Small Business Solutions - Virtual Assistants Video

Get it off your chest – be the first to comment on this video!

Small Business Solutions - Virtual Assistants

Ivy: So you need a little help when your day-to-day activities in running your small business but you can afford put a full time secretary in your payroll. And that’s where a virtual assistant can come in. Sharon Williams owns her own virtual assistant company called “The 24-hour Secretary.” Sharon here’s with us to share a little bit more about virtual assisting and about “The 24-hour Secretary.” Welcome Sharon to SBTV.com Sharon: Thanks. Ivy: Absolutely, I’m might have a middle profile here. I think I have the conception that a virtual assistant just provide secretarial assistance virtually, am I wrong? Sharon: Yes, you are wrong. Ivy: But tell me correctly, tell me more about what a virtual assistant does. Sharon: Well, originally a virtual assistant provided only administrative and secretarial support. But over the years, VA duties has expanded so much that they can include anything from internet to port services, author assistant, working with realtors, of course administrative and secretarial support, web marketing it’s just so many things that we do now that we can pigeon hole and just say secretarial administrative services anymore. Ivy: Tell me more about your company, “The 24-hour Secretary.” I really want to know how can you offer services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sharon: We started back in 1990 so go back to those years and quite frankly virtual assisting was even existent then. But we provided administrative and secretarial support to local companies in Maryland. The word got out that we were in existence and the concierge association in the hotels started contacting us to the batches of travelers were coming into town for conventions. And as a result of our connections with them and the quality of work we’ve provided. Those individuals when they went back home, contacted us, set us work by fax or overnight express or whatever way to us to continue doing their work. So that’s how “The 24-hour Secretary” became in existence and we’ve been providing those services first locally then nationally and now in the international basis. Ivy: How? Talk about the existence that you have working for you. So that you can keep that business going 24 hours a day, 7 days a week because I know that you have to sleep. Sharon: If we go back many years ago. I didn’t actually provide all that work myself, then my daughter pitched in and she started helping and then actually the part where we need an additional support. So we have individuals that work from all over the world. We have a division England, in Australia, South America and of course United States and Canada. They’re everywhere and based on their own time zone they’re able to provide the work that we need done and turn it over back to the client based on where the deadline is. Ivy: Talk about your background. You started the company after you were laid off just before like in the late 80’s. So talk about your credentials and the process that you’ve gone through to start the business. Sharon: I was laid off in 1989 and said I would never have anyone else to turn to if I was going to get a paycheck. And that drive along with my background of my family actually being entrepreneurs just a natural transition for me to also become an entrepreneur. I worked at Domino’s Pizza to raise money so that I could purchase the equipment that I wanted and needed and eventually open my doors. Set our date which was November 1, 1990. And open the doors and start up the business with no clients and individuals saw that we we’re on business and I can recall plenty of time when because we’re open 24 hours a day, people would see us working in the office because we didn’t have shades in the office. So that people couldn’t look in and out and they could see that’s working there and they would actually pullover my car, get in to their trunk and bring work and say, “Can you do this?” and that’s how we grew. Ivy: Wow, now today do you still own working motor locations or how do you operate “The 24-hour Secretary?” Sharon: No, we actually own two originally and we’ve decided why have that additional over here. We’ve bought everything in-house and since 99%of our clients so a virtual one located around the world. We didn’t need retail locations anymore, so we now do everything from home and from our teammate’s homes. Ivy: What is a client of yours need to have, kind of capabilities they didn’t have in order before they go ahead and decide that there going to outsource or contract with a virtual assistant. Sharon: Well we ask them first to do a survey. To identify the task that they say want us to accomplish. Then we ask them also to identify everything they do for a week, administratively as well as any other things. And we did interview with them and determine exactly what we can take over for them on their behalf. Things that we can gradually move into a system that can take that load off of them and then they in turn can have more time to perform task that they love, responsibilities that they are passionate about. Ivy: How many independent contractors do you have working for you at “The 24-hour Secretary?” Sharon: We have 57 worldwide. Ivy: And when you work with the client, didn’t you know what those different fortes are for all your dependent contractors that kind of match them up with their clients? Sharon: Absolutely, we also screen our virtual assistants. You have to have a certain amount of experience and we normally require five years of experience in administrative role. And that’s not just like being a clerk type assistant but you need to have had a responsible position because you’re actually managing the client’s projects. So you need to have that responsibility and also make sure that you’re dedicated because that’s very important. There’s no time to watch the soaps when you saw me working or going out with your friends when you have a project on your table. So it’s important that you meet their deadlines and if you don’t need their deadlines, we lose clients. Ivy: That’s an order, I’m sure that the credibility factor comes in and the value and quality of the work. What do you enjoy most about business? Sharon: Number one is marketing. I love marketing I love helping our clients succeed in whatever their projects are and it’s just the passion that we give our clients and they feel it and then sensed it. Because, when they succeed we succeed and as long as we’re helping them succeed, they will still retain our services. So it’s like a receptacle relationship and it is a partnership. We want to make sure that they are successful and whatever it is that they’re doing and to do that we partner with them and become integral parts of their business. And we can actually handle a lot of responsibilities that they traditionally handle but either dislike, don’t have time for, pull off on the sideburn and say I’ll get to it tomorrow and then never get to. They handle jobs over to us and then they are free to do things that they’re passionate about. Ivy: Well, thank you Sharon. If you got a task that you need to delegate or you’re an over stretched entrepreneur. You know exactly who to contact and get a hold of Sharon by going to The24hourSecretary.com. You can also look for more segments with Sharon right here on SBTV.com.

Small Business Television Network

For More Small Business Advice,visit sbtv website

http://www.sbtv.com/

Ivy: So you need a little help when your day-to-day activities in running your small business but you can afford put a full time secretary in your payroll. And that’s where a virtual assistant can come in.

Sharon Williams owns her own virtual assistant company called “The 24-hour Secretary.” Sharon here’s with us to share a little bit more about virtual assisting and about “The 24-hour Secretary.” Welcome Sharon to SBTV.com

Sharon: Thanks.

Ivy: Absolutely, I’m might have a middle profile here. I think I have the conception that a virtual assistant just provide secretarial assistance virtually, am I wrong?

Sharon: Yes, you are wrong.

Ivy: But tell me correctly, tell me more about what a virtual assistant does.

Sharon: Well, originally a virtual assistant provided only administrative and secretarial support. But over the years, VA duties has expanded so much that they can include anything from internet to port services, author assistant, working with realtors, of course administrative and secretarial support, web marketing it’s just so many things that we do now that we can pigeon hole and just say secretarial administrative services anymore.

Ivy: Tell me more about your company, “The 24-hour Secretary.” I really want to know how can you offer services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sharon: We started back in 1990 so go back to those years and quite frankly virtual assisting was even existent then. But we provided administrative and secretarial support to local companies in Maryland.

The word got out that we were in existence and the concierge association in the hotels started contacting us to the batches of travelers were coming into town for conventions. And as a result of our connections with them and the quality of work we’ve provided. Those individuals when they went back home, contacted us, set us work by fax or overnight express or whatever way to us to continue doing their work.

So that’s how “The 24-hour Secretary” became in existence and we’ve been providing those services first locally then nationally and now in the international basis.

Ivy: How? Talk about the existence that you have working for you. So that you can keep that business going 24 hours a day, 7 days a week because I know that you have to sleep.

Sharon: If we go back many years ago. I didn’t actually provide all that work myself, then my daughter pitched in and she started helping and then actually the part where we need an additional support.

So we have individuals that work from all over the world. We have a division England, in Australia, South America and of course United States and Canada. They’re everywhere and based on their own time zone they’re able to provide the work that we need done and turn it over back to the client based on where the deadline is.

Ivy: Talk about your background. You started the company after you were laid off just before like in the late 80’s. So talk about your credentials and the process that you’ve gone through to start the business.

Sharon: I was laid off in 1989 and said I would never have anyone else to turn to if I was going to get a paycheck. And that drive along with my background of my family actually being entrepreneurs just a natural transition for me to also become an entrepreneur. I worked at Domino’s Pizza to raise money so that I could purchase the equipment that I wanted and needed and eventually open my doors.

Set our date which was November 1, 1990. And open the doors and start up the business with no clients and individuals saw that we we’re on business and I can recall plenty of time when because we’re open 24 hours a day, people would see us working in the office because we didn’t have shades in the office. So that people couldn’t look in and out and they could see that’s working there and they would actually pullover my car, get in to their trunk and bring work and say, “Can you do this?” and that’s how we grew.

Ivy: Wow, now today do you still own working motor locations or how do you operate “The 24-hour Secretary?”

Sharon: No, we actually own two originally and we’ve decided why have that additional over here. We’ve bought everything in-house and since 99%of our clients so a virtual one located around the world. We didn’t need retail locations anymore, so we now do everything from home and from our teammate’s homes.

Ivy: What is a client of yours need to have, kind of capabilities they didn’t have in order before they go ahead and decide that there going to outsource or contract with a virtual assistant.

Sharon: Well we ask them first to do a survey. To identify the task that they say want us to accomplish. Then we ask them also to identify everything they do for a week, administratively as well as any other things. And we did interview with them and determine exactly what we can take over for them on their behalf. Things that we can gradually move into a system that can take that load off of them and then they in turn can have more time to perform task that they love, responsibilities that they are passionate about.

Ivy: How many independent contractors do you have working for you at “The 24-hour Secretary?”

Sharon: We have 57 worldwide.

Ivy: And when you work with the client, didn’t you know what those different fortes are for all your dependent contractors that kind of match them up with their clients?

Sharon: Absolutely, we also screen our virtual assistants. You have to have a certain amount of experience and we normally require five years of experience in administrative role. And that’s not just like being a clerk type assistant but you need to have had a responsible position because you’re actually managing the client’s projects.

So you need to have that responsibility and also make sure that you’re dedicated because that’s very important. There’s no time to watch the soaps when you saw me working or going out with your friends when you have a project on your table.

So it’s important that you meet their deadlines and if you don’t need their deadlines, we lose clients.

Ivy: That’s an order, I’m sure that the credibility factor comes in and the value and quality of the work. What do you enjoy most about business?

Sharon: Number one is marketing. I love marketing I love helping our clients succeed in whatever their projects are and it’s just the passion that we give our clients and they feel it and then sensed it. Because, when they succeed we succeed and as long as we’re helping them succeed, they will still retain our services. So it’s like a receptacle relationship and it is a partnership. We want to make sure that they are successful and whatever it is that they’re doing and to do that we partner with them and become integral parts of their business.

And we can actually handle a lot of responsibilities that they traditionally handle but either dislike, don’t have time for, pull off on the sideburn and say I’ll get to it tomorrow and then never get to. They handle jobs over to us and then they are free to do things that they’re passionate about.

Ivy: Well, thank you Sharon. If you got a task that you need to delegate or you’re an over stretched entrepreneur. You know exactly who to contact and get a hold of Sharon by going to The24hourSecretary.com. You can also look for more segments with Sharon right here on SBTV.com.

Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services