Ivy Hartman: Tricia Kos own Quality Business Solutions, a virtual assistant provider and she’s here with us today to give us a behind the scenes look and what really goes on after you hire a virtual assistant. Welcome, Tricia.
Tricia Kos: Thank you.
Ivy Hartman: Alright, so what happens? What really does happen once you hire a virtual assistant?
Tricia Kos: Oh, everything that happens that could happen in an office from answering the telephones to answering emails, to contacting clients for your customer.
Ivy Hartman: And how does that relationship works so that I know what’s going on with my virtual assistant and there is some communication going on there?
Tricia Kos: Constant communication. For instance, when any of my clients I had, they have a project for me to do. I email them. Sometimes, maybe a little bit more than what they would like to make sure that I have all the aspects of what they want taken care. I pick up the phone if I have to. I can answer message if I have to. We’re always connected.
Ivy Hartman: Very good. Now you started your own business, Quality Business Solutions. Talk about what makes you decide to do that.
Tricia Kos: I need to be in two places at once.
Ivy Hartman: Okay.
Tricia Kos: You know, take care of family and I also still have my own life and so I’ve been an Administrative Assistant since 1992 and there have been many days I’d be at work and we’ve had a lag time and I think, “Men, I could be done a little on here right now.”
Ivy Hartman: Yeah.
Tricia Kos: So, my husband and I discussed it in 2005 and 2006, I opened my doors.
Ivy Hartman: Tricia is there any quality assurance or building trust with your clients at a Quality Business Solutions?
Tricia Kos: Oh yeah, that is one of the most important aspects of keeping your clients because if you don’t keep your clients, it’s like being on a concert interview. We’re constantly vying for job.
I have adopted the Virtual Assistant’s Code of Ethics. It can be found on my website or on a Code of Ethics page and basically, not only does it make me responsible to my clients, it makes me responsible of other virtual assistants too which to me it says something because it tells my clients that I’m not a back stabber. If I have a virtual assistant, when it comes to business, I am back up on work, can you help me? I’m not going to try to steal their clients from me.
Ivy Hartman: How did you go about finding—you started in that small business from scratch how did you find your client?
Tricia Kos: There are many different organizations. You can go to your local Chamber of Commerce.
Ivy Hartman: Okay.
Tricia Kos: You could also go online there and many virtual assistant communities online that you can join.
Ivy Hartman: Okay.
Tricia Kos: And those are really industries specific and they have many small businesses who submit proposals.
Ivy Hartman: Okay.
Tricia Kos: And then you can submit to those proposals and basically done on the jobs.
Ivy Hartman: Now you really rely on, you back up your reliability and trust with your clients so do you offer special guarantees and talk about how you build that trust with your clients? Talk about a little bit, you know, your good communication with them a lot. Tell me more.
Tricia Kos: Definitely. With all of my clients, once I know that I’m very comfortable for what they want in the project, I guarantee the work that I provide for them. If they are not happy with that according to the specifications that they provide me then I will fix it. If it’s too late to fix, then I will offer them that same amount of time, period on another project at no additional cost. I’ve never had an issue but that’s my guarantee.
Ivy Hartman: So you mentioned that you were Administrative Assistant for a number of years but then talk about the other certifications and background and experiences you have for virtual assisting.
Tricia Kos: I have, of course, the Office Management, business courses that I took and addition to that, there are online courses that you can take and they give you certificates that you tag to your website that prove that you’ve gone through these courses and what you’ve done. Certification courses for online and then from there, it’s just your experience and what you do. For instance, building websites so being able to have your customers say something gives you a recommendation that you listen to your website is also very important.
Ivy Hartman: For an entrepreneurs or other business owners who are looking at hiring virtual assistant. How do I go about finding the right fit for me and making sure that somebody has credentials and experience that I must look for?
Tricia Kos: Sure. For me with my clients, I can tell you how you go about it. I have one hour free consultation that I offer to all new prospects and in that time period, we talk about what their needs are and that I can offer them samples of work. I offer them where they can contact any one of my clients and discuss my services and my performance. They can even go back as far as they want to and two or more hours in an office world and talk to those supervisors. I’ve got years of people who back me up and back the work that I can provide for them.
Ivy Hartman: Well, you mentioned that you started the business because you want a flexibility and that’s providing that but what’s your favorite part about being a virtual assistant?
Tricia Kos: Wow. The flexibility is a good one.
Ivy Hartman: Yeah, I think yeah because you have a lot skills and it must be something else that you employ about it.
Tricia Kos: It’s learning because when you’re in an office situation, you’re working for the same company and therefore, you’re doing the same thing over and over and over as repetition and when you’re on your own, you have clients that all have different needs and you’re continually learning new things. You’re always expanding your horizons but it’s like an online education that you’re making money at.
Ivy Hartman: Exactly. So how do you balance the work and the projects you have for your clients and then also growing your business.
Tricia Kos: You have to basically set yourself a schedule like if you go up everyday just like if you went to work and you balance your day at your right time. You set it up from eight to noon, you’re going to work with clients or eight from to noon you want a prospect. You manage your time and make it worth it.
Ivy Hartman: Okay, starting a virtual assisting business, what do I need to have first, A telephone or a computer.
Tricia Kos: High speed internet access, cell phone, computer, fax. Basically you need an office.
Ivy Hartman: Okay.
Tricia Kos: Prayers and there are people out there who incorporate photography into their business so in that case, you would need all those types of programs for photography programs that go their way, cameras, the right printers. So it really depends on what part of a virtual industry that you’re wanting to do as far as the extras and equipment.
Ivy Hartman: Perfect. Thanks, Tricia for being here with us today. We appreciate you joining us. If you like more information about anything that Tricia’s talked about a lot of virtual assistance, you look for more segments right here on SBTV.com. We know it’s important to check the credibility and the qualifications of a virtual assistant before you enter into a relationship with them. So you can find out more information here but you can also contact Tricia directly by going to qbs4u.com.
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