Networking Now

I have worked in business administration for over twenty years, in several different industries. I have been a PA to Managing Directors, Finance Directors, Area Managers and the like. Obviously in that time I have managed to acquire loads of useful information. I probably know a little about a lot of things rather than being a specialist in any one particular area making me a great allrounder.

I firmly believe that for a forum to be a success it should be about sharing knowledge and ideas. You should give as well as receive.

So, feel free to ask me any questions you want to on this topic. I won't do any hard sell, it's not my style at all. Instead I will give you my honest opinion, advice and knowledge in the hope that one day you will do the same for me in an area I need assistance with.

Fire away!!

I am asking this question as I think its something that needs to be made aware about your industry!

Why would it be more cost effective to use a VA than just doing it myself?

I ask because before I knew how much an accountant was, I just thought they would be expensive and we can do it ourselves, as we only pay £57 a month, I cannot believe I did not do it sooner!!
I imagine its the same with VA's, if people knew your worth, VA's would be more in demand

That's a brilliant question. This applies to not just Virtual Assistants but to many other areas of your business. I recently wrote a blog all about outsourcing which can be found here: http://hlsps.blogspot.com/2009/10/outsource-i-dont-outsourcebut-are-you.html

Basically you outsource for different reasons. To save money, to save time and to get a better result.

You save money if you earn more in the time you outsource than the cost of the outsourcing. An example of this is anyone who charges their time out at an hourly rate. You pay someone £20 hour to do a job, yet in that hour you earn £40. The maths are simple. And if your hourly rate is higher then the economics just get better and better.

You save time. Look at how long a task takes you to do it yourself. Is that the best use of your time? What else could you be doing in that time? It may be something related to your business that will generate more income or help your business grow, it may be giving you the time you want to do something with the family such as attending Sports Day.

You could end up with a better result. If you don't have the skills to carry out a project don't do it. The end result will not be professional. Let the experts do it for you. Perhaps you have some basic skills and want to have a go. For example I created my own Twitter background. I then got KipFXDesign to tweak it for me and was really pleased with it, but then decided that it would look even better if I gave it to them to do properly. I now have a really great professional Twitter background because I was honest about my limitations and gave it to someone who knew how to do it.

Can you write spreadsheets? No but you can fill them in, so get someone to write it for you and fill it in yourself.

Do you really have time to do that internet research on your potential Clients or competitors? No, then give it to someone who does.

Many people focus on price with Virtual Assistants, and on other industries as well. Let's get this cleared up properly. Price is only one part of the calculation. Yes using a Virtual Assistant saves you money, you don't have to pay PAYE, NI, sick pay, holiday pay, or for someone sat their discussing the finer points of Coronation Street or Eastenders. You only pay them when you use them. However, there is another side to this. Mant Virtual Assistants are former PA's. We are not your average secretary or receptionist. We have years of knowledge gleaned from working with MD's, FD's, Accountants and the like. We have gained experience in so many areas of the business from Accounts, Payroll, Marketing, HR etc. We use IT day in day out. We are founts of knowledge.

Many small businesses owners would love the knowledge and experience that an experienced PA can provide, but can only afford to employ someone with much less experience.

A Virtual Assistant can also carry out your diary management, travel booking, Christmas shopping, and much more.

Several of my Clients love the fact they can phone me up and ask me to do something then and there, one in particular has rung and requested gifts be purchased before he gets to his meeting, or he has been unable to find the present he needed for his Daughter's birthday that day and where was the nearest stockist to his current location. Others ask me to do research for them before our next meeting. They are not restricted to set days our hours which would be the case with a part time employee.

Also, because of the amazing support network that Virtual Assistants build, if we don't have a particular skill set we always have Associates we can call on to support us. You have your one point of contact, and we have access to the types of resources that only large corporations would be able to access or afford.

I could go on forever about the benefits of outsourcing and Virtual Assistants in particular, but as always, if you have a question ask away and I will get back to you.

We use a VA, works really well, she picks up any inbound calls we miss if theres no one free to grab the phones.

Very cost effective versus hiring an extra member of staff and getting stung with an even bigger HRMC bill :(

hlsbs wrote:Basically you outsource for different reasons. To save money, to save time and to get a better result.

You save money if you earn more in the time you outsource than the cost of the outsourcing. An example of this is anyone who charges their time out at an hourly rate. You pay someone £20 hour to do a job, yet in that hour you earn £40. The maths are simple. And if your hourly rate is higher then the economics just get better and better.

This one is so true.

In my industry I am always here the same story;

"It looks like we will be spending a lot of money with you per month, how can you justify that?".

Usually it is a company that is thinking about outsourcing their collections but doesn't know how much they should be paying. When you say to them that if they pay us a flat fee of £300 per month (random price inserted) and we do a professional job we will collect a much higher % each month giving them more interest in their bank. At the same time, if they wanted to hire a collections person then they would have to pay double our price for someone with little experience and then there is all the tax and payroll work to carry out.

The usual response is a priceless facial expression when they start to understand that they could end up saving money and increasing their cash flow.

I have to say that the VPA is something I will be looking into next year as I've noticed I'm spending more time on calls and paperwork that I am cash earning work at the moment.. watch this space.

Excellent, I love to see this kind of coming together of people, its what the forum is all about, I have a feeling that even if Helen was not for you or busy she will point you in the right direction!

I think Kip is right here. This is exactly what I think a good forum is about. It's not about going out and shouting about what you sell. It's about letting people know what you do, and helping them even if it means they don't buy something from you.

I am of the opinion that it is much better to help and advise people, to share knowledge (not give away trade secrets though) and to participate.

I feel that by helping out people on here I am giving something back. I received lots of help and advice when I started out, freely given which was of immense help to me. I would also like to think that perhaps, by sharing experiences we can help people not make the same mistakes that we made.

My sentiments exactly Helen, imagine if we could all give a few minutes of our day here and there, where possible, helping new companies, struggling companies or anyone that needs some sound advice, would the country be in such a bad economic state if everybody helped out with a simple scrap of advice?

You helped me out on another forum once and I have never forgotten it. I would like to think that people would think of me in the same way. I also like the fact that by "networking" online it helps us build the important networks of trust. I want to be able to have my circle of contacts who offer the services I cannot, that I can trust to work for my Clients, and to provide a service that is of the same high standard that I would if I were providing it. In effect it's like being a one stop shop for your Clients. They call you, you make all the other calls and either offer the service through your own brand, or directly refer the Client to someone who can offer it under their own brand. You need to have confidence that the person you refer to is of that standard. I am happy to say that I am building rather a successful supply network for my Clients. This way we all benefit.

Thank God...I'm not the only ALIEN on the internet. There are three of us maybe four. Wow.

I've been on the forums "networking", offering advice, giving tit-bits away and the only people I seem to have met are (1) People Promoting, (2) People asking Inane Questions.

Sounds like there's a real sense of networking going on here. This is getting a bit exiting. My view is this...do what you are good at, earn the cash on what you do best, then refer the other bits to someone better. Referral or as own brand. No difference. Ones a favour (you'll get it back) the other is a commission, but you get the headache.

I pass a lot on because I'd rather be free for the bits I'm really good at.

Say three cheers if you agree... THREE CHEERS