Soaring Gas Prices! Makes Even More Sense To Hire Virtual Assistant
What happens when gas prices soar to all-time highs of $3.00 and $3.50 per gallon – more in some areas? Recent tragedies, such as Hurricane Katrina, and alleged oil shortages have driven gas prices to an all-time high. Most of us can ride out high gas prices in the short term but what happens when the high prices stick around?
The impact on workers, with gas prices like we’re seeing now, can make working unaffordable. Consider an $8.50 per hour convenience store attendant or fast food worker that must drive a short 20 miles to work and back. With a vehicle that gets even 30 miles per gallon, it costs him or her $3.99 to $4.65 to work. And that doesn’t include a wardrobe, or daycare. If the worker is working 5 days a week, it costs him or her $19.95 – $23.25 for the week. That’s almost 7% of that worker’s pre-tax income in gasoline.
One visitor on an Internet forum says, “Today was a shocker, $41 to fill my Honda Accord. Something’s gotta give somewhere. Unfortunately to make a decent wage I have to drive 50 miles round trip to work and back. Carpooling has not been an option that worked easily for me, but I’m beginning to think I’m going to have to find a way or start discussions about working from home 1 or 2 days a week.”
Another Internet forum poster says, “Honestly the prices of gas already forced me to quit one job due to the distance traveled to go to it.”
This article isn’t meant to be a rant on gas prices. It’s all supply and demand and that’s the beauty of living in America where we enjoy a free enterprise system. The figures and quotes above are meant only for illustration purposes and to show what can happen to workers and their employers when the price of just one commonly-consumed product is jacked up.
So, it becomes unaffordable for workers to work. What does that do to the business owner who hires the workers? If a worker can’t afford to work, he or she might just decide not to work at all, as one person mentioned above. The business owner then has no staff or a reduced staff. The business owner could give the worker a raise to compensate for the higher cost of working. But that would mean passing on higher costs to his clients and so on.
Doesn’t it make more sense then to work and hire virtually? If you omit the need for the worker to commute, you omit the need to increase his or her pay. You omit the worker shortage. By working and hiring virtually, you can now seek workers in any part of the country, without regard to how much that commute is going to cost the worker.
As an added bonus, by hiring a virtual assistant, you now don’t need to raise the price to your customers. And remember, you don’t need to buy your assistant a desk and a computer nor do you need to provide her with heat and electricity. Isn’t that a great way to beat out your competition, by having lower labor costs?
With fuel costs at an all time high, and the trickle down effect this creates, like increased clothing prices, increased food costs, etc. (all of these items are shipped on the back of an 18-wheeler, which also consumes fuel), there’s no better time to look at hiring a virtual assistant. It’s probably even a good time for you to look at how you may be able to work virtually too!
About the author:
Gayle Buske is the founder, president and CEO of Team Double-Click?, the country?s foremost virtual staffing agency. As the head of a virtual staffing agency with over 18,000 virtual professionals in its pool, Ms. Buske is uniquely qualified to aid clients? growth through virtual outsourcing as well as speak to the ins and outs of the industry. Gayle enjoys spending her free time with her husband, business and life partner, Jim, their daughter Madison, Yoga, reading, hiking, flower gardening, and playing with the family?s three dogs and two cats.
Going Paperless
Going paperless. Sound a little scary? Nah, not really. At least it doesn’t have to be. As few as 10 years ago, we kept box upon box of archived paper files. At one point, we had at least 100 of those boxes stuffed to capacity with trees. Unfortunately, it was a necessity. Back then, though, the technology (at least affordable technology) to go paperless wasn’t there. It would have cost thousands of dollars in labor and services to retroactively make all those paper files into electronic files. Fast forward to today and going paperless is quite simple and inexpensive. But why go paperless?
Less physical storage space necessary – save on file cabinets, paper, and folders
Locating files becomes more efficient – it’s as easy as “edit” “find”
Paperless, or electronic storage, is more cost-effective than printing everything and storing it on paper copy – electronic storage space is cheap!
The “ink” on an electronic copy of that important whatever won’t eventually fade like a paper copy will
Files are more easily transferred from your archives to an associate who may need to see it
You don’t need to pay an assistant to constantly do your filing for you. With electronic storage, it’s a snap to quickly “save as” into the appropriate folder on your hard drive
Of course, there can be some disadvantages to going paperless too:
Because electronic media is susceptible to power surges, scratches, and the like, there is a risk of losing that data
You MUST remember to back up your disc drives and keep a copy of that data in a safe place – off premises preferably
You’ll likely have to do your own filing unless you want your assistant to access your computer
Even if you’ve been a long-time packrat of paper files, there’s no reason you can’t start going paperless now. Start by making a conscious decision NOT to continue printing and filing everything that comes across your desk. Just as you would keep your paper files organized by setting up folders for various topics, do the same for your electronic files by creating folders in Microsoft Explorer
Depending on your filing system, set up folders for things such as “Clients”, “Prospects”, “Form Files”, “General Information”, etc. Within those folders are more folders. For example, your “Clients” folder should contain a folder for each client. Your “Prospects” folder should contain a folder for each prospective client and so on. Then, when that prospect becomes a client, you can simply drag his or her folder over to your “Clients” folder
Save all files that seem important.
Before the virtual world, business people were conveniently divided into 2 categories: filers and pilers. Filers kept things that they thought they might need, but dumped the rest. They could fill up a wastebasket of paper in half a day. Pilers, on the other hand, saved everything. Their wastebasket was for decorative purposes only. They’d save the most trivial of things “just in case”.
The virtual world has ended this distinction. Now, you can (and should) be both.
For the Pilers:
Keep all of your files; or most of them. Just create more folders to store them in. If you require more hard drive space, just go out and get it. Hard drive space is ridiculously cheap compared to even a decade ago.
For the Filers:
As soon as you’ve received or created a new file, save it to the appropriate folder. Naming your files appropriately will facilitate retrieving those files easily later on. Your filing system should first and foremost be one that you can understand and easily remember – it should make sense to you. When you name your files use as many characters as you need in the file name so you can search on a portion of that name later. It should give a good, but brief, description of what the document pertains to. Most people have used Windows Explorer’s search feature. If not, practice with it until you can easily locate your files. It’s a pretty powerful tool and very user-friendly.
There are a few other tools that will help you with your goal of going paperless:
eFax (http://www.efax.com) is what we use here. For a nominal monthly charge, all of your incoming faxes will come to you by way of email. Yep, they’re dumped right into your inbox as an attached picture file.
Adobe Acrobat (the full version – not reader (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html) allows you to take almost any file, select the “print” option, and print to the Acrobat Distiller. This will turn the document into a .pdf file. A very easily transportable and easy-to-file file type, almost anyone can read a .pdf file. This makes sending your documents (and protecting them) a breeze. As a side note, when I receive an eFax document, because the file type isn’t so universal, I print from my eFax viewer to my Acrobat distiller, making the fax into a .pdf file. I then file the .pdf version, making it more transportable and viewable.
Scanners are another tool that is indispensable in the paperless world. Virtually any piece of paper or photo that you receive can be scanned and made into an electronic picture file. After you’ve created that picture file, you can email it to anyone you’d like as well as store it in your electronic files on your hard drive
LapLink Everywhere http://www.laplink.com/products/lle/overview.asp can facilitate having your virtual assistant do your electronic filing for you. It includes remote desktop search from any Web-enabled device (powered by Google Desktop Search) Laplink Everywhere lets you choose how you want to work and which device with internet access you want to use to access your PC. It?s easy and fast to set-up and simple to use
LapLink ShareDirect http://www.laplink.com/products/sharedirect/overview.asp is another great tool for going paperless. It allows instant sharing any folder on your PC with one or thousands of users, without ever having to change or manage your Internet, firewall, or router configurations. And it is 256-bit encrypted.
Hopefully you can see how going paperless can benefit almost any company or individual. The cost savings alone are enormous; reducing the amount of paper, ink, and folders you need to purchase.
Team Double-Click? provides virtual assistance for small and home-based businesses. Visit Team Double-Click?s Web site at http://www.teamdoubleclick.com or click on the banner:
Communicating with your virtual assistant: New technologies make it easier than ever
One of the most-oft asked questions we hear is,
“How do I communicate with my virtual assistant?”
A very valid question but also a very easy one to answer. First, you must remember that your professional virtual assistant is a human being, just like you, and just like someone who may sit in the office right next to you. She has feelings, morals, standards, kids, pets, and a life – just like you.
While I can’t speak for other virtual staffing agencies, at Team Double-Click?, we go to great pains to be sure our clients can communicate directly and openly with their virtual assistants. This ability is vitally important to any business relationship and especially that of a businessperson and his or her assistant. Without that communication, there is no exchange of ideas and tasks.
We do monitor communication between our virtual staff and our clients, but this is simply the mechanics of our business model in motion. We monitor these communications to first be sure the communications are there and second so that we can step in if we spot a problem or see something that can be done more efficiently. However, we encourage our clients to get to know their virtual assistants on a personal level as well. As with any relationship, the better you know one another, the better you’ll be able to anticipate one another’s moves, needs, and pet peeves. Now that the “why” is out of the way, we can talk about the “how”.
Of course, there are several options for communicating tasks, assignments, and other matters to your virtual assistant:
E-Mail is a very effective mode of communication when working virtually. It allows you to quickly attach a file and send it to your virtual assistant so that she may make changes, print a letter and mail it, or keep it as a reference. Be sure to talk to our Client Services Rep Denise Schrock or your virtual administrative assistant if you need help attaching and sending files.
Using the telephone to communicate with your virtual assistant, while obvious is quite underutilized and so simple to do. Tired of looking up your virtual assistant’s phone number each time? Simply program her phone number into your office phones and cell phone’s speed dial. One-touch dialing your virtual administrative assistant is a snap and no harder than buzzing a bricks-and-mortar assistant in the next room
Instant messenger is another example of a wonderful technology, which is underutilized when it comes to communicating with virtual assistants. There are several excellent instant messaging programs and they’re so easy to use.
IM programs to check out:
Yahoo: http://messenger.yahoo.com
MSN: http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=MSNTDLINK
AOL: http://www.aim.com
ICQ: http://www.icq.com
With an instant messaging program you can, with just a couple clicks of the mouse, type messages back and forth with colleagues and your virtual assistant – all in real time. You type, she types, and before you know it, the questions you and she had are all answered and you can move on.
Caution – time wasting opportunity: It’s easy to get hooked into “chatting” with someone on IM, which can soak up a lot of time. IM should be used for quick questions and quick answers, and then back to your tasks. IM was not meant to take the place of the telephone for giving lengthy instructions or holding very involved e-versations.
Snail mail, while very retro, it is sometimes necessary. With so many technologies at our fingertips these days, there’s very little use for snail mail except for the most formal of business communications, marketing mailings, or sending supplies to your virtual assistant.
Faxing your virtual assistant is also a popular means of communicating tasks and lists to your professional virtual assistant. However, if the items you’re intending to send via fax are in electronic (editable) format already – it’s best to send it as a file attachment. That way your virtual assistant doesn’t need to retype everything and spend unnecessary client dollars. Check out eFax at www.efax.com for the latest in electronic faxing – there’s almost no need for a landline fax anymore.
VOIM (voice over instant messenger) is my new favorite communications toy. What VOIM allows you to do is simply pull up your instant messaging program, click your virtual assistant’s name, click the call button, and voila, it rings through the computer to her. Once the connection is established (which only takes a second or two) you can talk with your virtual assistant through the computer – no phone line involved). You can then quickly delegate tasks, give instructions, or ask questions without stopping to look up her phone number, and without typing out a lengthy email. At Team Double-Click?, we’ve begun implementing the Yahoo! VOIM program and with wonderful results. If you’d like to give it a try, go to http://messenger.yahoo.com and download the software – it’s ridiculously easy to use and best of all, it’s free!
Just keep in mind that VOIM will only work with other people who download the newest version of the Yahoo! software and have a microphone and speakers on their computer.
There are many great ways to communicate needs, likes, dislikes, tasks, and training to your virtual assistant. It’s all a matter of personal preference and what you’re most comfortable using. Professional virtual assistants are flexible and will be happy to use whatever mode of communication you prefer. As technology advances even further, well, who knows how we’ll be communicating next year or even next month!
Team Double-Click’s Pricing Reduced!
We had such a great response to our Virtual Assistant Sale these last couple of months that we’ve decided to reduce our pricing for good. Rather than going back to a base rate of $25/hour for general admin, the new rate is $22.50/hour. This includes the services of a TCE or TCRE virtual admin as well. Please contact your rep for details or visit us on the web at www.teamdoubleclick.com.
Do your Small business need Help? Hire a professional virtual assistant!
Is your business short on help? Good help, that is? Did the best Administrative Assistant you ever had leave because her husband was relocated to Timbuktu? Now what? You?ve been through countless resumes and none of the candidates seem to measure up. Maybe you need extra help once in a while, just to keep your regular Admins head above water. Are you a small business owner who can?t afford, or don?t have enough work, for a full-time secretary?
Why not hire a Virtual Assistant or VA? Gaining in popularity among large and small businesses alike, VA?s can help bail you out of a rough spot on a temporary basis or even work long-term just like a regular employee.
In today?s soft economy and world of corporate scandals, failures, and layoffs, many a good employee has been ousted from his or her job. The ambitious ones are out there daily trying to find a new position. Trouble for them is the help wanted section of most newspapers has become extremely thin. Most people can?t go very long without some sort of income. So, the most ambitious and resourceful are making their way back into the working world any way they can. For many, this means starting a business of their own.
What does a person do when all they know is secretarial? What do they do when they need to feed their family and pay the mortgage? They don?t go work for minimum wage at a fast food chain (well, some do). Many create their own business and several are opting to become virtual assistants.
What does a virtual assistant do?
In short, a VA can do just about anything a regular employee can do. You just won?t see his or her face every day. Many assistants are Jack?s or Jill?s of all trades, some are more specialized, but here?s a list of some of the things a virtual can do:
- Accounting
- Bookkeeping
- Human resources
- Concierge services
- Collections
- Sales
- Marketing
- Travel arrangements
- Research
- Word processing
- Appointment setting
- Meeting arrangements
- Event planning
- Letter preparation
- Transcription
- Reports
- Proof reading
- Manuals
- Newsletters
- Flyers
- Mailings
- Data entry
- Data processing
- Document scanning
- E-mail processing
- Answering phone calls
- Procedure documentation
- Customer support
- Copyrighting
- Web design
Virtuals are typically a very intelligent bunch as well. Many are college educated and even more have countless years of excellent business experience to draw upon. This comes in very handy when you?re looking for ideas.
How does a virtual work?
Virtual assistants come in all shapes and sizes, just as any business does. Typically, however, VA?s work from home-based offices. They?re the savviest of the savvy when it comes to operating on a low budget and using technology to their advantage. Most are equipped with the latest software (and lots of it), multiple phone lines, Internet, e-mail, fax machine, cellular phone, copy machines, scanners, and a great attitude. Many even come with a cat or dog! He or she will use all of the latest technology to communicate with the client and get the work done as quickly as possible. And, possibly best of all, they only ?clock in? when they?re on your project, not while they?re sitting at your desk, using your electricity, playing solitaire!
What?s all this going to cost?
All well and good, right? But aren?t virtual assistants more expensive than regular employees? Absolutely not! Actually, a virtual is far more cost effective than a regular employee. You may pay more per hour than a regular employee, but leave out the FICA, state unemployment taxes, Social Security, health insurance, vacation time, sick time, 401(k), profit sharing, Christmas bonus, holiday pay, and other benefits you need to offer a regular employee, and a virtual?s wage comes out far lower than that of a regular employee.
A virtual can save money in other areas as well. How much does it cost you to maintain office footage, a computer, a phone line or two, a refrigerator, a microwave, a desk, electricity, heat, air conditioning, and parking for your regular employees? With a virtual, you don?t need any of those things either – he or she supplies his or her own.
The fee for a virtual usually depends upon the area of the country where he or she is located and their area(s) of expertise. Virtuals charge between $15 and $75 per hour. But, you only pay for the time he or she actually spends working on your tasks. Some will ask that you pay for a ?minimum guaranteed usage? each week or month. Many will also agree to work for varying hourly rates depending on the task. For example, if they?re to perform basic word processing, the fee might be $18 per hour, but if they?re expected to research the legalities of transforming your LLC into a Corporation, they may charge $45 per hour. Yet, others may agree to a flat fee based upon individual project requirements. Either way, you come out ahead.
Why should I trust someone I?ve never met?
VA?s are as concerned with your business success as they are with their own. In fact, their success depends on your success. So, a virtual can become one of the best assistants and business partners you?ve ever had. Just like you, they are business owners and very interested in helping their clients.
Virtual versus temp or temp agency
Virtual assistants tend to work harder than the average person issued to you by a temporary agency. Keep in mind that the temp agency is charging you as much as 20% more than the worker is actually getting paid. This practice often leads to the use of unskilled or unacceptable laborers. Hiring a virtual allows you to choose who works with you. You?ll also need to provide all of the temp?s supplies like paper, toner, pens, computer, electricity, etc, whereas, the VA comes with his or her own supplies.
How many times have you hired a temp who you spent time training, only to have her stick around for three weeks, then you had to train yet another temp? A virtual, as we mentioned, is in this to succeed and help you succeed. You?ll have to train him or her too, but only once!
Oh, yes, and you still need to pay the temp while she sits there and waits for another assignment from you. Not with a virtual. While she?s waiting for the next assignment from you, you can bet she?ll be working on something for another client.
Choosing a virtual assistant
Now that you?ve decided to hire a virtual assistant, how do you go about choosing one? There are several things you need to know before you start looking:
What exactly do I need help with?
What expertise does the VA need?
How much do I have to spend?
How quickly do I need this project done?
How long will I need virtual assistance?
How often will I need my VA to work?
What hours should he or she be available?
What days of the week?
Is there any specific software he or she needs to have?
Is what I need accomplished so specific that I?ll need to incorporate some training time?
How will I pay him or her? Visa, MasterCard, Check, Paypal?
How do I want to communicate with my VA? Phone, e-mail, snail mail, or a combination?
Does my VA really need to be located in a particular time zone, country, part of the country, city?
Any other particular qualities you?d like your virtual assistant to have?
Just as you would screen someone who would apply to work in your office, you?ll still need to spend a little time screening your virtual assistant. You?ll need to tell him or her what you need and want, and what is and isn?t acceptable. You?ll also need to negotiate pricing and terms with the virtual.
The best thing you can do to ensure you receive the help you need, is behave as though you?re choosing a new car. Push the buttons, turn on the stereo, kick the tires, and ask, ask, ask. Listen to what the potential VA has to offer you as well. He or she may even be able to do several other tasks, which you hadn?t counted on, or even offer some very sound business advice.
Who benefits by using a virtual assistant?Large corporations
- Small businesses
- Home based businesses
- Busy executives or managers
- Entrepreneurs
- Students
- Even individuals who just need a little extra help
What happens if I don?t like the VA I?ve hired, or s/he doesn?t work out?
Unless you?ve signed a contract guaranteeing a particular amount of time or pay, the answer is rather simple: you just don?t offer any more assignments. If you do happen to have a bad experience with one virtual, however, don?t let is sour you from finding another. Treat it as though you simply had a bad date. Bad dates to happen and some people just aren?t compatible. Get back out there and look for another VA that better suits your needs or personality.
A win-win for everyone
The use of virtual assistants truly is a win-win for everyone involved. For the employee-challenged business, VA?s dramatically increase your labor pool. And, for the cash-strapped entrepreneur, virtuals save money – lots of money. What?s more, it?s better for the environment to hire a virtual. Just think of all the vehicle emissions you?ll be saving by having one or two workers telecommute. As for the VA, they typically enjoy a better quality of life, as they are also able to be home and raise their children in between working on your projects.
Team Double-Click? provides virtual assistance for small and home-based businesses. Visit Team Double-Click’s Web site at http://www.teamdoubleclick.com or click on the banner:
