In times of an economic hub, everyone seems to be tightening their spending belt in one way or another. Hiring or even continuing to employ an administrative assistant can often be moved to the bottom of the list of must-have resources, especially for a small business owner and probably even more so for a sole proprietor. Partnering with a virtual assistant for assistance with your administrative, business, or office needs can be a cost-effective option for surviving and possibly thriving during a recession.
A virtual assistant is a qualified administrative professional and entrepreneur who provides off-site administrative assistance and specialized business services from their home office. Because virtual assistants are contracted service providers, there are no additional employee-related expenses, no benefits to pay, and no overhead costs like those associated with having an in-house employee.
It is estimated that small business owners spend 40-60% of their time on administrative tasks. Working with a virtual assistant is one way small business owners can minimize their administrative overhead costs without sacrificing service or compromising their business. A virtual assistant can keep your business running efficiently and effectively while creating more time for you to focus on your core business tasks and income-generating activities.
Continuing to market and advertise your business during a recession will be key to staying connected with your customer base. Business analysts often recommend that companies not reduce their marketing or advertising activities during an economic downturn. However, you may want to consider lower cost alternatives for your marketing and this is where a virtual assistant can help you. Many virtual assistants have the knowledge and experience to help the small business owner or individual entrepreneur with marketing activities, especially online marketing ideas such as creating and maintaining a blog. A blog is an inexpensive way to provide new and up-to-date content about your online business. Also, a blog linked to your website can help improve your visibility in search engines.
Social networking and Web 2.0 have quickly become one of the best ways to get known and stay known online. Virtual assistants are familiar with most business and social networking sites because many of them use these sites for their own business needs. Since virtual assistants can work with clients from anywhere in the world, establishing and maintaining your online persona is vital to the success of your business. This makes them the perfect resource for setting up and maintaining your profile and personality on the online business and social network.
Staying connected with your current and existing customers is also important. Your existing customers are already familiar with your business, services, or products, so showing them the added value you bring will help you retain that customer base. A virtual assistant can help you send personalized cards or make phone calls on your behalf so customers know you appreciate their business. Setting up, revitalizing, or maintaining a newsletter is an inexpensive way to continue marketing and stay in touch with your customers. Virtual assistants usually have the training and experience to do this, either in print or for distribution via email.
Economic analysts suggest that one of the best ways to get through a recession is to stay flexible. Small business owners can stay flexible by thinking outside the traditional way of doing business and embracing available technology that makes outsourcing their administrative tasks to a virtual assistant a cost-effective and time-efficient option.
