• In the United States there are nearly 27 million small businesses.
• Small business for this purpose is usually defined as a business with under 500 employees.
• However, of those small businesses, over 20 million are solo players. Of the remaining 5.9 million, the vast majority have under 20 employees. 

                                  SBA July 2008  

As a “solo player” you are in charge of every facet of your business – providing the main service or product of your enterprise, advertising and marketing, customer service, billing and bill paying, legal compliance, maintenance of the property and equipment, buying stock and supplies – the list goes on and on. 

You probably started your business for the first item on the list: providing the main service or product. The rest of the baggage just comes with it, keeping you from your primary focus which should be maintaining present clients and developing new ones. 

This is where a virtual assistant comes in. It may seem that hiring an assistant will increase your expenses, but think about it. What is YOUR time worth? Should that time be spent on the actual business (that generates income) or administration (that generates none)?  

When was the last time you spent some quality time with your family? 

Here are some things a virtual assistant (or two) can do for you: client database management and customer service; advertising and marketing; website design, update and maintenance; bookkeeping and billing; research, writing and presentations; organization and secretarial services; training; and lots more. 

Virtual assistants are not employees. They are independent business professionals, just like you. They maintain their own offices and equipment and pay their own taxes and benefits. They generally have many years of experience in their specialties. You could possibly have several professionals working for you on different facets of your behind-the-scenes tasks (such as bookkeeping and customer service) without paying as much as you would for one part-time person who didn’t have all their skills. 

Think about what you did this week. Was it business or busy-ness? Was it furthering the growth of your business or just keeping the business afloat? 

Call me when you decide to move up to the next level in your business.