Rescue Desk

We’ve all heard it. The dreaded “R” word. The only thing the experts can’t agree on, though, is if we’re facing a recession, in the middle of a recession or, in some cases, on the tail-end of a recession. Either way, businesses are walking a fine line between cutting costs and working to make strides toward growth.

That’s where the virtual assistance industry seems to be stepping up to the plate.

I’ve run across a host of articles, reports and white papers highlighting the utilization of virtual professionals during the current economic climate. Solo operations to large corporations are turning to outsourcing some of their business processes to offset costs while still maintaining their paths to growth.

• Recession-proof your small business with a Virtual Assistant
• A Virtual Solution for Business Growth, Stability and Profitability (PDF White Paper)
• Recession on the Horizon? Fight back with Virtual Assistance
• Recession Proof Small Businesses: What Does Recession Mean for Small Businesses

These are just a few of the resources I ran across, but are certainly worth a read if you’ve got a few minutes. Given that small- and micro-businesses make up a huge part of the economic landscape, you don’t have to look far to run across news sites and business blogs that relate to how organizations are buckling down no matter what their size or their industry.

Resources, tips and tricks litter cyberspace, so it’s worth a little time to do a little digging. It won’t take long to find ideas, industry-specific solutions, or get to thinking outside the box to not only maintain your business, but continue to grow.

Part of my job as a virtual assistant is marketing my business, my experience, and my services. But, the other part of my job is education.

When I tell people I am a virtual assistant, I sometimes find myself on the receiving end of a confused – albeit interested – stare. They think they’ve heard of virtual assistants, but they’ve never actually met one and aren’t exactly sure what it means.  It’s certainly understandable, given that the VA industry is young enough to not quite be mainstream, but old enough that it’s solidified its place and will be around for the long haul.

When I’m asked what I do, I explain that I am an “executive assistant for hire”  helping my clients with just about anything they’d ask a professional executive assistant to do … except I do it from my own fully-loaded, fully-stocked office instead of theirs.

It’s pretty easy to show the value-adds of a Virtual Assistant compared to an on-site/on-staff executive assistant:

On-site employee:

• Cost of wages, taxes, benefits, space, equipment, unproductive time.
• Little flexibility in schedule or hours worked.
• Hiring/firing process time-consuming, costly and requires high-level of commitment.
• Professional development and training  is expensive in time and money.
• Employees depend solely on the employer to provide experience and resources.

Virtual Assistant:

• VAs are independent contractors, so clients only pay for time on task.
• Flexible and accommodating to meet clients’ needs and business hours.
• Clients can find specific VA skill sets to meet needs
• VAs are already experienced and highly efficient, and their practices depend on client satisfaction.
• VAs continuously gain experience, skills and grow their resources thanks to working for several clients and gaining exposure that comes with small-business ownership.

I ran across a white paper written by an industry colleague, who has a successful practice and whose byline can be found on several industry articles. She outlined the cost in dollars and developed a work production scenario comparing the cost of having an on-site employee, a temp agency placement and a Virtual Assistant:

On staff employee:

• Minimum Hours per day: 8
• Actual number of productive hours per day: 6
• Hourly rate: $50
• Daily cost: $400

Temporary staff:

• Minimum Hours per day: 6
• Actual number of productive hours per day: 3
• Hourly rate: $50
• Daily cost: $300

Virtual Assistant:

• Minimum Hours per day: 3
• Actual number of productive hours per day: 3
• Hourly rate: $50
• Daily cost: $150

It’s fairly easy to see how working with a virtual assistant is a cost-effective solution. Is it right for everyone? Of course not. But when you look at the cost and the value-adds, it is undeniabily a viable option for businesses to get the professional support they need.

When you narrow it down, there isn’t much of a difference between what a Virtual Assistant can do and what an on-site professional assistant can do (with the exception of shooting the breeze around the water cooler).  About the only differences you’ll find between a VA and executive (or administrative) assistant is a VA’s area of expertise and the fact that a VA is a small-business owner her/himself. But, again, that is a value-add to having a VA … you can work with someone who has exactly the skills, experience and technology you need, and whose success depends on providing a valuable business service to you.

I spent some time working for a woman who was, hands down, one of the most brilliant corporate marketers I’d ever worked with. She was highly creative, fiercely intelligent, beyond experienced and always, always had her eye on the goal. Granted, she could also be hell on wheels … she didn’t shy away from pushing for answers, slicing through red tape with a machete, having extremely high expectations, and stepping on a few toes to get things done.

I learned more about marketing by watching her than I have from just about anyone else.  She even branded herself to stand out, being fearless (and looking great) in bright pink blazers and colorful skirts, taking fabulous vacations, and having the confidence in knowing that she could dole out the fear of God just as easily as a funny story. 

I’d had plenty of experience working with marketing teams and riding shotgun when new promotional strategies were in the works. But, this woman continuously brought me back to one simple question: What’s your brand?

It’s now the question I ask myself every time I develop a new marketing or promotion strategy for my own business, and is usually one of the first questions I ask potential clients when they want my help with a project.

I know it’s obvious, but I think business owners — especially first-time business owners — sometimes need to be reminded that their brand should be the baseline for just about any marketing decision. I think small businesses (myself included) tend to get mired down in the detail work of specific strategies or plans and forget to bring themselves back to the foundation of their brand.

How will this plan further the brand I’m working to establish? Will speaking to this particular audience be cohesive with my brand? Does this strategy connect with the target of my brand?

Like knowing the niche for your business, you simply can’t be all things to all people. So, your brand is an important differentiator between you and the competition.  If you try to come up with a soft, all-purpose, generic branding message to appeal to all people in all corners, you may end up being nothing specific to everyone in general. 

Only you can define your brand, and it’s something that certainly shouldn’t be taken lightly. Corporations spend millions just tweaking their brand to complement the current day in the current market … look at the business history of McDonald’s, Coke or Nike. The brands have essentially stayed the same, but the messages behind the already-powerful, solid brands have simply been updated.

Running a business – whether it be a solo operation or a multizillion-dollar operation – isn’t easy. I can understand the temptation to skirt the branding question when you’re on a tight deadline or under the gun to introduce something new. But, being able to solidly align your plan with your brand will save those precious budgeting dollars and further solidify your position in the market.