Rescue Desk

When I flip the calendar from July to August, it’s usually met with a groan and exasperated sigh.  Why? Because August is the worst month. Ever.

August is like the Sunday night of the calendar year. When I was a kid, it meant a few short weeks until school started. Throughout my career, it usually meant a few short weeks until the beginning of an insanely busy fall season.  My usual glass-half-full optimism battles with glass-almost-empty pessimism because I know the clock is ticking. I spend the entire month feeling like I’m staring down the barrel of busy.

There are no holidays, it’s ridiculously hot, and it’s long – 31 days.  There’s no “like ripping off a band aid” quick solution to getting through it. Believe me, I’ve tried. Some years I mark off the days with a big red marker.  Other years I’ve bought myself a little present for every week I got through without incident. Last year I went so far as to cut out the word “July” and tape it over the word “August” on my wall calendar, trying to convince myself it was like July was a reeeeeeeaaaaaallly long weekend. 

With the exception of an occasional birthday, the only good thing about August is September follows it.

But, this year is different. For the first time, I can actually do something about it.

I’m sure there are others who share my aggravation with August. This year I’m channeling my empathy into my work. Thanks to what I do, I can effectively use it to make a difference in someone else’s end-of-summer blues.

My job is to make my others’ jobs easier by taking care of details of their to-do lists, so I have a feeling many are starting to feel the same way I do. They look at their projects, task lists and looming deadlines, wondering where the summer went when they thought they’d have all the time in the world.

Well, I’m here to help. I know exactly what it’s like wondering if you’re prepared for the next busy cycle. Details you didn’t consider crop up, to-do lists are littered with addendums of addendums, and you think you’ll never be ready.

But, you will be ready. September is going to roll around whether you like it or not. Time is the great equalizer … everybody has the same amount, no matter who you are or how busy you are. The difference is in how you use that time you have. You can spend time stressing about the details, or let someone else handle them and spend time planning for the big picture.

As I perused my morning newspaper, a small headline caught my attention.

“The Bottom Line: Optimistic Entrepreneurs”

Finally…some good news!

It was just a short brief, but it summarized a survey by American Express of small business owners that showed America’s small business owners are “optimistic in the face of the economy’s downturn, with the majority planning to expand their operations despite cash flow concerns and soaring energy costs.”

The brief went on to quote an American Express small-business advisor, who echoed the 627 owners and managers who were surveyed. “This is a good opportunity for them to hire people leaving other jobs, talent that was not available to them a year or two ago…”

Almost as good as the first cup of coffee in the morning, the story injected a little energy into my own determination to be a successful small business owner. However, not only did it solidify my resolve to follow the “goals for growth” outlined in my own business plan, but it reassured me that it’s the perfect time to be in the virtual assistance industry.

The entrepreneurs and executives in the survey want to grow their businesses, but I think it’s safe to assume they’re also not unaware of the current economic climate. I have no doubt that most of them are starting to think outside the box in order to stay on track to grow.

That, my friends, is where us VAs are ready to roll.

I’m sure most of you have seen the stats and the benefits.

• VAs can often get something done in three hours what can take an on-site employee six hours to complete.
• While a VA’s hourly rate may seem higher than a permanent staffer, we all know it’s actually a cost savings because an employee can cost up to 2½ times their actual salary.
• Hiring permanent employees can potentially be risky, costly and time-consuming. So, having a few virtual staffers can easily be an interim or permanent solution for just about any business.
• VAs have a unique understanding of their entrepreneur clients.  VAs are also business owners, so they understand productivity, the importance of their own professional development and, similar to what their clients probably do for their own customers, not hesitating to go above-and-beyond the call of duty.

It’s prime time for us virtual professionals. We’re pretty good at thinking outside the box – it’s a necessary skill in order to efficiently and cost-effectively tackle the plethora of projects that come across our desks. So, I think we’re naturally drawn to our entrepreneur clients, who are also adept at energetically finding ways around conventional economic wisdom in order to succeed. 

It’s time to start an Economic Renaissance. As we hob-nob with current and potential VA clients, remember … we’re all in this together, and outside the box can often be the best place to be.

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.