Month: August 2025

When most people think of Administrative Support professionals they think “secretary” and they get this mental picture of a 9 to 5 on-site employee. Someone who comes into the office 5 days a week, sits behind a desk, types and answers the phone. That’s been a valid image for many years but to be perfectly honest that image has changed – dramatically.  True, for some types of businesses there will probably always be a need for a conventional on-site admin and if that’s what your business needs that’s what you should stick with.

Today, however, we know that the individual who handles your administrative, clerical and creative work doesn’t have to ‘come into the office’. Thanks to technology, she can more often than not work from her own home office and still provide the same high level of support as a person sitting behind a desk in an office. Besides physical location there is another huge difference between the 2 images – COST!  Working with a Virtual Assistant is a lot less expensive than the in-office admin you’re accustomed to. Mobile professionals, small business owners and entrepreneurs often don’t have a traditional office themselves so a professional Virtual Assistant makes even more sense!

There are many advantages to working with a VA.

• We’ve already mentioned COST – Small business owners and entrepreneurs often don’t have the budget, space or large enough workload for a conventional full-time, on-site administrative assistant.
• EXPERIENCE – Most VA’s are highly skilled, experienced, tech-savvy professionals with resources already in place so you don’t have to worry about office space, furniture and equipment.
• SAVINGS – VA’s are independent contractors so you never have to deal with payroll, benefits, taxes, vacation or sick pay.
• MORE SAVINGS – Save money by paying only for the time you need. If you only need 10 hours a week that’s all you pay for.  5 hours this week?  15 hours next week? VA’s offer you the flexibility you need.
• RELATIONSHIPS – Develop a one-on-one relationship with your VA who quickly becomes your right hand; someone who will get to know you and your business and will represent your business in a professional manner.
• PRODUCTIVITY – Gain more time and freedom to fully focus on your business and income building and stop spending your valuable time doing administrative work.

Take a fresh look at your mental picture of administrative support.  It may be time for an update!

When you think about it – most of us are already working virtually to some degree or another; phones, email, Skype, cloud based file sharing, conference calls – it’s how things get done.  Working with a Virtual Assistant is no different.  I’ve heard people say… “I don’t think a Virtual Assistant would work for me. I need my assistant to be close by”.  When I hear this I can’t help but think about all the ways a Virtual Assistant can provide support without being anywhere near them. Here are just a few examples:

1. Social Media Marketing: Creating and sharing information about your business is vital – but not the best use of your time. This is definitely something your VA can do for you consistently resulting in driving traffic to your website and increasing your search engine rankings.
2. Email: Your Virtual Assistant can reduce your daily email load by checking and screening for you. She can probably respond to a lot of it herself and flag the rest for your personal attention. She’ll also organize your email into manageable folders. Great time saver!
3. Email Marketing & Newsletters: Your VA can help you build loyalty, trust and brand awareness.  This is a time and money saving way to stay in touch with your clients and potential clients. Be the expert in your field and keep everyone informed about what’s going on in your business and industry.
4. Word Processing & Spreadsheets:  Make sure your business has a professional look with precise, attractive documents. Let your VA create, format and edit simple to complex documents and spreadsheets that make you look great.
5. PowerPoint Presentations: Interesting and relevant presentations are wonderful visual tools for speakers, coaches, trainers and others. Your VA can create fabulous presentations that help you deliver your message without being distractive.
6. Calendar Management & Scheduling: Be on time. Know what’s next. Let your VA manage your calendar and schedule your meetings and appointments. Then you’ll always stay ahead of and be prepared for the next thing instead of running ‘a few minutes late’.
7. Travel & Lodging Arrangements: Room reservations, airline and train tickets and ground transportation; having it all in sync makes your travel experience less stressful. Tell your VA where you’re going and when and let her set it all up for you, over time developing your personal travel profile.
8. Database/Contact Management: Having your contacts organized and up to date has tremendous value. Not just for mailings and marketing but just being able to find a phone number in a hurry. Let your VA get all those loose business cards organized into an online CRM that you can access from anywhere.
9. Webinars:   Your Virtual Assistant can set up and facilitate webinars and other online events. Presentations, lectures, workshops, trainings and seminars can be ready when you are. She’ll send out the invitations and the login info and track the RSVPs. She’ll even make sure you’re prepared with everything you need for a successful event.
10. Internet Research: Research is no longer a bad word? Now your VA can research any topic for you and organize it into a format that you can use.

Your admin doesn’t have to be under the same roof to provide the support you need. VA’s can reduce your workload, save you time, money and energy. Enlist the services of a real Virtual Assistant today and experience the benefits for yourself!

Article by Erlene B. Wilson, EWC PR/Mktg*

More than 50 years ago, a government-funded science/research project, now known as ‘the Internet’, came on the scene; opening our world to a whole new way of communicating in nearly every aspect of our lives.

Today, this once nerdy research project has become a game-changer; creating a new culture of worldwide connectivity and fostering the development of communication innovations including cell phones, iPads, laptop computers and other devices that we have come to depend upon in our everyday lives.

This new world of borderless,  24-hour connectivity has changed everything about the way we live and communicate.  It has produced unprecedented change in how and what we buy, consume, and interact with the world.   For business, it has leveled the playing field for innovation and access to commerce.  Indeed, almost anyone with a computer and tech-savvy skills can create, brand, promote and sell products/services through a worldwide online media presence.

What has not changed, however, is the fundamentals of successful communications including identifying/knowing the metrics of the market segment you’re trying to reach (age, sex, educational level, profession/income, marital/family status, finances/homeownership, etc.)  It’s also helpful to know their interests and passions, including what they read, view/listen to, the media/networks they access including the Internet, television, movies, radio, etc. Equally important is identifying problems/solutions of a market segment.  If, for example, you’re a non-profit working with families you might Blog about or pitch stories to the press highlighting the need for jobs, access to safe/affordable housing and living environments, healthy food, education, transportation, health services and other resources for their children and family. Be sure to provide connections to interviews with professionals in the field as well as credible users of the service and, if possible, third-party verifiers who can attest to your success.

Understanding your market and their fundamental needs/interests can help cut through the noise of our media saturated world, and increase the chance of them responding to your offer. So can retaining/hiring the services/expertise of marketing professionals with proven success in your particular industry. There are a number of resources you can access even if you’re not a public relations/marketing professional.  Here are a few to get you started:

Public Relations Society of America — largest professional organization serving the U.S. public relations community. http://www.prsa.org/

MarketingSherpa – a research firm tracking successful marketing strategies – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/25-best-free-online-resources

Burrell’s Luce – provides a variety of services for public relations/communications organizations/professionals
http://www.burrellesluce.com/

*Erlene B. Wilson is President/Founder of EWC pr+mktg, a public relations/marketing consultancy specializing in social and institutional marketing. You can email her at ewriter2@comcast.net.

‘Customer service is the act of taking care of the customer’s needs by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality service and assistance before, during, and after the customer’s requirements are met’.  Ok, great definition, but what does it mean?

Whether your business is large or small, a one person operation, established or a start-up, quality customer service practices are crucial. It is, after all, the face and voice of your organization and often the first interaction people will have when they contact you. So, like most things in life, that first impression means a lot.

Although you may not be available to personally speak with everyone who calls or emails during the day – simply having a message that says leave a message is just not good enough in this competitive world. Your caller wants to feel recognized and ‘responded to’ and would prefer to speak with ‘someone’.  I know I do.  Generic answering services are probably not the best way either. They’re just too impersonal.

We all know what good customer service is and we certainly know when we’re not getting it.  Everyone feels a lot more confident when they’ve talked with someone as opposed to leaving a message in cyberspace. This is particularly true for first time callers! Automation is great and has its place but nothing can replace human contact.  Having someone to actually receive your calls and respond to emails and other communications personally and in a timely manner is the foundation of good customer service. The tone of the individual who answers your calls should reflect everything you want the public to know about your business.

Professional Virtual Assistants are experts in customer service and can help you manage and grow your business.

Your VA will provide that personal, professional touch that means so much to your business audience.  We are vested in helping you succeed. It’s more than an answered call or email; it’s a conversation with someone who’s interested in doing business with you.  We understand that. Even if your business is small, having that personal touch is very important.  A well trained and courteous front line support person can make the difference between the caller getting what he or she called for or getting just enough to leave them annoyed and dissatisfied.

A good VA will help you by displaying:

• Courtesy:  “Good morning,’  ‘good afternoon,’ ‘thank you,’ and have a great day’ are never passé.  Good manners are a must whether the caller is a customer or a potential customer.  Good C.S. could trigger solid referrals.
• Personalization:  Using a caller’s name is very effective in producing comfort and trust. People like the idea that the person they are talking to has taken the time to note their name.  It takes the interaction to a more personal level.
• Responsiveness:   Responsiveness, timeliness and personal attention can often determine if a caller becomes a client or customer.  Following through with call backs and promised actions help build confidence in your business.

Good customer service is always a good thing!

If your organizations team members routinely work on projects that involve multiple users, components, stakeholders and resources, chances are you would benefit a great deal by implementing a Project Management system.  Project Management software can be used in a number of ways but primarily they support planning, tracking, scheduling, communications and documentation of projects from start to completion.

Businesses, consulting firms, non-profits and other organizations operate much more efficiently with the right Project Management system in place. They all need a way to manage all the moving parts of a project.  In the past, many decision makers hesitated to use these systems believing them to be too big and expensive.  In many cases they were right.  Early PM systems were big and robust and were designed for big operations.  But today there are many options with systems that are ideal for and actually built for smaller groups and projects.  They are easy to use and inexpensive which are often key factors in deciding to use PM systems. There are even free systems that do a great job helping to manage projects from end to end.

Think of your Project Management system as a hub for:

• Organization
  • Store all project related information in one place where it can be accessed and viewed by all team members
  • Have visual timelines so you know what’s been completed, by whom, and what tasks are outstanding
• Communication
  • Maintain clear lines of communication with managers, team members, clients, etc.
  • Provide a means for clients and team members to discuss progress, report issues and make requests
• Planning
  • Delegate tasks to the appropriate employees
  • Determine what time, resources and personnel are needed for specific tasks
  • Make sure deadlines are being met and potential delays avoided

Monitoring and tracking your Project Management system is probably not the most effective use of your time. Your Virtual Assistant can do this for you making sure things are running smoothly. Your VA can make sure team members have the resources they need, input new project information, keep you updated on project status, monitor individual team members progress and step in and provide support wherever it’s needed.  Your Virtual Assistant becomes the Project Manager allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. Project Management systems are one of the great tools that VAs use to support their clients.

Many businesses are made up of a team or teams.  Just what is a team in the business world?  ‘A group of people with different skills assigned different tasks, who work together on a common project, service or goal, with a meshing of functions and mutual support.’

In today’s virtual workplace team members are sometimes spread out in different locations, states and even different countries. Some members travel frequently while others are more static.  So there is no centralized office with a conference room, break room, printers, receptionist and administrative support staff.  And while the team can do without the conference and break rooms, solid administrative support is always a critical element to a team’s success.

So – who’s missing from your virtual team? 

Virtual Assistants are a great way to add additional, high-quality bandwidth to your team—without breaking the bank. They become a seamless member of your team and help drive your company toward its goals.  They can help keep you and your team organized, focused and everyone moving in the same direction.  You now have a centralized point for administrative work instead of having multiple admin tasks spread out among team members.  Everything filters through and is handled by your VA ensuring all gets done.  But most importantly:  Your Virtual Assistant can free up your time and your team’s time to work on those truly important tasks and projects that are going to make a difference for your company.

Your VA will support your team and its individual members by doing all the work of a conventional on-site admin:

Word Processing/Spreadsheets
Email & Telephone Support
Report Preparation
Invoicing & Bookkeeping
Scheduling & Calendar Management
Data Entry
Database/CRM Management
PowerPoint Presentations
Manage Webinars and Online Events
Arrange Travel
Social Media
Internet Research
and more…

Your team members become much more productive if they’re not spending their time doing administrative work.  As a member of your team, your VA is available to support everyone and the workflow is smooth and efficient.

 

Over the years I’ve had many people contact me to inquire about my services, and although the Virtual Administrative Assistance industry is at least 25 years old, many people still don’t quite understand what a Virtual Assistant is or isn’t. One of the most common errors people make is confusing Virtual Assistance with Personal Assistance. The difference, of course, is virtual. Personal Assistants usually have physical proximity to their clients and actually run errands for them among other things. Others think a Virtual Assistant is more of a private, personal secretary, on-site to do whatever they need whenever they need it. I once had a woman ask me how many days of the week could I be in her office.

I always refer back to a simple definition I ran across some time ago that I think describes Virtual Assistants perfectly. A Virtual Assistant or VA is an entrepreneur who provides professional administrative, technical, or creative assistance from a home office.

But the role of the VA has expanded over time. Thanks to technology, we can do more for our clients than ever before. Some VA’s who are highly skilled in a particular field have parlayed that expertise into a specialty business. Today there are over 20 types of Virtual Assistants. For example, there are VA’s who specialize in graphic design, web design, bookkeeping, blog writing and social media marketing. These become their primary service and there is a market for them.

Then there are the generalists like me, (Virtual Administrative Services) that do across the board administrative work like:

• Scheduling
  • Maintaining online calendars and scheduling appointments
• Calendar management
  • Planning of meetings, activities and assignments in a way that maximizes time
• Email Management
  • Systematically controlling of the quality and quantity of emails sent from and received by an individual or organization
• Document Production
  • Using word processing software to create, edit, save and print professional documents
• Proofing and Editing
  • Making text more readable by eliminating grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors
• Data Entry
  • The process of entering data into software systems using a computer
• Process Documentation
  • Outlining and documenting the steps necessary to complete a task or process

But no matter what area we work in the goal is always the same, to provide professional offsite support to our clients. Most VA’s have multiple clients and are adept at time management so that all clients can be served. VA’s often have their own teams and are able to distribute client work to their team members to make sure that each client’s work is covered and completed in a timely manner.

Virtual Administrative Assistance is a service industry, and most of us are in it because we love the work that we do. It takes commitment, discipline and a genuine interest in what we’re doing to run a successful VA firm. So, if you haven’t explored Virtual Assistance lately, take a fresh look. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how we’ve grown.

I’m excited to start working with you,
Becky Gregory
Executive Virtual Assistant  and owner of Virtual Admin Services

Like a lot of businesses today, many Non-profits are operating virtually. Often staff members are located all over the country, but everyone still needs administrative support. It seems logical for these organizations to choose administrative support that’s available to everyone. Many of my clients have been NPs and having virtual support proved to be the best solution for them.

No Central Office

A lot of Non-profits no longer have a centralized office. I’ve worked with organizations where the staff was scattered all across the country – most working from their own homes. For example: the Executive Director was on the east coast, the Deputy Director was in central time and most staff members were on the west coast. The need for an alternative to on-site support was clear. Scheduling and coordinating meetings and events across time zones was critical. They needed support that would be accessible and available to everyone – no matter where they were. So, what kind of support do Non-profits need the most?

5 Key Areas Where VA’s Can Help Non-profits

1. General Administrative Assistance
   • Day to day administrative tasks such as scheduling, calendar management, phone calls, bookkeeping and expensing.
2. Report Preparation
   • Assistance in creation and production of important quarterly and annual reports for board members and various stakeholders.
3. Meeting and Event Coordination
   • Coordinate meetings and online events across time zones. Requires strong meeting logistics, presentations and event management skills.
4. CRM/Database Management
   • Collecting, organizing and managing client and affiliate information across organization utilizing CRM systems.
5. Email Support
   • Monitoring and responding promptly to emails on behalf of executives and other staff.

Here a a few other services a professional Virtual Assistant can provide for your Non-profit:

• Drafting communications
• Managing mass emailing’s
• Customer service
• Fundraising and online event support

 

Managing your busy schedule and keeping your calendar updated are essential parts of your daily routine. But they’re also very time consuming.

A skilled Virtual Assistant can provide valuable support to both businesses and non-profits when it comes to scheduling and calendar management.

Your VA can manage and maintain your organization’s calendar, ensuring all events, meetings, and important dates are accurately recorded and updated. Organizing and coordinating various meetings, sending out invitations, managing RSVPs, and finding suitable time slots that work for all participants are all duties your VA can take off you plate.

There are numerous ways a remote business support professional can keep your schedule and calendar on point, including:

• Setting up a reminder system to ensure that important deadlines, events, and appointments are not missed. Timely notifications to team members, clients, or stakeholders will help keep everyone informed and prepared.
• Organizing corporate events, fundraisers, or community outreach programs, your VA can help with event planning tasks like researching venues, managing vendor relationships, and coordinating logistics.
• Making travel arrangements is a time-consuming task in itself. Let your VA handle all your travel arrangements including booking flights, accommodations, ground transportation, and creating detailed itineraries for team members.

Virtual assistants play a crucial role in optimizing scheduling and calendar management for businesses and non-profits. By leveraging their expertise, organizations can streamline processes, save time, and enhance efficiency, ultimately achieving their objectives more effectively.

Becky Gregory
Owner, Virtual Admin Services

After working as a Virtual Assistant for as long as I have, I’ve come to believe that there is a major component to a successful VA/Client relationship. Communication!

Think about it. We’re working remotely, possibly in different states. I can’t walk across the office to ask you a question or obtain information. I have to reach out to you from another location and wait for you to respond. Sometimes not having that response can slow down what I’m working on -which is your work.

Just like an on-site admin, as your off-site admin, it’s critical that we have a clear line of communication. Of course, this is not always possible, but I ask my clients to check, throughout the day, whatever channels we’ve established to communicate with each other. Whether it’s email, text, or a messaging app, give it a quick look a few times a day to see if your VA is waiting to hear from you.

Often, when someone has been their own admin for a long time, it takes a while to get used to the fact that there’s someone out there taking care of them. You no longer have to worry about scheduling every meeting, responding to every email, or making every follow up call. You now have someone who can do those things for you- and a lot more. It’s your Virtual Assistant. But it’s important to check in with your VA to make sure he or she has what they need to keep things running smoothly.

There are a number of great tools to use for quick communication no matter where you are. Slack, WhatsApp and Connectteam to name a few. Decide early what will work best for you and your VA. And if it doesn’t work – don’t be afraid to switch until you find the best tool for you and your team.

As time goes on and you and your VA get to know each other better, your VA will be able to address more issues and answer questions without having to contact you directly. This is one of the advantages of working with a VA – building that relationship with someone who knows how to support you.

Becky Gregory
Owner, Virtual Admin Services