | | harness technology to share files, schedule your |
| and innovative ways. Not only are these | | | | calendar, manage your email and a myriad other |
| businesses "working smarter" they're keeping their | | | | administrative tasks. |
| overhead down too. | | | | - Call a Virtual Assistant. She already has her own |
| Old Way | | | | fully equipped office and is trained in most major |
| - Employ someone to take care of routine tasks | | | | office software. She will only bill for time on task. |
| in your office. Pay that person 8 hours a day for | | | | - Delegate to a Virtual Assistant, and regain your |
| 5 hours work. Continue to pay while she's at | | | | free time, while she takes care of the necessary |
| lunch, off sick, on vacation or holiday, or just | | | | behind-the-scenes work. |
| needs time off to take care of personal matters. | | | | - Hire a Virtual Assistant to use appropriate |
| - Hire a temp to come into your office to cover | | | | software to keep track of you expenses, saving |
| a busy period. Provide her with a desk, computer, | | | | you hours of your accountant's fees. |
| and phone. Train her, and pay her Temp Agency | | | | - Hire a Virtual Assistant to build and maintain a |
| top dollar for 7 hours a day. | | | | contact database. Have her design a mailing piece, |
| - Work late into the evenings and on weekends | | | | merge and send out to your contacts, record |
| to keep up with your paperwork. | | | | response rates so that you can measure the |
| - At year end, give your accountant a shoebox | | | | effectiveness of your campaign. |
| full of receipts and pay him his hourly rate to sort | | | | - Let a Virtual Assistant, proof read and/or edit |
| through them all. | | | | your document. Better yet, let her produce a top |
| - Go through your Rolodex or business card file | | | | quality professional document for you. (She'll |
| and pull out all the addresses you want to send | | | | probably do it faster than you too) This is the |
| mailers to. Produce a list of labels, stick them on | | | | first in a series of articles on innovations in the |
| your mailing piece, stamp them and get them into | | | | workplace for the entrepreneur or small business |
| the mail. | | | | owner. |