With increasing opportunities on the internet, more and more people have full time jobs on the internet; there is nothing that cannot be done through internet. If you are tired of having unreliable secretaries or they simply can’t do enough for you, you can simply hire a virtual office assistant on whom you will not spend a dime in the name of insurance and they will be able to do more than the live in secretary will ever do. An in-house secretary occupies a lot of space; something that lacks in small businesses or medium sized companies.

From a virtual office assistant you will be able to benefit from personalized services, without feeling that you are letting them know too much about you. Hiring a virtual office assistant is hiring a personal assistant who will not take bathroom or coffee break when you are not around to supervise them. He will be on call anytime to do whatever you require of him anytime. The virtual office assistant will remind you of the appointment you need to make with your dentist and maybe make a hotel reservation for your annual retreat.

He may even go to the extent of designing the new web page for your business website, something that you would have had to outsource if you had a live-in secretary. Whether your virtual secretary does some outsourcing for his services really isn’t a bother to you.

If you have an in-house assistant, he/she may not have the skills or the experience needed by the firm from time to time. On top of that, you will have to make room for the person and the myriad of machinery that he/she will come with. A virtual office assistant works far from you. You will not be able to see eye to eye but they will always be at your beck and call.

The in-house assistant stays idle at some point in their working day, depending on the amount of work that is handled by the firm on a day to day basis. No matter how much time he/spends on the work that is assigned to him/her a live-in assistant will not do more than is required by the boss unless you plan to hike the pay. They may go on a go slow or decide to quit without a notifying you. A virtual office assistant on the other hand is only paid for the actual hours that he does the job and nothing extra. He will not become a headache since he has other clients whose needs he needs to cater for. All you do is give an assignment and a due date; and the work will be delivered. It is cheaper to maintain a virtual office assistant since you will not have to pay some fees that come with having an in-house assistant.

A virtual office assistant is most of the time an assistant to many other people and since he/she has specialized on the work that he/she is doing, they are more likely to be more proficient and faster and have the latest tools to do their jobs. They have the latest software and they have a good support system. They pool their resources and help each other out when they are stuck.
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Many people who have tried bid sites have walked away frustrated simply because they were not able to win proposals. These individuals believed that they were only able to win proposals when they were the lowest bidder, working for peanuts.

Fortunately, this isn’t really true. A freelance writer can win wonderful jobs on bid sites at reasonable prices if that writer knows how to craft a winning proposal.

Be personal: A personalized proposal makes all the difference. If you’re sending a form letter there’s no real reason for an employer to sit up and take notice. Write an individual proposal each and every time.

Look for jobs you have experience with: You may be new to freelance writing, but you’re not new to experiences. Write down every job you’ve ever had. Write down every volunteer experience you’ve been part of. Write down every web page you’ve ever launched.

If you used to make fudge for a living than assignments about making fudge, or making food, or even buying or eating food are going to look more favorably on you than those who just think they can poke around and do some internet research about it. If you used to be a door to door salesman than you are qualified to write books about sales success.

Begin reading lots of nonfiction: When you read a lot of varied non-fiction you qualify yourself for a lot of different jobs, simply by your ability to speak intelligently about your topic right at the proposal phase.

If possible, work a little harder: If you can provide an outline for the project, or a sample product description, or even an opening article paragraph, it shows clients that you are serious about working for them and with them.

Research your clients: If your potential clients have worked on the site before you’ll be able to see how much they paid for similar projects. You can then chose to bid in that range–or to pass it by and save your bids for more lucrative projects.

Send samples: If you don’t have any published clips, that’s fine. Write something “on spec” so your clients can see what you can do. Write something as if you were being paid to write it.

Demonstrate availability: If you’re available via phone it can take away a lot of a client’s fears about the work.

It is possible to win on Elance and other, related bid sites, if you take your time and give each bid the same care and attention as you would the finished piece. If all you’re going to distinguish yourself with is price than the low price wins every time. If you distinguish yourself with excellence, then you can charge what you want–and you have a high chance of getting what you ask for.
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One of the newest jobs available today is a virtual assistant. With so many jobs being completed through the internet, having virtual office staff only makes sense. It helps companies keep down overhead, and allows more workers the flexibility to telecommute. While there are training programs to teach you how to become a virtual assistant, many people already possess the skills needed. You simply need to learn to market yourself, showing the potential employer you’re the perfect person for the job.

Where to find a job as a virtual assistant: There are virtual assistant associations found on the internet that could assist in your training and job search. Some people who run home offices advertise for a virtual assistant, to help them stay organized without having to have an outside person come to their home. The VA will help them stay current by answering e-mails, reminding them of appointments, and other office administrative duties. Some VA assistant jobs may require occasional office visits, so you would need to live within driving distance of the office.

Skills you need: You should have good people skills, knowing how to communicate well both over the phone and through written correspondence. Being organized is a must, as that is the main reason most people need a virtual assistant: to help them stay organized. Good typing skills are also crucial.

Tools you need: You will need a reliable computer, with word processing database, spreadsheet, calendar programs and internet connection (high speed is best). You may also want to have an unlimited long distance phone plan, as you may be calling clients or setting up appointments for your employer all over the country, possibly even the world. A hands-free phone might also be a good investment. A fax machine is a good idea, as well as a printer and scanner (many units combine all three features in one machine).

How much money can you make? If you find a full-time position, as opposed to freelancing for a few clients, the income will vary. Some companies pay VA’s anywhere from $20-$50 an hour.
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In today’s competitive economic environment, outsourcing IT and office work to an contractor or offshore center can present many significant efficiencies and cost-savings to businesses.

More and more businesses are scaling down by using technology to cut costs and realize outsourcing benefits such as lower labor costs and increased efficiency.

Few other fields can realize these benefits as well as information technology. Because networked systems can be accessed by qualified information technology professionals around the world, your business can farm out your IT work to offshore outsourcing centers.

Offshore outsourcers

Offshore IT outsourcing has become extremely popular because it allows businesses to avoid the high labor costs of the U.S. Sending your IT work to a centralized location also provides for greater efficiency because it allows for quicker response times and needs fewer people to operate.

Another field where such benefits are being realized is in virtual office solutions. By taking advantage of a virtual office solution, you can realize significant cost savings and efficiencies whether you send the work overseas or to a stateside outsourcing center.

In virtual office solutions, your call-handling, scheduling, accounts payable and many other clerical duties are handled off-site at a central location by staff dedicated and trained to handle these types of duties. This frees up your staff for more mission critical tasks and can allow you to reassign or downsize staff currently tasked with clerical or office duties, creating more efficiency for your business.

You may feel some anxiety or guilt over outsourcing work overseas or to a stateside center, but the money you save from sending IT and other work may be what helps keep your business afloat, saving your job and other jobs. In these recessionary times, tough calls like outsourcing present situations where one must sacrifice the few for the well-being of the many.

You Need To Manage It!

That’s not to say that outsourcing can’t have its downsides, however. Only about half of all businesses that use outsourcing are satisfied by it. Outsourcing only works as well as management has planned for its execution.

To make an outsourcing plan that works, you need expert advice that can help you realize the full potential of this management strategy. Good outsourcing advice and counseling can mean the difference between a plan that turns your operation into a well-oiled machine or just a quality-killing management nightmare.
About the Author:

It’s about time someone spoke the
truth concerning outsourcing. The politicians sure
won’t. They prefer to do finger-pointing saying it
is “his fault”. It is those greedy manufacturers
who want to make bigger profits by having cheap
labor in Asia perform your task for less money.

Did anyone ever tell you that if it wasn’t for
outsourcing you might not have a job? Did anyone
ever tell you that the underwear, shoes, jewelry
and hundreds of other items you own would cost
much more if it wasn’t for outsourcing? Probably
not.

Sure, many tasks are being sent
overseas. Why? Just because it is cheaper? No,
because the manufacturer that item had to do it in
order to be able to compete with other companies
making a similar product. If your company or any
company cannot remain in business then they will
cease to exist and you will be out of a job. As a
former manufacturer I will tell you it is
dog-eat-dog out there and every company is doing
its best to maintain sales and profits. The
company did not go into business to make products
and give you a job; they went into business to
make money and if they can’t do that they (and
you) will be gone.

Profits is not a dirty word. Again if
it wasn’t for profits you would not have a job.
The guy who owns the small business or the
thousands of stockholders who own the big
companies expect that company to make money or
they will sell their shares and you will be gone
too.

When you work for someone you want to
do everything possible to contribute to their
bottom line. Turning of the extra lights, keeping
your machine properly maintained, getting a
shipment out to a customer even if it means
staying a few extra minutes and many other little
things that you know better than I.

Until about 1975 we did outsourcing
and no one objected to it. The widget manufacturer
stopped making screws and bought them from the guy
across town or in the next state who made exactly
what he wanted and at a price cheaper than he
could produce them in his widget factory. Now we
buy the screws from China and India at a price
that is half or less than those made in the USA.
If not each widget might cost dollars more and be
enough to lose business to a competitor. If the
widget company did not outsource there could be a
strong possibility they would go out of business.

Outsourcing is not a U.S. phenomenon. It is
happening to Canada, Germany, Japan, England,
France, Australia and many other countries. Even
Mexico is losing jobs to Asia because they can
produce the same quality goods and services
delivered here for less.

Outsourcing is not only here to stay, but
is going to expand as competition becomes even
more fierce.
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Accounting is one of the most significant aspects of any business because it ensures that all decisions made are financially sound. However, many small business owners believe procuring accounting outsourcing services involve unnecessary costs. In truth, accountants are important to businesses of any size especially if the owners are not equipped with sufficient accounting experience or knowledge.

Business owners have different types of accounting services to choose from. Traditionally, firms opt to hire their own full-time accountants. This is most likely the reason why many small business owners relate unnecessary costs with procuring accounting services. This involves an addition of at least one other employee who shall receive monthly wages from the firm. Furthermore, additional costs are incurred in terms of providing office space, supplies, etc. Although this may be appropriate for many large firms, it is quite obvious why small business owners are hesitant to procure this type of service.

What is more common among small business now is outsourcing accounting services to freelancers. When hiring a freelance accountant, the costs involved are generally lower. Freelance accountants are often hired on an hourly basis rather than monthly wages. For this reason, business owners are able to cut the costs of payroll. Furthermore, freelancers need not have their own offices and are usually given a temporary area to work on or are allowed to work outside the office. Because of this, procuring accounting services from freelancers has become a viable option even among large corporations.

Another option for business owners is to outsource to companies that provide professional accounting outsourcing services. Like freelancers, outsourcing accounting work can lower the costs incurred by firms. Furthermore, this allows business owners to leave accounting work entirely to professional companies and focus on the other significant areas involved in running a business. Outsourcing to accounting companies also ensures that only chartered professional accountants will be providing accounting services to the firm. Outsourcing companies provide services to businesses of any scale. Therefore, business owners from small to large firms can benefit from this service.

When it comes to a firm’s accounting work, the idea is to simply choose the most appropriate in terms of costs and ability to focus on core competencies. Small business owners must accept that accounting work is too important to be handled by anyone who is not adequately equipped with the right skills. For this reason, the costs involved in outsourcing accounting services is a small price to pay to ensure that accounting work is done right.


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Whether you overhear a conversation about outsourcing or you join in such a conversation, the underlying assumption is that the outsourced workforce originates from India. This is for good reason. The popular media has focused only on India as the hub for outsourced workers. Although this is true, I’d like to warn you that India is probably not your best choice for your outsourcing needs.

If you hire employees from an outsourcing company, you need to know that you can rely on the delivery of their services. If they fail, it is a reflection on you and your company. Your customers are not interested in understanding that the failure was nothing you could control. What this means is that you need an outsourcing company with a solid and reliable infrastructure, and I’m here to tell you that a company’s infrastructure is dependent on the stability of its country’s infrastructure.

So, in this regard, how does India measure up? Well, not so great. Speaking to people in India, you quickly learn that power and water often come up short. Why should you care? Think about it. If you are outsourcing your call center, for example, losing power for one day would leave your customers without support for that length of time. That type of downtime can be catastrophic for your business.

If you do find an outsourcing company in India that is prepared for any loss of power or other disaster that might interrupt business, the cost of that preparedness will be reflected in their outsourcing fees to you. Yes, that’s right, you’re going to be the one to pay for the bolstering of a shaky infrastructure.

“Really?” you ask. Yes, really. For example, the tier 1 companies, the ones you would want to do business with, are going to charge $16 to $30 or more per hour, per person you hire from them. Yikes! Outsourcing is supposed to save you money.

A company based in another country like the Philippines can help you avoid these problems. Without the worries of a weak national infrastructure, the costs are lower for the outsourcing company and these savings are passed on to you. So not only are you hiring with a more reliable outsourced workforce, you are also paying less per hour, per employee.

The Philippines is a safer country in general and English is well-spoken there. Even Indian companies are outsourcing their voice based services to companies in the Philippines. That should tell you something.
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