small business owners , clients alleviate tasks , allowing time concentrate

By: Janice Byer, MVA

A VA works WITH their clients to help alleviate some of these tasks, allowing them to free up some of their time to concentrate on generating revenue and building their businesses.

Virtual Assistants (also known as VAs) are home-based entrepreneurs who take pride in providing fellow small business professionals with a wide range of office tasks, from administrative support to web design & maintenance. VAs are able to provide professional, creative assistance without ever having to go into the client s office.

Being small business owners themselves, VAs understand that success comes to entrepreneurs when they provide the best possible customer service. But, great customer service can sometimes be hard to upkeep when you are spending valuable time trying to stay on top of the non-core tasks that are a part of running a business.

A VA works WITH their clients to help alleviate some of these tasks, allowing them to free up some of their time to concentrate on generating revenue and building their businesses.

But, how do you know when you really need the services of a Virtual Assistant?

1. Your inbox pile just seems to be getting higher, and each day you fall farther behind. 2. Your day timer just doesn t seem to be able to keep you organized. 3. The important tasks are getting lost in amongst everything else and, when you do locate them, you find yourself rushing to meet a deadline. 4. You don t feel comfortable taking on an administrative task that requires a specific professional appearance. 5. You find you aren t delivering to your clients as fast as you would like to as you have too many other things on the go. 6. You have a project that you need to get done but you aren t sure how to accomplish it. 7. Your administrative tasks have you so overwhelmed that you just don t seem to have time for anything else. 8. You spend so much time working that your family says it s like living with a stranger. 9. Your business is booming by you have no one to share it with or draw on for support. 10. Your website looks the same as it did two years ago, or

11. Your website is just a figment of your imagination. 12. You dread looking at the piles on your desk and wondering when you will get everything accomplished. 13. Running your business just doesn t have that same fulfillment as it used to because you re spending too much time doing the non-core tasks and not doing what you love the most. 14. You wonder where your life has gone. 15. FREE TIME? WHAT S THAT?

Operating a business should not have you stressed out and wondering how you are going to make it a success when you are so busy doing everything yourself. You started your business because it involves what you love to do. But, the non-core tasks that are involved with running a small business should not be a discouragement.

Virtual Assistants are in business to help you alleviate some of that added pressure by taking some of it off of your shoulders. They want you to succeed and will do everything possible to see that happen.

From general word processing to graphic design to website design, a VA s specialties can be just what you need to allow you to get back to running your business instead of it running you.

About the Author

Janice Byer is a certified Canadian Virtual Assistant & Master Virtual Assistant, owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (http://www.docutype.net), and winner of several prestigious awards. She writes "been there, done that" articles to help small business owners become successful. And, her award winning monthly newsletter, Virtual TidBits, allows her to share tips, links and articles to her subscribers in an effort to make their business and online presence more successful. As a contributing writer to several online publications and an occasional contributer to numerous print publications, she is now being sought to be the subject of various profiles. Her passion for her business and her desire to help all small business owners has lead her to be an expert, of sorts, in her field. She knows what it feels like to search endlessly for information and run up against brick walls. Her website, newsletter and articles are her way of trying to alleviate that frustration for those that are now looking for answers.