Let a cyber assistant lend a virtual hand
By Jenny C. McCune • Bankrate.com

When the going gets busy, the busy executive usually hires an assistant. Technology has added a new twist to the process: Nowadays, more small business owners have virtual right-hand workers.

A virtual assistant is much like the traditional administrative assistant, except she (the vast majority are women) works from home. And her home may be thousands of miles away from the boss.

"I have clients everywhere. In Barbados, Canada, New Jersey and Texas," says Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, founder of Word Sorcerer Business Communications. "I literally have clients across the globe." Where is virtual assistant Morgan-Ferrero based? Los Angeles.

No limits to job duties
Virtual assistants can tackle everything from typical "gal Friday" executive support -- answering phones, scheduling meetings and appointments, making travel arrangements, typing memos -- to more complex project-management assignments, such as setting up a customer seminar from start to finish.

Stacy Brice, whose AssistU.com trains and supports virtual assistants, used to be a full-time virtual assistant. She says that virtual assistants can do a lot of things that aren't usually considered suitable for remote workers. Case in point: She once created a filing system for a client who lived at a distance.

"I had a client that couldn't do paper filing," Brice recalls. "She had such a pile of papers on the floor that she tripped over a pile of paper and smashed her head into a wall. She just had piles and piles and piles of paper and was ashamed to hire anybody locally to do the filing.

"So I had her pack it all up and ship it to me. I created a filing system with hanging file folders and sent it back to her. She just had to move it over to her lateral file."

Why virtual assistants work
There are several benefits to hiring a virtual assistant, Brice says.

A company only pays for work that is done rather than paying a regular salary. And the company doesn't have to worry about tax withholding, since virtual assistants are considered independent contractors and it is up to them to square things with Uncle Sam.

Companies hiring virtual assistants don't have to furnish an office or provide the worker equipment.

Finally, a company isn't limited to finding a worker within a defined geographical area. "You can find the best worker," says Brice, "rather than being limited to who's available in your immediate area."

Why they don't
Virtual assistants aren't for everyone. They are "free agents" who keep their own hours and are not "at your beck and call eight hours a day," Brice says. And if you're into micromanaging, she recommends you forget it.

Morgan-Ferrero says that trust is often a big factor, particularly for companies using virtual assistants for the first time. Many cyber assistants find one of the hardest jobs is convincing employers that as a remote home worker you aren't spending most of your day watching soap operas and eating Godiva chocolates.

"I tell prospects that you won't have clients if you're not reliable," Morgan-Ferrero says. "I keep my clients happy and do good work so the trust is there."

What they cost
The pay scale for virtual assistants varies by region. An individual assistant even can have different pay demands depending on what the particular job entails.

Brice says that in general virtual assistants charge from $30 an hour and up. Morgan-Ferrero charges between $25 and $45 an hour. "For creative jobs like writing the content for a Web site, I'll charge at the higher end," Morgan-Ferrero says. "For task-driven services like answering the phones, sending out e-mails, I charge at my lower rate."

Not surprisingly, some virtual assistants have their own Web sites, making it easy for you to find one on the Internet with the help of a search engine. In addition, sites such as AssistU.com and the International Virtual Assistants Association have membership directories.

You also can get an assistant with specialized skills. In Morgan-Ferrero's case, she focuses on business communications: press releases, corporate backgrounders, Web site content. Back in her virtual assistant days, Brice used to target the niche of authors and speakers. Still other virtual assistants may concentrate on working with real estate agents or on graphics and desktop publishing.

Whatever your needs, you'll probably have no trouble finding several virtual assistants who can handle your tasks. And letting a virtual assistant lend a hand can be a great way to get rid of the too-much-work blues.

Jenny C. McCune is a contributing editor based in Montana.

-- Posted: Aug. 14, 2002