September 11, 2008

Your virtual people
Virtual assistants offer one-person businesses a hand
By Jeff Mucciarone jmucciarone@hippopress.com

Sometimes solo entrepreneurs need some help covering all the bases. But they might not need a 40-hour-per-week employee. Maybe it’s just 10 to 15 hours per month. That’s where virtual assistants are ready to step up.

And Cynthia Morse, whose virtual assistant business is based in Deerfield, is more than willing to be at her client’s sides — virtually.

“[Virtual assistants] can provide a lot of value for someone ... who maybe doesn’t have the room for a full-time assistant or who doesn’t need one,” said Morse, who opened Virtually at Your Service five years ago. “They can pay for the time they need.”

Though she does pitch in with her Web maintenance skills, it’s mostly administrative tasks, such as compiling monthly newsletters, managing contact lists, doing Internet research, proofreading or submitting articles. Her list of tasks each month can extend beyond the professional world, such as putting together travel arrangements, setting up medical appointments or sending out holiday greeting cards.

“It really can be anything,” she said. “I love the variety. It makes it so interesting.”

What Morse is not is a secretary. Through the years, she said, the media hasn’t been spot-on in its representation of virtual assistants. She said reports often confuse virtual assistants with secretaries. But, she said, that’s a completely different scenario.

If close enough, it is possible Morse could meet with a client, but the idea is that Morse would never be physically working in her client’s office. Virtual assistants also are not typically hired on a project-by-project basis. In that sense, she would not spend a couple months working on a project and then move on to another project with another client. Long-term relationships are the key, she said.

“Working together long-term is the goal,” Morse said. Morse has the capacity to work with clients all around the world, she said.

Morse works on a retainer basis, where she is retained for a specific amount of time each month, and then she and the client determine what she’s going to do during that time. She has a minimum monthly commitment of 10 hours, she said. Typically her clients are micro-businesses, which have between one and five employees. The majority of her work is with sole proprietors, she said.

Having spent about 18 years in the corporate world, Morse found out about AssistU, which is a virtual assistant training organization. She applied to its program and became certified in 2003, according to her Web site. (For more information, go to www.assistu.com.)

Teresa Gilbert, who owns her own leadership coaching and consulting business, currently has four virtual assistants working for her. Each has specified tasks and responsibilities, Gilbert said. She has one assistant focused on bookkeeping and correspondence and another whose primary function is Internet research.

Morse works on the technical end of Gilbert’s Web site. She isn’t a Web developer, but she does a lot of fine-tuning and troubleshooting, Gilbert said.

“It’s a lot of technical connecting the dots,” Gilbert said. “When I get stuck, I call Cindy. It’s worked out very well.”

Gilbert, who is the sole proprietor, turned to Morse after she’d had difficulty getting her recently renovated Web site functioning properly.

“I called her when I was a little bit at the end of my rope,” Gilbert said. “She dove right in and she was able to find links that weren’t working, weren’t connected to the right places. She really got us up and running.”

Likewise, Judy Ringer, who runs a conflict and communication skills training company of which she is also the sole proprietor, said Morse has played a big role for her. Morse puts together a monthly newsletter for Ringer’s 3,000 clients and she does a significant amount of Internet research.

“When I think, I could do this, but it’s not the core of my business, how could I let Cindy do it and get back to focusing on what I’m good at,” Ringer said.

Having worked together for nearly three years, Ringer said Morse understands her business needs and Ringer relies on Morse’s judgment on many matters.

But not every potential client is a match. Morse said there is a substantial interview process to determine whether the relationship can work. She has had to turn people away, she said.

“There’s plenty of work out there for all of us,” Morse said. “I’m looking for ideal clients who I can work with and be compatible with.”

“They come in all shapes and sizes,” Gilbert said of virtual assistants. “You need to know what you want.”

For more on Morse’s business, go to www.virtuallyatyourservice.biz.