What’s in a name?

I’ve been wondering about my title of Virtual Assistant. Is it a help or a hinderance when telling people what I can do for them? In fact, I asked for input from my networking group about what it means to them. To some, the concept is clear – I work on their projects from my office. They understand that ‘virtual’ doesn’t mean ‘holographic’ or ‘unreal’. Others just cannot imagine doing business with anyone not on-site (usually tech-challenged folks).

While I have been contemplating that, I have also begun thinking about what I do – the services I offer. Do I want to be McDonalds or In-and-Out? Many things or just a few? One suggestion from the group was to do a better job of targeting. Find out what my prospect does, then cater my elevator speech to fit. One would think that would be a ‘duh’ moment, but I honestly hadn’t though of doing that.

The group asked me what I like to do best. I really had to stop and think. I realized I like doing all kinds of things, but in a project format. Give me what you want done, any necessary instructions, then let me get it done.

Maybe ‘Virtual Project Assistant’ or ‘Virtual Project Manager’ would fit better? ‘Personal Project Manager’ – hmmmm, I like that one. Means lots of changes to site, letterhead, etc. More research and soul searching is necessary.

Am I worth it?

I have, on occasion, been told my services are expensive – that there are others who what I do for less. like a full-time employee.

My response? Yes, you may be right. But let’s make sure we’re comparing apples to apples.

• Do they offer the same level of expertise and experience? Or are you hoping to get a ‘good buy’ – a worker with experience that you can afford?
• What’s your cost to hire an employee? Do you have to train them? If so, you’re not making money during that training period.
• Are they billing only for the hours being used? Or, are you paying for breaks, sick days, vacations, etc.?
• Can you track what they’re doing? Maybe so, if you are micro-managing your employee and not getting your work done.

I have no problem with full-time employees – I have been one most of my career – but I firmly believe that I offer a strong, competitive advantage for small business owners.

Here is an article I’ve found offering further ‘proof’ of my hypothesis: Why a $14/hour employee really costs $20

Important People

I found this joke on my “Shake Joke’ iPhone app. It explains, with humor, just how important us ‘doers’ are:

A big corporation recently hired several cannibals. “You are all part of our team now,” said the HR rep during the welcoming briefing. “You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please don’t eat any of the other employees.” The cannibals promised they would not. Four weeks later their boss remarked, “You’re all working very hard, and I’m quite satisfied with you. However, one of our Secretaries has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?” The cannibals all shook their heads no. After the boss had left, the leader of the cannibals asked the others, “Which one of you idiots ate the secretary?” A hand raised hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals continued, “You fool! For four weeks we’ve been eating supervisors and no one noticed anything, but noooooo, you had to go and eat someone important.”