Advisory boards…coaches…great stuff, for the big picture.  But what about when the somebody that you need sometime is just someone to take care of “stuff” so that you can focus on the big picture? “If I could just get rid of this pile on my desk and have a few more hours in the day, I think that I could be so much more successful.”

I’ve heard this comment before. Hell, I’ve made it myself. When running a small business, you start off having to do everything, wearing 10 hats (why is it always 10 hats  that everyone talks about?) because you just can’t afford to hire someone when you don’t have any clients or haven’t sold any products. And then you grow and things change and you need more people to help you get your everything done. But what do you keep on your desk and what do you let others help you with? The answers are different for everyone that asks, but everyone goes through that process regularly.

Awhile back, I met with a potential client to talk to them about outsourcing some of their back office responsibilities. “We can take over the accounting, move your IT infrastructure to our data center and get you up and running on an automated virtual phone system so you can free up some of your time and, well probably let your office manager go and just get some part-time administrative support.”   I looked across the table at the pained look on her face and knew that there was something else going on.  She saw my puzzled expression and opened up. “It’s not just about the office.  It’s about me.  My office manager also handles all of ‘my stuff.’ Booking flights, planning my husband’s surprise party, keeping my contacts up to date…she does it all.” I left that meeting thinking, “yeah, that would be hard to give up, no matter what the potential savings to the business.”

Months later, I met Holly Mais at a networking lunch put on by Chuck Blakeman with TeamNimbusWest.   Holly said five words in her 20 second introduction that made me sit up and take notice. “I provide Virtual Assistant services.” What??!  I didn’t even know there was such a thing. It made sense, but I had never met anyone that provided those services. My head started spinning and I knew that I wanted to talk to her about it further. We had coffee the following day, where we talked about out how her services through Holly Assist could fill a gap in the services that my company provides and get me over a very real obstacle that I have faced when providing virtual office solutions to small business.

Since meeting Holly, I have of course seen 10 more mentions of “Virtual Assistant” services, including a good post by Karen Leland in WebWorkerDaily recently. The benefits can be substantial to using a part-time, yet dedicated person to help you with some key aspects of your professional life. Many owners that are starting businesses in today’s economy were soldiers in corporate America that fell victim to downsizing and reductions in the executive and middle management ranks. These are often the same executives that grew accustomed to having an executive assistant that handled all of the day to day happenings so that they could focus on the slaying bigger dragons. With the proliferation of the Virtual Assistant market, new business owners can operate at the productivity levels they are accustomed to, without having to break the bank by hiring someone full time. And beyond professional services, Kristi Butkovich of At Your Service offers a more specialized set of in-home services to assist families that are faced with elder care needs, an increasing issue for business owners and their families.

With all the support that is available, both virtual and in-town, maybe it’s time for me to head back to that prospect that couldn’t stand to part with her office manager and let her know about this new trend. Maybe that deal isn’t dead yet.

Have you had any experiences with Virtual Assistants?  What about actual executive assistants?  How do they compare in your mind?  What struggles or benefits do you foresee in going virtual with this key role?

Everybody needs somebody, sometime – Part I: Advisory Boards

Everybody needs somebody, sometime – Part II: Coaches