There’s a new trend forming in the administrative world, and it’s giving many former experienced administrative assistants a chance to call their own shots and work from home.
They’re called virtual assistants, or behind the scenes partners that handle key administrative, clerical, technical and personal tasks for clients. Unlike administrative assistants who typically work for large companies and are often overwhelmed with phone calls, meetings, and the occasional unwanted visitor, virtual assistants are independent small business owners that typically have years of experience in the administrative field and work directly from home.
Most of time, they work through e-mail without ever having to deal with their clients face to face.
Rosalind Harris of Guilderland, a former executive assistant with 25 years of experience working in local banking, retail and insurance industries, started her own virtual assistant business in January called Instant Assistant, LLC.
A recent graduate of the Entrepreneurial Assistants Program, a 12-week course that teaches budding entrepreneurs the necessary skills needed to build their own business, Harris works full- time as a project manager for The Center for Economic Growth, and works part-time nights as a virtual assistant mostly for nonprofit agencies. She also subcontracts with clients by referring them to other virtual assistants she feels would be suitable for a position.
Harris said she thought about a job like a virtual assistant before she knew it existed.
`I had been telling people that I’d love to be able to combine what I really enjoy, which is supporting senior level executives, with working at home,` she said.
She said becoming a virtual assistant appealed to her because she felt she would be much more productive without the interruptions she faced while working in an office.
`Anything the on-site assistant can do, the virtual assistant can do,` she said.
Harris said solo business owners and nonprofit organizations can greatly benefit from having a virtual assistant because they only get paid for the hours they work, and the companies don’t have to worry about providing benefits or vacation time.
Harris isn’t the only virtual assistant making a mark in the Capital District. Rhonda Parker of Clifton Park is a virtual assistant who runs a business called Virtually Yours 925.
`I don’t ever have to ask, ‘Can I go?’ I do the work on my time schedule and not theirs,` said Parker.
Parker worked as an administrative assistant for 30 years for senior level management in the Albany area, including Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company, and for the state Office of Facilities Development.
After Facilities Development merged with the state Dormitory Authority, the company downsized and Parker started working for lower pay. This, along with having to undergo major surgery and losing her mother within a short timespan, left her wanting a different career path.
She took computer-training classes and applied to temp agencies, but felt bigger companies were reluctant to hire her because of her age.
`I was like, that’s it, I’ve had it with state employment,` she said. `It’s not about experience anymore, corporate America is greedy. They want to mold the younger ones into what they want them to be.`
Now in her second year as a virtual assistant, Parker said she is happy working full-time for small businesses, taking care of the clerical and administrative tasks that small business owner shouldn’t have to deal with. She consults and coaches her clients, assists them with mass mailing, scans their business cards and maintains their databases.
`Their work always gets done, but I’m able to do it on my own terms. It is in my best interest to help them be successful,` she said.
Both Harris and Parker said being a virtual assistant is a great fit for the right person, especially stay-at-home moms or assistants who have been in the business for several years yet no longer desire to work in an office setting.
`We are extremely resourceful, we may not have all the answers, but we will find them because of the experience we have,` said Parker.
For information, Harris can be reached at www.instantassistant.net or 598-2419. Parker is at www.virtuallyyours925.com or 641-1734.“