Layoffs; cutbacks; 401(k) savings accounts drained as the stock market plummets.  The unemployment rate is announced to be at a 16-year high…

It is no wonder that the questions you ask yourself just about every day are, “Am I going to make it?”  “Am I going to even have a job next month?”  “Will my business be in business next month?” Business owners struggle to keep afloat.  Against this backdrop, the daily headlines scream “Bailouts Will Push US into Depression,” “USA 2008: the Great Depression,” “Is the US Headed toward the Second Great Depression?”

By all indications, the American economy has entered into a period of economic recession.  Many blame the extreme covetousness of the predators in the banking industry.  Others blame the folly of home buyers for falling prey.  Still others just down-right blame our government.  Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, economic experts unanimously say the same thing: tough times are here, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Now individuals, families and businesses alike are faced with the task of re-evaluating the way things are done.  Streamlining – making changes toward increased efficiency – is now a requirement for surviving this economic storm.  Team Double-Click’s® modus operandus provides an effective way of doing just that.

Team Double-Click® is a virtual staffing agency, working with tens of thousands of virtual office assistants across the USA and Canada.  Through its thorough screening process, Team Double-Click® provides professional virtual office assistants and professional real estate virtual assistants for businesses.  

For the Business Owner
Marketing and business gurus encourage businesses to learn from the mistakes made by business owners during the first depression.  Many warn that the greatest mistake is doing nothing.  They explain that companies that went under, or lost their lead after the first depression, had foolishly imagined doing nothing would lead to stability and lowered risks. Team Double-Click’s innovative model provides an appropriate and effective response for businesses by helping them shave dollars off their budgets, contain costs, and streamline operations.  Team Double-Click® clients have even seen as much as an 80% savings by using virtual assistants.  One client explains, “Having Team Double-Click® virtual assistants handle the majority of my administrative tasks has cut over $100,000 from my payroll and provided better skills and talents, better accountability, organization, and stability.” 

How is this possible?  Clients are able to reduce overhead costs because they:

• Pay only for the administrative time they use – even when the virtual assistant(s) are on standby;
• No longer have to buy desks, computers, telephones, and other office equipment;
• Are able to entirely eliminate their
• health insurance, sick time, vacation time, plus other benefits;
• Greatly reduce other operating expenses such as electricity and other utilities; and
• Can continue or even increase their marketing, as recommended by the marketing pros, by using virtual assistants to perform these tasks as a much lower cost than an in-office employee.

For the Independent Contractors
Team Double-Click® provides savings to its contractors (virtual assistants) as well.  A contractor eliminates many of the everyday expenses that an individual would incur while commuting to the traditional office every day. 

For starters, an immediate benefit is saving hundreds of dollars per month in gasoline expenses alone.  A contractor could realize savings ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per year in vehicular upkeep expenses.  There is also savings on maintenance, parking, insurance, as well as on reduced wear and tear. 

Oh, did I mention savings on the expenses for all those power suits, dry cleaning costs, power lunches, or just plain old lunch?  Plus, for those who can work around a spouse’s schedule, there are savings on childcare costs, or, at minimum, a reduction in the cost of childcare. Lastly, as a Team Double-Click® independent contractor, one has the benefit of additional *tax deductions.  These may include:

• Deductions for expenses like paper and printer ink, etc.
• Operating and depreciation expenses on their homes;
• A percentage of the rent or mortgage;
• A percentage of the property taxes, insurance and utilities;
• A portion of the household maintenance, repairs or household expenses; and
• Expenses from using their vehicle (gas, insurance, depreciation).

Source: http://www.teamdoubleclick.com/

As I read a recent copy of Backpacker magazine, the Global Warming issue, I thought about how truly ?green? working and hiring virtually really is. I?ve always had it in the back of my mind, of course, but until I read more in-depth how we?re destroying our planet and what?s being done about it, I had a hard time relating the greenness of it all.

So what do we do to help the planet when we work and hire virtually?

Assuming you own a vehicle with a whopping 30mpg and your daily commute is 30 miles each way and you worked at a bricks-and-mortar office (or forced your administrative assistant to drive to a bricks-and mortar office each day) 5 days a week, you (or your assistant) would emit 9,860 pounds of carbon each into the atmosphere per year! So if you hire a virtual assistant, as well as work virtually yourself, you would SAVE an amazing 19,720 pounds of carbon emissions per year. Source: Stanford University?s emissions calculator: http://transportation.stanford.edu/alt_transportation/calculator.shtml. Be sure to stop by the website and calculate your carbon emissions.

While it?s hard to gauge exactly how much paper is used in a bricks-and-mortar office, what I can tell you is that our use of paper has gone down significantly since starting Team Double-Click?, a 100% virtual business. In the old days it was nothing to order as many as 10 cases (yes 50,000+ sheets of paper) in any given month. With a virtual business and by utilizing virtual assistants for 100% of the company?s work, we?re pushing a lot of paper if we use more than 2 reams (1,000) sheets a month. So again, working virtually wins: save on trees, save on carbon emissions caused by the processing and shipping of all those trees, which make all that paper.

If we?re using less paper; we?re using fewer ink toners and cartridges
What about the carbon footprint we leave when we eat all of that fast food when we eat out while working at a bricks-and-mortar office? One article http://openthefuture.com/cheeseburger_CF.html suggests that each of us, by eating three fast-food hamburgers per week, contributes to the emission of 1,188 to 2,013 pounds of carbon per year (this includes the energy used in the cooking of the burger as well as the commute to the burger joint). When you?re working virtually, you usually greatly reduce the number of times per week you eat out, thus reducing your carbon footprint once again. And you tend to use reusable containers instead of all those throw-aways.
Most of us who work virtually also utilize virtual fax and phone systems, which again reduce our carbon footprint through reduced electrical carbon costs as well as reduced paper usage.

If you have kids and you work in a bricks-and-mortar office (or if your assistant is forced to work in a bricks-and-mortar office) you?re contributing to greater emissions with all of those trips to pick up and drop off the kids at daycare.

While I couldn?t find any figures on the carbon footprint left from dry cleaning, we can safely assume it?s considerable. Working virtually significantly reduces the need for carbon-costly dry cleaning.
Think about the ?green? space we save by reducing the number of office buildings being put up.
We hear about green building (the use of reclaimed or recycled building materials) often, but what about totally eliminating the need for that new building. This act alone reduces the carbon footprint in materials-savings.

Let?s talk about the carbon-cost of powering a huge office space. Working virtually, you only have to power the room that you are working in Working virtually, you have the ability to choose green desks, packaging and materials And the most fun ?green? feature of working virtually is the envy of all of your bricks-and-mortar friends, family, and associates!

As you can see, working and hiring virtually makes a significant impact on the reduction of ozone-depleting greenhouse gasses and reduces your carbon footprint. Team Double-Click? and its staff (both internal and outsourced) have worked virtually since 2000 and are proud to contribute to a better planet for our children. If you?re interested in hiring or working virtually and helping the planet, be sure to visit us at www.teamdoubleclick.com.

For more information on working green, please visit http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/12/how_to_green_your_work.php#top10.

About the author:
Gayle Buske is the co-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 26,000 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, practicing Yoga, reading, hiking, flower gardening, and playing with the family?s three dogs and two cats.

Team Double-Click?The original and still the best:? Team Double-Click?s thorough virtual assistant screening process, outstanding customer service, and innovative approach to virtual staffing has earned the company mentions and features in such esteemed media as Entrepreneur Magazine, Staff Digest, CNN Money, NBC News, and even Woman?s Day magazine.? Team Double-Click? is truly setting the standard for the virtual assistant industry.. To find out More about our virtual assistants and service click on following banner:

We?ve had a long running debate amongst our core staff about general worker etiquette. The ongoing topic is that some of the lack of etiquette we see on a daily basis is due to the Information Age itself. We?re so plugged in and turned on but somehow simple business etiquette is lost. Other core staff members make the point that right is still right and wrong is still wrong ? the generations and the Information Age just don?t matter.

Both points are right to some degree but maybe it?s time to go over what the rest of the world views as good etiquette and compare it to the emerging etiquette lapses of late. Things have changed, we totally agree. And for the most part, we like the changes. After all, were it not for the internet and all of the changes it brought, we would not happily work for the greatest virtual staffing agency in the world.

There have been several articles printed lately about ?the new workplace etiquette?. We?d like to explore some of the things many people find disturbing and see if we can?t meet in the middle. How about it? Shall we compromise and work together as a team?

Time Off

One item says you shouldn?t ask for time off ? you should just take it. As independent contractors, virtual assistants do have the right to take off whenever they want and shouldn?t have to answer to anyone. There?s asking as if you were a child asking permission of a parent to stay up late, ?Mr. Client can I take a vacation day??, which we agree, you shouldn?t have to do. But as business owners, we need to take the need of our clients into account and think about the inconveniences we might be causing them. Our job as successful virtual assistants is to take a personal stock in the success of our client?s company. If we don?t care about inconveniencing them, they are going to go to someone who will.

Why not try, ?Mr. Client, I plan on taking next Friday off to spend with my best friend. Will that cause you any inconvenience? If so, is there anything I can do prior to or after my day off to help you get through?? This way you are being considerate of your clients needs by informing them ahead of time. You are problem solving so that they are inconvenienced as little as possible, and your client feels like you care and is still considered the best business etiquette. The client is not going to say ?no, you can?t go?. They?re going to work with you because you worked with them. And it won?t leave a sour taste in their mouth over you. Try this approach next time and see if that client maintains a much better respect for you for it.

Meaningful Work

Okay, we can agree on this one. We don?t want to do anything that we don?t like either, and it can be challenging. As a virtual staffing agency, our company works hard to make good matches and find work that our independent contractors will enjoy, find meaningful, and want to stick with. We also fully describe each position to the best of our ability to give our virtual assistants the chance to turn the work down (before starting it) if it doesn?t appeal. BUT, if someone agrees to do something, good business etiquette dictates that you follow through and complete the task.

It?s still wrong to promise to do something, decide later that you don?t like it, and simply stop doing it. This is where opponents argue that wrong is still wrong. They?re totally right on this one. How would you like it if we said we would cook dinner for you, decide we didn?t want to do that anymore, and simply didn?t do it? You?d be expecting a nice meal, be ready to relax, and find out there is no food. You?d be upset. Think twice before doing the same to someone else ? either business or personal.

Feel Good

We?ve all heard someone say ?This work just doesn?t make me feel good?. That someone is probably right. Their not going to get warm fuzzy feelings from a hard days work all of the time. We?re not surprised. Especially working from home, sometimes we have unrealistic expectations of what our day is really going to be like. If you researched the internet before applying to work at home I?m sure that you found a lot of information describing working from home as relaxing and painting the picture of you, sitting in your favorite chair, chatting on the phone on occasion and watching TV.

Maybe you just found out that working from home is just as much work as working in corporate America and you?re a little disillusioned. Sorry. It?s a tough wake up call. Maybe you wanted to work in theory, but expected it to be easier than a ?real? office?

Try taking a step back on this one. Although we can definitely agree that our work doesn?t always cause those warm feelings, and it may not be as easy as you anticipated, you are providing a service that makes it possible for your clients to be able to run their own businesses, get clients, keep clients, and make money. That should produce a great feeling. You are making it possible for people to live their dreams while you live out yours. If that isn?t enough, even though it isn?t easy, you are making it possible for your family to earn money, raise children, and still be home. You are also not in a suit and tie every day trying to climb the corporate ladder, shipping your children off to daycare, and seeing them at bedtime. A friend of Angel?s says that ?If it feels like work, you are probably doing it right.?

Do you suppose your mom thought it fun to change the sheets on your bed? Wash your stinky gym socks? Run you around to every event you could find to participate in? Guaranteed she didn?t. But it?s all stuff that needed to be done.

Yes, work does need to be overall enjoyable; but there will always be aspects of any job that aren?t fun. Work is about making money, being responsible, and putting food on the table. Fun is what comes after work. Work makes fun possible not the other way around.

I was speaking recently with a woman we met while swimming at the pool. She is a housekeeper for a local hotel and mentioned that recently a group of motocross riders had been staying there. I commented that the extra dirt must have been awful. Her comment, ?It?s been really busy and yes, a lot more dirt, but at least its work and I?m making money.? Amen sister! She?s earning a living without asking for handouts.

A Little Notice Please?

Bear with us here, we?re old school. In the old days (back when we milked the dinosaurs before we walked up hill both directions to and from school) business etiquette said giving two weeks notice when leaving a position was the absolute minimum. Somehow we?ve gone from two weeks to zero minutes in nothing flat. Come on, this really puts clients in a bind. As we try to work with you and your unique needs, we give you most of the concessions you ask for: flexibility, more pay, more likeable jobs, and so on.

Give us a chance to get our feet under us and find someone qualified to take over where you left off before you take off on to a new venture? Thanks! We really appreciate when you do that.

But I Can?t Do It

Yes, you can. Don?t give up so easy. Read the help file, search online, and find a resource that shows you how to do what you need to do. You have the resources and the ability. We know you do. If you try to find out how to do it and can?t, ask for help. Email a mentor. Call a core team member. Call the software?s help desk. We don?t bite, we promise.

LOL BRB I?m OTP

We know it is easier to abbreviate everything and forget grammar, punctuation, and everything else you learned in English class. When communicating with a client, assume they won?t understand what you are saying unless you spell it out. You?ll save yourself time, frustration, and having to redo your work if you spell it out the first time. You?ve been typing since before you could write.

Understanding

There are several things about our new Information World that we can empathize with, understand, and totally agree with.

• Face Time. We hear you: We don?t do face time either. We?re certainly not going to show up just so you can see our smiling faces unless there?s something in it for us. We realize you don?t have to be face-to-face to get work done and get things accomplished. At Team Double-Click? we?re working hard to get our clients to realize you?re not going to play that game. You?re going to get your work done and move on.
• The Speed of the Internet. We?re with you. We want our information and we want it now. We don?t want to wait for it. When we?ve made up our minds on something, it?s time to act on it ? not wait for the ink to dry. Recently, someone actually told us that ?they couldn?t move at the speed of the internet?. Our first thought was, ?what? Are you kidding? Get moving!?
• Problem Solving. Generation Y has the technological ability to solve problems in ways we haven?t thought of before. We missed the computer programming class in high school and the typewriters were the kind that didn?t even use electricity. We were learning to walk up hill both ways to school and carrying water for baths. We know that you can fix problems in ways that we haven?t thought of and we appreciate it when you make suggestions.
• Thank you, you?ve been working hard and we appreciate it. It always feels great to be noticed, acknowledged and appreciated. We like it too. You aren?t alone on that one by a long shot.
• If my way takes an hour, why waste three days? Yes. Sometimes there are faster ways to do old stuff. It drives us nuts when someone asks us to type each email address individually when there is software on my computer that will get those same addresses in 5 minutes, and format them to look pretty. We love it! Be patient with your clients who have to be reminded how to send an email. You may have to explain how your way is faster if you want to do it that way, and it may take a couple tries.
• We want to be friends. It?s great when you can work with someone that you have a friendship. It can be nice to chat about your day and network. We like it too. Just remember, not all clients are going to be your friend. We don?t want you to get your feelings hurt by expecting it.
  Thank you!

We know that you work hard for clients and we appreciate it. We know you are one of the best out there, that?s why you are here. Not everyone is guilty of forgetting etiquette rules, and we know we are guilty of breaking etiquette rules on occasion too. In fact, we?ve been guilty ourselves on occasion, LOL. But, work with us, we will keep doing our very best to find the right clients, give you the hours you want, in the jobs you want. You take note if there is an area you can work on and try to do better. After all, that?s what good teams do.

Team Double-Click?The original and still the best:? Team Double-Click?s thorough virtual assistant screening process, outstanding customer service, and innovative approach to virtual staffing has earned the company mentions and features in such esteemed media as Entrepreneur Magazine, Staff Digest, CNN Money, NBC News, and even Woman?s Day magazine.? Team Double-Click? is truly setting the standard for the virtual assistant industry.. To find out More about our virtual assistants and service click on following banner:

I’ve heard them called by many names as of late: Generation Y, Gen Y, The Plug-and-Play Generation, The Gotta-Feel-Good Generation. What they’re all referring to is the new young generation – our current 20-somethings. Every generation “deals” with the generation who comes after them. Their different views, their different ways of doing things, and so on; this generation is no exception.

Why is everyone talking about this new generation now though? They’ve been coming along for years. They’re in their 20’s now, after all! Because now they’re starting to impact the workforce and because we couldn’t predict their group characteristics until we saw them in action. In some ways they’re changing the landscape for the better, in some ways we oldies would say for the worse.

Regardless of the nostalgia we feel for the “old days” this generation is plunging headlong into the workforce and will impact you and your business at some point. There’s really no sense fighting it. No generation has ever changed the generation which came after it; not once that generation reached its 20’s anyway. These are the kids we raised and we did raise them this way, so let’s figure out how to work with them. To work with them we first need to understand them.

What makes this generation tick (or turn off) and what is the impact on businesses looking to hire them?

Problem: They’re not called The Plug-and-Play Generation for nothing. This generation grew up on video games and television while their parents were out working and making (what they viewed as) better lives for their families. This led to a whole generation of children, now entering the workforce, who need instant gratification in whatever it is they do. Whether its work or play, the satisfaction must be immediate.

Solution: What this means to the business owner looking to hire qualified workers is that you need to be diligent in assigning tasks to (or rather asking the worker if they’d be happy to do the tasks) that they enjoy doing. You must challenge this generation to the capacity in which they want to be challenged.

Problem: This generation waits for nothing and no one. If they don’t like the game, they find a new game to play and new people to play it with – now – not tomorrow or next week. Simple as that. Think pulling the PS2 game out of the player and inserting one they think they may like better.

Solution: This goes back to speed again. They’re used to moving at the speed of the internet, not the speed of the horseless carriage. You’re going to have to give this generation what it’s looking for or prepare to lose them. Regular check-ins individually to gauge their interest and excitement is critical to keeping this generation happy and working for you.

Problem: The Generation Y’s demand that they feel good about what they’re doing. If they don’t feel good about it, they’re not going to do it. Again, simple as that and no amount of money will convince them otherwise. Remember: they watched their parents work and work and work to earn a few extra bucks and what did it get them? Absentee parents who were rich. This generation wants quality, not necessarily quantity.

Solution: Sometimes the work just isn’t all that gratifying. However, you can combat that by showing your gratitude in the work being done. Often the sheer pleasure of helping someone else and that person being grateful is enough for the worker to receive the gratification they need.

Problem: The generation of ADD. Oh yes, this is where ADD became popular. The Gen Y’s are not going to pay attention for long. They want their information fast and to the point.

Solution: Don’t waste time with long drawn out memos and information. Just shoot it straight and fast!

Problem: A recent study suggested that the average tenure in a job for Generation Y’s is 18 months. Wow, what happened to life, or even a few years? Unfortunately those days are but a memory. As older workers retire and leave the workforce, we’re left with the generation we raised and we need to count on them to fill the open positions within our companies. Remember again that this generation watched their parents stick in jobs for life, only to be spat out by the very corporations and unions who claimed they’d protect them – when they were juuuuuusssst about to collect that pension. The Generation Y’s aren’t going to hang around to let that happen to them.

Solution: There’s no changing this generation’s stick ability. So as a business owner you have two options: 1) Make the work enjoyable or 2) Prepare in advance for every single worker’s eventual departure. If you opt with number 1, you need to figure out what it is that makes each and every one of your workers happy. They must be regarded as the individuals they are and with their own set of needs and instructions. Prepare to meet those needs or move on to number 2: The most crucial thing any business owner can do is to have instructions written for every task that is performed within their company. Put all those instructions in a safe place and hang on to them so you can pass them on to the worker’s successor. In staffing, one of the biggest complaints we hear from clients is the need to retrain the next person. I’m sorry – that’s the way it is nowadays. We train and we retrain and we need to be ready for it.

Problem: Lack of office etiquette. Check out this recent article on Yahoo! News about modern office etiquette (and lack of it) http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/careerist/40342. Unfortunately, as the article suggests, the new generation may not even know they’re breaking the rules! Etiquette in their world is far different than that of other generations.

Solution: As my husband and business partner says, “But wrong is still wrong and right is still right”. However, with the internet and a new generation, is this perhaps the new “right”. Maybe, maybe not. If most families are dysfunctional, doesn’t dysfunction become the new “normal”? Unfortunately I think the new generation has us beat in sheer numbers folks. In this writer’s opinion there’s not much we can do but learn to deal.

Problem: As another article http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/careerist/38889 on Gen Y’s by Penelope Trunk suggests: “They won’t play the face-time game.” That means they’re not going to sit in the office just to make you happy. They know that work can be done from home (or from the beach) just as well as it can be done sitting in the office.

Solution: Let ‘em work from home! Why not!? Working from home offers the ultimate in flexibility (something this generation demands) and helps keep this generation of workers happy and working for you.

As a virtual staffing agency, we deal with the same things as you do day in and day out. We’re not immune to the caveats of Generation Y. We deal with the unique issues of this generation through increased back end staff which checks in with and coaches our virtual assistants regularly. We also take great pains to make good matches between clients and virtual assistants and quickly offer to change assignments if it doesn’t “feel right” for the virtual assistant.

?

Yes, this (generation’s issues) results in a higher turnover of virtual assistants but no higher than what you’d experience in the bricks and mortar world. In many respects we shield our clients from the impacts of turnover by quickly locating new help, interviewing and screening for the right skills and attitude. But even as a virtual staffing agency, we still can’t change a generation or their attitudes so we can’t stop the turnover – we can help our clients get through the turnover.

Even with a high-turnover generation, companies can still benefit from all of the pluses of virtual assistance and virtual staffing. The cost savings over hourly in-office staff still exist; office politics is still absent; the speed of bringing in additional help is still present; the benefits of not having someone sitting in your office holds ground; start up capitol needed (desks, computers, phone lines) of hiring help is not a concern; and ultimate flexibility still exists.

In many ways, hiring virtually is a great way to deal with the issues businesses must face with this generation. This generation wants flexibility. Working virtually offers the ultimate in flexibility, which helps keep the generation happy. Virtual staffing fits this generation like a glove and is one of the best ways to put them to work for you.

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:

What can our virtuals do?

General:

• Enter your leads into your CRM (contact relationship management) program.
• Set/cancel/confirm appointments.
• Work with Excel spreadsheets to organize your leads and other data
• Work with MS Word to create mail merges and process mailings.
• Answer incoming calls
• Return phone calls on your behalf
• Type and send letters or contracts
• Make travel arrangements for you.
• Call for quotes for other services. (Any other services: rental cars, moving vans, tailoring, etc. hatever you may need at the time)
• Order services on your behalf
• Write business and task procedures for your business
• Write business manuals for your business
• Screen and answer the your emails
• Prepare newsletters for your clients
• Plan events or meetings
• Arrange and put together teleclasses, seminars or teleseminars
• Proof read your written materials
• Transcribe his or her meetings or speeches.
• Order books and CDs
• Schedule personal tasks such as car maintenance, vacation plans
• Personal concierge services such as ordering groceries, gifts, holiday gifts, birthday cards, etc.
• Arrange cook outs or meetings
• Mail outs such as postcards or letters for marketing purposes
• Preparation of manuals
• Record outgoing phone messages
• Record inbound call answering messages
• Post flyers on message boards
• Maintain Website & Updates (personal and other websites; Craig list)
• Check Voice Mail; Return calls
• Photos (edit and list on websites)
• Research
• Managing Your Virtual

No successful business owner can afford to micro-manage. If you need to micro-manage, you should find someone to sit right next to you in your office. If you can refrain from micro-managing and allow your admin to think and do on her own, you’ll have no problems managing her from a distance. Through proper candidate selection, proper training, clear and concise instructions, and the daily reporting mentioned earlier, there should be no serious problems.

And with Team Double-Click?, we do all of the screening, selection, and preliminary training so you and your virtual can hit the ground running. We don’t stop there, however. Each admin is assigned a Team Double-Click? manager who monitors her progress and communication with you. We step in when needed to correct mistakes and get you and the virtual back on the right track. And this doesn’t cost you a dime.

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:

Why is that though? It?s human nature to cut the ?extras? when business is rough. Marketing is usually out the window first because the bills are typically huge. Followed shortly by staff members that may be dead weight or not as good as they should be. And quite often, especially for small businesses, the owners decide there?s a lot more they can pick up and work on; things that the assistant used to do. There are a couple of great lessons here. There?s downsizing and there?s taking yourself out of the market.

Let?s first explore the idea of cutting off your marketing efforts in this down market. If you chuck your marketing, doesn?t that just cut off your nose to spite your face? A down market is precisely when you need marketing. If not for your marketing efforts, how will those few buyers in the market know about you when they?re ready? Maybe it?s time to look at some old fashioned guerrilla marketing tactics and free marketing. Yes, I said free. Of course we all need to spend some marketing dollars from time to time but what happened to all of the great free opportunities out there? Let?s explore some of them.

Article submissions. One of the greatest things about the ?net is that you can almost instantly become the expert in your market/community/area by writing and submitting articles. A quick search on the ?net will unearth dozens upon dozens of places to post your articles. Of course, that?s what I?m doing right here ? writing an article which my virtual assistant will post to as many free article submission sites as she can find. What does this do? It positions me as an expert. It sends links back to our company web site (thus increasing search engine rankings). It tells people we exist. It drives traffic (and hopefully customers) to our web site. It keeps our marketing alive and fresh. AND ? it doesn?t cost any more than my time to write the article and my virtual assistant?s time to post. Cheap!
Blogging. Wow, what a beautiful thing blogging is. Similarly to article submissions, blogging gives you a voice, makes you an expert, sends links back to your web site, and allows you to engage in conversations with potential customers. Another quick search on the ?net will unveil a hoard of free blogging sites.

Partnerships. In a down market, aligning yourself with complementary companies that can funnel business your way becomes paramount. Do me a favor; sit down and think of the products and services that compliment your business. Don?t look for specific companies just yet. Look for the kinds of products and services. Maybe they?re roofers (who may know that someone really needs to sell), maybe plumbers (who may also know who needs to sell or someone looking to buy), lenders, banks, and so on. Once you have this list together, find all of the companies who fit each category. In other words, find all of the plumbers in the area, all of the roofers, etc. Once you?ve got that list together, call them up and see how you can work together. Can they send referrals to you if you send referrals to them? Which of the plumbers can send you the most referrals? Then start setting up partnerships with these folks.

Co-Advertising. Are there complementary companies (such as the ones you found while seeking partnerships) whom you can work with to create and implement advertising pieces? Advertise both of your services in the same ad and cut advertising costs?

Teleseminars. Check your contacts both locally and nationally ? if you can be creative enough about your presentation topic, you can come up with dozens of things to discuss that others would like to hear about. Solicit your contacts for speaking engagements on teleseminars and plug your wares while you?re there. If you can?t get onto someone else?s teleseminar, do your own. They?re very inexpensive to produce (check out www.freeconferencecall.com) and you can invite your market area to the teleseminar to share some great bit of information. You?ll be the first person they turn to when they?re ready to buy. Try a teleseminar on ?improving the curb appeal of your home to get it sold more quickly? and I?ll bet you?ll have local sellers flocking to listen to you talk. Try ?getting the biggest bang for your buck in a buyer?s market? and the buyers will be knocking down your doors. Be sure to grab their contact information so you can use them as leads!
Radio and TV. Even local real estate companies and agents can position themselves as experts in their field with the local media. Send them your press releases, your articles, your information. Keep working to land a spot or two on the local news and you gain immediate credibility and recognition in your market.

Podcasts. Podcasts can work similarly to teleseminars in that you can solicit to be a guest on others? podcasts. However, you can also put up your own podcasts. Again, cheap, easy, and great lead generators. Check out www.talkshoe.com, which is a great, free podcasting site. Share similar information and think about topics similar to those we discussed for teleseminars.
These are just a few ideas for free (or almost) marketing that you can do even during a good market. But especially in times like these, you can focus on free and cheap marketing tactics without spiting your face. Be creative and I?ll bet you can think of dozens of others.

Firing your staff. They?re always the next to go after marketing. Sure, getting rid of dead, useless weight is always a good idea ? even when you?re prospering. But during lean times you need to be sure that you?re getting what you pay for from the help. What disturbs me, however, are comments I?ve heard recently like ?hired help is a luxury we cannot afford right now? and ?well, I?ll just do a little less selling and take over the administrative functions again? and then there?s ?I was an assistant once, I can surely do it again and save a few bucks.? Wrong, wrong, all wrong! I?ll tell you why.

The best place for you during lean times is out in front of clients and making money ? not setting up drip campaigns in the mailing software and directing phone calls. And how can you set up all of those referral partnerships if you?re preparing post cards for mailings?

So do get rid of those who aren?t helping your business ? that?s good advice even in the best of times. But keep those who are producing for you and who are making your job (selling and getting in front of partners) possible.

What about hiring a virtual assistant? Bricks and mortar produces huge wastes just by its nature: you pay for time you don?t use, you spend more on gasoline, as does your assistant, you pay rent (or a mortgage), you heat the place, and you electrify it, and so on. Have you considered going virtual? Believe me, it can be done. We were once a bricks and mortar business in a previous enterprise. But after going virtual, we?d never go back. Think about it: you only pay for what you use, you don?t pay rent, you don?t have to heat the office, you don?t have to provide desks and computers. You save tons! One of our virtual staffing clients, Jo Ellen Nash, recently said, ?Having virtual assistants handle the majority of my administrative paperwork (and me!) has cut over $100,000 from my payroll and given me better skills and talents, better accountability, better organization and better stability in working from two locations, now in Vail, Colorado AND (as of April this year) Naples, Florida!? Check it out ? you can downsize without downsizing how much your company accomplishes. If you need to downsize, do it smartly ? keep the staff that?s working well and replace the others with virtual assistants.

As this down market cycles through and works itself out, please, don?t let your marketing fall to the wayside and don?t downsize what your company accomplishes! Just go about it a little differently.

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:

Almost 14 years ago, Jim, my now husband and business partner and I were married in the beautiful little mountain town of Ouray (pronounced you-ray) in Colorado. I?d seen the town and fallen in love with it when I was a teenager and I somehow convinced him to get married there, site unseen. Well, he fell in love with the town too. Since that day 14 years ago, it?s been our dream to live in Ouray. For many years we couldn?t do it. We were tied to typical corporate jobs, desks, land line phones, a business that at the time wasn?t mobile, and all of the other things we Americans tie ourselves to. It just wasn?t possible.

Last year, while vacationing in Ouray, it was nearly unbearable for us to leave. Our business was mobile (I?ll get to that in a minute) so our biggest problem with making a cross country move like we were proposing was school for our daughter who would be entering 6th grade that fall.

We started looking into home schooling and any other options we could find. We found an online (virtual) grade school, middle school, and high school called Christa McAuliffe Academy http://www.cmacademy.org. We enrolled our daughter and started making plans to move to Colorado.

So in addition to our business being ?virtual? our daughter?s school is virtual as well. Heck, we?re a totally virtual family! We could work and school from Timbuktu if we wanted to, if they had internet connection there of course.

Back to our business being virtual. What many of you may not know is that Team Double-Click? is 100%, purely, totally, and undeniably virtual. The company has but two employees ? me and my husband and we both work from offices located in our home. Because we both talk so much and so loud, yes, we have separate offices or I?m afraid we?d strangle each other! As for our ?core staff? as we refer to them, they?re located all over the country and work from their home offices. They?re contracted ? not employees and they work in places like Florida, Missouri, California, Idaho, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, and many other states. So true to what we preach as a virtual staffing agency, we are 100% virtual.

To facilitate the virtual atmosphere and the virtual working environment, we utilize virtual phone systems, virtual fax systems, online accounting programs, online CRM programs, and rely heavily on email, instant messenger, and the telephone to communicate and carry on our day-to-day business. Editor?s note: If you?d like more information on the components Team Double-Click? uses to facilitate their virtual office, such as fax and phone systems, check out Gayle?s article Setting Up Your Virtual Office at http://virtualassistants.lakho.com/2008/08/setting-up-your-virtual-office/.

So what all of this virtual stuff means is that we can very easily go to conferences and work while we?re away ? provided we have an internet connection. When we were in the process of moving, we kept in touch by stopping along the way to check email and of course we spoke to our staff via cell phone regularly. We can easily vacation most any time we?d like (though we tend not to because we enjoy our work), again because we can connect anytime via the internet and phone!

The virtual aspects of our life are so liberating and so freeing because we can literally pick up and go anywhere, anytime we want to without worrying about phones going unanswered, about who will open the office, who will do this and who will do that. Our virtual-ness also made our move from Wisconsin to Colorado a breeze!

If you?re at all hesitant about making your company ?virtual?, or working virtually, any one of our core staff members, virtual assistants, or clients would be happy to tell you how great and how freeing it is. Additionally, our core staff are more than happy to help you take the steps to make it happen and show you the ropes. I encourage everyone to start enjoying the added freedom you deserve as an American and work virtually!

About the author:
Gayle Buske is the co-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 22,000 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, practicing Yoga, reading, hiking, flower gardening, and playing with the family?s three dogs and two cats.

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:

What’s really most important when hiring a virtual assistant is doing your due-diligence before you make the hire. Just like anyone else, virtual assistants come with their own personality, life issues, and family situations. Making sure they mesh with what you need are paramount to ensuring smooth sailing after you’ve finally agreed to work with the VA.

Virtual Houdini – The Virtual Assistant Disappearing Act

Yes, it can happen. Back when you worked in the retro bricks-and-mortar world, how often did someone simply not show up for work? They quit, right? Unfortunately this can happen with virtual assistants as well. Perhaps not as often as in the bricks-and-mortar world but it does happen.

Why do virtual assistants quit, disappear, move on? The same reasons they quit, disappear, and move on in the bricks-and-mortar world. Maybe they needed more money. Maybe they became ill and could no longer work. Maybe a better offer came along. Maybe they didn’t like the work.

You can’t entirely avoid the situation itself but there are things you can do to minimize the damage if and when it does. Protecting yourself ahead of time for when it does and realizing that it could happen is your best defense.

Online files. Not only does putting your files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) online facilitate working virtually, but it also protects you if and when a virtual assistant leaves. Simply change the passwords then she’s locked out and you don’t lose any files or have to go hunting them down. Check out www.xdrive.com or speak with your web site administrator about putting your files up via ftp.

Pay withholding. Why not put something in your contract with the virtual assistant that says you reserve the right to withhold pay until work files are returned?
Passwords. As soon as a virtual worker leaves or is let go, remember to change your passwords on everything he or she had access to!

What I Say Versus What I Can Do

Would you hire someone to watch your children just because they say they’re capable of doing so? I didn’t think so. Then why would you hire a virtual assistant (or anyone for that matter) without first finding out what they can do and if they can do what they say they can do? I recommend several steps be taken to test a new virtual assistant contractor before contracting with them. These steps are modeled after our own company’s interviewing process, which has evolved over the years. It’s a lot of work on your part but very worthwhile. If you don’t want to take all of these steps then look for a good virtual staffing agency, like Team Double-Click? who does all of the work for you.

However, be absolutely sure that you send the virtual assistant a 1099 Miscellaneous Income tax form (in lieu of a W2, which employees only receive) each year.

Job posting. In your case you’ll either need to make a posting on a job board, such as CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com, or Craig’s List. Or you can search those boards for virtual assistants looking for work.

Typing test. You want to know your new virtual assistant can type …accurately, right? Send him or her to www.typingtest.com and ask for the results back. Look for a high level of accuracy coupled with high speed.

Computer skills test. Again, you want to know your virtual assistant can use Word and Excel. Send her to www.expertrating.com, ask her to take the free Word and Excel (and any others you want to know about) tests and send you the scores.

First interview. Agree on a time and date for the first telephone interview. Then give the potential virtual assistant your number and have her call you. Have your questions ready. Did she show up on time? Did she answer your questions to your satisfaction? Do her skills still fit?

Work personality. You simply must know if the person you are about to contract is honest, has a high level of integrity, is a team player, and so on. We recommend www.totaltesting.com, where you can ask the potential virtual assistant to take such a test. Now this one costs a few bucks. It’s up to you whether you want to pay for it or require the virtual assistant to pay for it. Just remember – if you ask her to pay for it and you don’t hire her she’s not going to be a happy camper.

Second Interview. The cool thing about Total Testing’s work personality tests is that they give you another set of questions to ask the candidate during a second interview. Have a friend, spouse, or colleague interview this person the second time. Compare notes. How does each of you feel about this person? Will she work out?

Contract. If you’re ready to contract this person it’s time to pull out the non-compete, non-disclosure contract we discussed in the last article. Send it to the virtual assistant for review and signing. Be absolutely sure this is signed before putting him or her to work.
EIN and W9. We also discussed, in the last article, requiring the contractor to obtain a (free) EIN (employer identification number) to further protect you from possible employer/employee claims later on down the road. Now’s the time to ask for this, along with a completed W9 form.
This is the abbreviated version of our process. We throw in a few things like setting up a company email account, and we have a review process, which each virtual assistant goes through. A team of three HR pros discuss each candidate and determine if a contract will be offered. Because we’re a staffing agency, your screening process will look a little different from ours.

Give Me All You Got

Never send a virtual worker a ton of materials (letterheads, envelopes, brochures, etc.). It’s just a safeguard. While it is very rare that someone would leave and not return those materials to you, if they did, how much money would you have tied up in replacing all of those expensive printed materials? It’s just better not to do it in the first place. Send a virtual worker slightly more than what they need to perform the task at hand.

The Five Finger Discount – Identity Theft/Credit Card Number Theft

One of our clients’ biggest concerns has always been identity theft and credit card number theft. In all the years we’ve been staffing virtually, we’ve never seen this happen. It may be that the work personality profile is weeding out the people who might be tempted and our HR department is further ferreting out those who are less-than-desirable, but the other half of it is the contractor mentality of a virtual assistant as opposed to the employee mentality of an …employee!

You can minimize your risk by not giving out your credit card information to a virtual assistant. If you need to give the virtual assistant a credit card number for ordering products or services on your behalf, get a separate card that is used for nothing but items the virtual assistant orders for you. It’s much easier to check over your bill for erroneous charges this way.

Hours Availability

When hiring a virtual assistant, not only do you need to make sure their skills and abilities mesh with you and your business, but you must also be sure the virtual assistant has enough time to take care of your needs. Very simply ask the potential virtual assistant how many other clients she has, how many hours per week she is working, and how many hours she has to devote to you. Does it work with what you need? If not, move on.

The Rate

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never bought something without first knowing what it was going to cost. Important questions to ask before contracting a virtual assistant:

What is the rate per hour?
Are there different rates for different tasks?
If so what are they?
Do you round to the nearest hour or the nearest minute? To the nearest minute is the most desirable.
Is there a start up fee?
If so, how much?
Is there a termination fee?
If so, how much?
Is there a minimum usage?
If so, how much?

Can you work within my budget? In other words, if I can only afford 10 hours per week, what happens when you’ve reached 10 hours? How is that handled?

What are your future plans? How long do you intend to be a virtual assistant? Is this a career for you or a short-term venture for some extra cash?

My philosophy when hiring anyone, virtual assistants included, is to hire slowly and fire quickly. Trust your gut. If you don’t feel that a virtual assistant is working out, let her go immediately and don’t look back. Your gut is probably right. But do take your time hiring. Go through the paces to determine if he or she is the best fit for YOU; it’ll minimize the risk that he or she won’t work out for you later.

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:

Unfortunately, as the industry grows and as more and more people ?think? they can be virtual assistants; bad apples are bound to pop up. Our company alone has seen an increase from 500 VAs in 2003 to 18,000+ currently and growing at a rate of about 200 per week. So let?s talk about the pitfalls and how you can avoid them and protect yourself.

But, But, But, I Must Be An Employee!

If you?ve only heard one thing about virtual assistants and the benefits of hiring them it is that they are supposed to be independent contractors. I recently read a blog post that claimed that ?eventually companies would be required to bring virtual assistants on as employees rather than independent contractors.? I just had to laugh! How in the world can someone who self-directs how they do the work be considered an employee? And as a business owner you don?t want employees. That?s why you hired or are considering hiring a virtual assistant in the first place. You didn?t want the employee ?I want? and ?I deserve? mentality.

I disagree 100% with the opinion of the blog post that claimed virtual assistants will need to be employees. There?s no need for them to be employees. Here are some of the items that you and I, as consumers, need to do to ensure that we set virtual assistants up so we are NOT ever required to set them up as employees.

W9. When you contract a virtual assistant, always ask that they complete a W9 (tax reporting form) and send it to your company BEFORE he or she begins working. This form will give you the virtual assistant?s social security number or EIN number and information for tax reporting purposes.
EIN a.k.a. Employee Identification Number a.k.a. Federal ID number. As an added line of defense, you should ask every virtual assistant or contractor you hire to obtain an EIN from the government. This number alone shows that they are operating as their own entity and not as an employee of your company. They may be Jane Doe d.b.a. Jane Doe Virtual Assistants but it strengthens the argument that they are not employees but rather entities in and of themselves and will keep you out of hot water with the state?s departments for employee relations. The virtual assistant can obtain an EIN online in about 5 minutes and it?s free.
Contract. Anyone and everyone who hires a virtual assistant must have a contract executed between your company and the VA. The contract should spell out the relationship (that of a contractor and not an employee), the duties (what will she be doing for you and what will you do for her), the rate of pay (what are you going to pay him), where are any arising court battles fought, and so on.
Oh Tax Man!

Because a virtual assistant is set up as an independent contractor, you do not need to withhold state or federal taxes, 401(k), Medicare, FICA, or any other employee-related acronym. As an independent contractor, a business entity of their own, it is up to the virtual assistant to obtain his or her own retirement plan, medical insurance, file quarterly and yearly taxes, etc.

However, be absolutely sure that you send the virtual assistant a 1099 Miscellaneous Income tax form (in lieu of a W2, which employees only receive) each year.

Shhhhh?Don?t Tell!

The last thing you want to happen is for a virtual assistant to walk away with your company?s important information if the relationship turns south. It is absolutely imperative that you have your attorney design a non-compete/non-disclosure agreement and then make sure your virtual assistant signs and returns the agreement before beginning any work for your company.

In my next article, Avoiding Virtual Assistant Performance Pitfalls, we?ll go over the things you need to be aware of and look for in the virtual assistant while hiring ? the non-regulatory things.

About the author:

Note: Please look for another article in this series titled ?Avoiding Virtual Assistant Performance Pitfalls?.

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, practicing Yoga, reading, off-roading, hiking, flower gardening, and playing with the family?s three dogs and two cats.

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:

Setting up a virtual office can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but once you embrace the idea and get a feel for the logistics, it?s really quite easy. With today?s technologies and the use of a virtual staffing agency, such as Team Double-Click?, there really are no boundaries. And just think – with a virtual office you can spend more time with your family, work from almost anywhere, and your clients never need know you don?t have an office downtown, if you prefer them not to know. We know many small business owners who proudly tout the fact they are 100% virtual – it?s a bragging right after all. How many people do you know who have that kind of flexibility and low overheads? The numbers are growing, but we?re still an envied few in the grand scheme of the workplace.

Overcoming Commonly-Perceived Hurdles

There are several tasks and items most often viewed as hurdles to working virtually, utilizing a virtual assistant, and maintaining a virtual office. Let?s explore those hurdles and how to overcome them, and have you on your way to setting up a 100% virtual office. Fortunately, all of the commonly-perceived hurdles to working virtually and working with a virtual assistant (VA) can be overcome with relative ease.

Getting the Phones Answered (By Someone Who Is Not You!)

Your VA can answer and direct calls for you quite simply. We recommend a system called Freedom Voice . It?s a virtual phone system that allows your callers? calls to be answered by your VA regardless of where she is in the country. Through the phone system, she can answer in your company name (it alerts her that the call is coming from your business), handle those calls that she?s able to handle, and transfer calls to you or other staff members as necessary.

Team Double-Click? employs this very phone system with great success, as have many of our clients. Even though we are located in places such as Wisconsin, California, North Carolina, California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, and Florida, the Freedom Voice system makes it all seem like we?re sitting in the same central office.

And just as important – your assistant can set the system up so that it only rings to your (or her) office during the hours you choose. So if your office hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, you don?t have to hear the phone ringing during off hours – those calls will go to voice mail where your assistant can retrieve them in the morning. The system can also ?hunt? for you if you?re on the road a lot. Again, your assistant simply programs in all of the phone numbers you want to be located at. The system will first try, for example, your home office number; if it doesn?t find you there, it will try your cell phone, and so on until it runs out of numbers. If it does run out of numbers to try, it will transfer the caller into voice mail so you never miss a call.

Faxing – Most Importantly Having Your Assistant Fax For You

A virtual fax is essential so you don?t have to be the only one who can send and receive faxes. There are two companies we recommend using simultaneously for faxing to and from your virtual office.

The?company we recommend is eFax . With eFax you can SEND X number of faxed pages per month for a flat fee (starting at $19.95/month).

You should set up your letterhead and signatures, etc. so that your published fax number is the Packetel number because of the unlimited inbound capability. Packetel, though, doesn?t allow for outgoing faxes. That?s why we recommend eFax. Because both fax systems are virtual, your VA can fax anything you need. And you can fax files to her for processing very easily since they come in electronically. Just hang on to your hard-line fax machine and you can fax to your Packetel fax number and your VA will receive that information as a picture file in an email. She can process this paperwork or send it on to someone else just as if you simply passed the paperwork across your desk to her.

Order Fulfillment

Order fulfillment is perhaps one of the most often commonly-encountered perceived hurdles to working virtually, yet one of the easiest to overcome. A real estate mentor client of Team Double-Click? handles his order fulfillment for mentoring materials, workbooks, manuals, and CD?s by having his virtual assistant handle them for him.

His virtual assistant orders his printed and audio materials for him from his print shop and CD duplication company. When the VA orders, the VA has all of the finished products shipped to his/her own home office, where the VA assembles them into the appropriate packets. As orders come in, the VA boxes them up and sends them off to the mentor?s students via UPS.

Through UPS online your company can maintain an account, which the virtual assistant can use to have your orders shipped to your clients. If you haven?t checked out UPS online lately, please do. Their rates are very reasonable. They will come right to your virtual assistant?s door to pick up those packages (thus saving you the cost of having your VA run to the post office), all your ship-to addresses are stored in the system for future retrieval, and best of all, your assistant can print shipping labels right from the web site. She can even choose to have the receiver notified via email when the package is shipped, and choose to receive notification them self when the package is delivered. This makes for great tracking ability!

Order fulfillment for your company may also mean sending out paper-packets of information to clients or potential clients. This is actually simpler than sending packages of books and CD?s. All you need to do is forward your electronic copies of those documents to your virtual assistant. Your VA can print them off, put them in an envelope, and mail them to whomever you wish. The VA will ask you for reimbursement for the supplies, and of course, charge you for the time, but it?s done and you didn?t have to handle a single piece of paperwork.

If you want to take order fulfillment one step further and eliminate the need for you to personally touch any of the orders, have your ordering system notify your virtual assistant when the order comes in. Your VA will take care of the entire process and you don?t have to manage or touch any of it.

Your virtual assistant can also send these items via fax to your clients, if needed.

Transferring Large Files

Have a file that you need your VA to work on, but it?s too big to send through email? Piece of cake. There are two services we recommend for very easy file upload and subsequent download by your virtual assistant or a business associate. Both offer free accounts and both work very well. They are:

Save File and Send This File

Filing

Oh yes, now your virtual assistant really can do your filing for you! It?s all a matter of remaining paperless. If you keep everything as an electronic file or picture file you can easily be 100% paperless – no more papers piling up on your desk, no more buying case upon case of copy paper!

Now, for your virtual assistant to actually do the filing, you will need an online or virtual filing system. The one Team Double-Click? recommends is through Xdrive. For just $10 per month you can store up to 5GB of files! You and your virtual assistant can both access your files similar to accessing a common file cabinet in the office or a shared hard drive.

You can simply forward your electronic files to her as needed, and she can file them away into the appropriate folders on Xdrive. Viola – your filing is virtually done.

This also accomplishes off-site storage and provides for easy retrieval in the event of a fire, computer crash, or natural disaster.

Sending Gifts and Cards

How often do you send cards and gifts to clients for special occasions – birthdays, holidays, births, get well wishes, etc.?

There are lots of new and innovative services out there these days that make sending gifts and cards to clients and potential clients a breeze.

One of our favorites for sending flowers is Flowers Across America. You can go to the web site, look over the options and instruct your VA to send XYZ arrangement to Jane Client – quick and easy.

To send greeting cards to clients we like Send Out Cards (use id number 9482 to receive any special promotions). The cards look fabulous and very professional. Here?s how it works: you ask your VA to send a get well card to John Client, your VA goes to Send Out Cards, chooses an appropriate card, enters the receiver?s address, types in the message you want to see on the card, and completes the order. The folks at Send Out Cards print and personalize the card, put it in an envelope, address it, stamp it, and send it off to the receiver. Cards can be purchased for as little as about $1 a piece – a third of the cost of picking up a greeting card at the card shop. And again – you didn?t have to take the time to go to the store, write on the card, put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and walk it to the mailbox – it?s all done for you!

There is no limit to the kinds of gifts you can buy online and have shipped to your desired recipient. Just a few of our favorites:

Vermont Teddy Bear Company
Longaberger Baskets
Yankee Candles
Ghirardelli Chocolates
California Wine Country Gift Baskets
Gift Tree
Bed Bath and Beyond
Pier 1 Imports
Gift Certificates
A Southern Season
With any of these services you can either opt to maintain an account of your own and ask your VA to login with your account info or you can ask your VA to set up their own account, do the ordering, and charge you back for the costs.

File Collaboration

Again, technology comes to the rescue. It?s very easy, these days, to work on the same document along with your virtual assistant. For smaller documents simply emailing the document to the virtual assistant so they can make updates and such works well. Be sure to use MS Word?s ?track changes? function (?tools?, ?track changes?) so each of you knows what changes the other has made.

For larger documents or those in which you need more than two people collaborating, there are two great services we recommend.

LapLink ShareDirect is a great tool for going paperless. It allows instant sharing of 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!
Groove Networks (also note that Groove will be available with MS Office 2007).
Calendar and Outlook Contact Sharing

There?s a great company who has designed a software program which allows you to share your Outlook contacts and calendar with your virtual assistant and vice versa. The program plugs right into your Outlook so when your VA adds a new contact for you, you will automatically receive that contact?s info. Your VA can make changes to your calendar and schedule appointments and they will appear in your calendar. Check out www.4Team.biz.

Meeting With Clients and Virtual Staff

In some cases, of course, you?ll need to visit the client or a business prospect in person to seal a deal. But for the most part, many of your meetings with both staff and clients can easily be handled from a distance. Try these services:

Conference calls: www.freeconferencecall.com. With FreeConferenceCall you can have as many as 99 people on the line at once. Everyone dials into the main conference call line where you can hold meetings, conduct teleseminars, coach, train, or teach.
Online meetings: www.gotomeeting.com. For a few dollars a month you can make use of Go To Meeting, which allows you to simultaneously ?meet? with clients or associates via the web. When you set up a meeting you will be given a conference call line for all attendees to dial in and hear you speak, along with being able to allow them to see your computer screen while you talk. This lets you demonstrate or train on software or show a PowerPoint presentation from the comfort of your own desk and without the travel costs.
Contact Relationship Management (CRM)

Of course, if you wish to have your virtual assistant enter leads into your database, or help with contact relationship management, you?ll need something that?s accessible to both of you. We recommend:

Sales Force
cBiz (this system is designed for staffing but is fully customizable and has many possible applications)
SalesNexus (fee is one year at a time but it works out to about $40 per month per user)
Top Producer (for real estate)
Constant Contact
Bookkeeping, Paying Bills

So many people don?t know exactly how to have someone work virtually on their bookkeeping. There are a couple of options that make this task so much easier than it ever used to be.

The first option we recommend is keeping your QuickBooks program on your own desktop. Then allow your virtual bookkeeper to dial in and view your desktop and perform the bookkeeping remotely. For this we recommend LapLink Everywhere which 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.

QuickBooks also offers an online bookkeeping package which works wonderfully. See what they have to offer at http://quickbooks.intuit.com.

You can use your virtual fax, email, or snail mail to send receipts and such to your virtual bookkeeper for processing. If you choose fax or e-mail, your VA will simply destroy those copies after processing. If you mail them to your VA, they will mail them back for safe keeping after being processed.

Transaction Management (For Real Estate)

Team Double-Click? recently partnered with a fantastic company. They are an online transaction management system called RELAY?. Team Double-Click? has a partnership with the company and as long as you?re using Team Double-Click?s VA services, we can give you free access to the platform. If you?d like to learn more in-depth about RELAY?, please visit www.rebt.com or any of our sales associates would be happy to give you a private demo.

In a nutshell, RELAY? was designed for real estate agents but works equally well for real estate investors. It?s a secure, online area where all documents involved in the transaction (so all of your purchase papers, inspections, literally everything) are stored. You and your VA would have access, via secure login, to view, manipulate, and send those documents to whomever necessary.

What we?d suggest to make your life easier is to have your VA be the person to whom all documents are always sent. Your VA receives them via fax and uploads them to your RELAY? system. You can go in at any time and view those documents, print them, etc. When the time comes to send those docs somewhere (to a lender, broker, etc.) the VA can send them directly from the RELAY? system either via fax or email – eliminating the need for you to ever touch them.

The one time you may need to touch the documents would be to print something to sign it. But again, you can simply fax it to your assistant (via your Packetel account) and they?ll upload it. Through RELAY? you can (or the VA can) pick and choose who is able to view what. So let?s say you have a loan application that you want only the lender and not the broker to see. That?s no problem – the VA marks that person as allowed to see the document (you and your VA can see everything by default). Your VA also sets up a temporary user account (also free) for the lender. Lender receives their own unique login, able to view only that particular transaction and only the documents the VA has given access to. Lender can then print their own documents if need be.

Keeping track of every transaction is exactly the kind of thing RELAY? is built to handle. One thing we like is its ability to keep track of multiple revisions to documents. Let?s say you have a document called Offer to Purchase that is connected to one property. That document later gets revised to modify contingencies, etc. The VA uploads the document again and RELAY? automatically assigns it a version number so you always know which version is the most recent. Plus, you can still look back at earlier versions as reference, if needed.

Armed And Ready To Be Virtual

These are our most commonly-encountered perceived-hurdles to working virtually. Now that you?re armed with how to overcome these, most anything else is certainly possible.

Of course, there are a few added monthly expenses ($19.95 for eFax, $3.95 for Packetel, $19.99 for FreedomVoice, etc.). But add those up and weigh them against renting an office space and you?ve just saved hundreds of dollars a month! And don?t forget…hire your virtual assistant and they can help you get all of these virtual office components set up!

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: